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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Camps and Trails in China, by Roy
+Chapman Andrews
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: Camps and Trails in China
+       A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-known
+       China
+
+Author: Roy Chapman Andrews

+
+Illustrator: Yvette Andrews

+
+Release Date: December 29, 2021 [eBook #12296]
+
+Language: English

+
+Produced by: Tom Cosmas produced from materials made available by the
+             Hathi Trust and are placed in the Public Domain.
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN
+CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                           CAMPS AND TRAILS
+
+                               IN CHINA
+
+
+[Illustration: Our Camp on the Snow Mountain at an Altitude of 12,000
+Feet]
+
+
+
+
+                       CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+                A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE,
+                    AND SPORT IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA
+
+
+                       ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.
+
+ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
+AND LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917;
+ FELLOW NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER ZOÖLOGICAL
+  SOCIETY OF LONDON; MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON;
+               AUTHOR "WHALEHUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA"
+
+                                  AND
+
+                         YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+           PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION
+
+                            [Illustration]
+
+                              ILLUSTRATED
+
+
+             D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK LONDON 1918
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1918, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+Printed in the United States of America
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
+
+PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN
+
+AS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION
+
+
+    "Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
+     Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
+     There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
+     And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
+
+                                                           --_Service_.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History
+to China in 1916-17. Details of a purely scientific nature have been
+condensed, or eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our
+experiences with the strange natives and animals of a remote and little
+known region in the hope that the book will be interesting to the
+general reader.
+
+The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon the
+technical reports of its work which will be published in due course
+by the American Museum of Natural History. To these reports we would
+refer those readers who desire more complete information concerning the
+results of our researches. At the time the manuscript of this volume
+was sent to press the collections were still undergoing preparation and
+the study of the different groups had just begun.
+
+Although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his
+collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all
+the illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been
+made of her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in
+reference work and in numerous other ways.
+
+The information concerning the relationships and distribution of the
+native tribes of Yün-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference
+work by Major H. R. Davies and we have followed his spelling of Chinese
+names.
+
+Parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the
+_American Museum Journal_, _Harper's Magazine_, and _Asia_ and to the
+editors of the above publications our acknowledgments are due.
+
+That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative
+collection of small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts
+of Mr. Edmund Heller, our companion in the field. He worked tirelessly
+in the care and preservation of the specimens, and the fact that
+they reached New York in excellent condition is, in itself, the best
+testimony to the skill and thoroughness with which they were prepared.
+
+Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely to the
+success of the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic devotion
+to our interests and his tact and resourcefulness under trying
+circumstances won our lasting gratitude and affectionate regard.
+
+The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among the most
+memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest gratitude to
+the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, and especially
+to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, whose enthusiastic endorsement and
+loyal support made the Expedition possible. Director F. A. Lucas, Dr.
+J. A. Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in furthering our
+interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
+
+To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions
+materially assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we wish to
+acknowledge our great personal indebtedness as well as that of the
+Museum; Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M.
+Colgate, Messrs. George Bowdoin, Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford,
+Henry C. Frick, Childs Frick, and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
+
+The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the
+following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it would have been
+impossible to have carried on the work successfully. Their services
+have been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book:
+The Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs of the Province of
+Yün-nan; M. Georges Chemin Dupontès, Director de l'Exploration de la
+Compagnie Française des Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yün-nan,
+Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai; M.
+Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong; Mr. Howard Page, Standard Oil
+Co., Yün-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch, Minister Plenipotentiary and
+Envoy Extraordinary to the Chinese Republic, Mr. J. V. A. McMurray,
+First Secretary of the American Legation, Peking; Mr. H. G. Evans,
+British-American Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna, Ta-li
+Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chiang Fu; Ralph Grierson, Esq., Teng-yueh;
+Herbert Goffe, Esq., H. B. M. Consul General, Yün-nan Fu; Messrs. C. R.
+Kellogg, and H. W. Livingstone, Foochow, China; the General Passenger
+Agent, Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.
+R. Caldwell, Yen-ping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript
+and who through his criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long
+experience in China.
+
+To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger we wish to
+express our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the
+preparation of the volume.
+
+                                                    Roy Chapman Andrews
+                                                   Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+Justamere Home,
+  _Lawrence Park,
+    Bronxville, N. Y._
+
+_May 10, 1917._
+
+
+
+
+                               CONTENTS
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+                     The Object of the Expedition
+
+PAGE
+
+  The importance of the scientific exploration of Central
+       Asia--The region which the Asiatic Zoölogical
+       Expedition investigated--Personnel of the
+       Expedition--Equipment--Applicants for positions upon the
+       Expedition
+
+                                                                    1-6
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II
+
+                           China in Turmoil
+
+  Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our
+       arrival in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral von
+       Hintze, the German Minister--_En route_ to Shanghai--Death of
+       Yuan Shi-kai
+
+                                                                   7-14
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+                           Up the Min River
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The
+       Min River--Our first night in a _sampan_--Miss Mabel
+       Hartford--Brigands at Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at Yen-ping
+
+                                                                  15-25
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV
+
+                     A Bat Cave in the Big Ravine
+
+  The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment house
+
+                                                                  26-81
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+                        The Yen-ping Rebellion
+
+  A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation
+       in the city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded men at the
+       hospital--We do Red Cross work--More fighting--A Chinese
+       puzzle--The missionaries save the city--The narrow escape of a
+       young Chinese--The mission cook--Return to Foochow
+
+                                                                  82-48
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI
+
+                      Hunting the Great Invisible
+
+  Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first
+       tiger--Habits of tigers--Experiences with the Great
+       Invisible--Killing a man-eater--Chinese superstitions--Hunting
+       in the lair
+
+                                                                  44-58
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+                            The Blue Tiger
+
+  Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first view
+       of the beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck with the
+       tiger--A meeting in the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life at the
+       temple--Fukien Province as a collecting ground
+
+                                                                  54-66
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII
+
+                          The Women of China
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's
+       life in the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A Chinese
+       wedding
+
+                                                                  67-73
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IX
+
+                          Voyaging to Yün-nan
+
+  Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--_En route_
+       to Tonking--The Island of Hainan--We engage a cook
+       at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss of our
+       Ammunition--Hanoi--The railroad to Yün-nan Fu--Yün-nan--The
+       Chinese Foreign Office endorses our plans
+
+                                                                  74-83
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+
+                        On the Road to Ta-li Fu
+
+  Oar caravan--The Yün-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
+       _mafus_--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese
+       scholar--New mammals--Village life--Opium growing--An opium
+       scandal--Goitre--The Chinese "Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss
+       Morgan--Brigands--Our guard of soldiers
+
+                                                                  84-98
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XI
+
+                               Ta-li Fu
+
+  Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr. H. G.
+       Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese mandarins--Mammals at
+       Ta-li--Caravan horses and mules--The cook becomes ill
+
+                                                                 99-106
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+
+              Li-chiang, and the "Temple of the Flowers"
+
+  Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The surprise
+       of the foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small
+       mammals--The Moso natives--Customs--The Snow Mountain--Baron
+       Haendel-Mazzetti
+
+                                                                107-113
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIII
+
+                         Camping in the Clouds
+
+  Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Crossbows and poisoned
+       arrows--Dogs--porcupine--New mammals--We find a new camp on
+       the mountain
+
+                                                                114-119
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+
+                            The First Goral
+
+  Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small
+       mammals--The second goral
+
+                                                                120-125
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XV
+
+                              More Gorals
+
+  Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material
+       for a Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two gorals--A crested
+       muntjac
+
+                                                                126-188
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+
+                       The Snow Mountain Temple
+
+  The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading
+       dog--Rain--Two more serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of
+       Yün-nan
+
+                                                                184-189
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVII
+
+                           Gorals and Serows
+
+  Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
+
+                                                                140-148
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+
+                           The "White Water"
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  Our new camp--serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial
+       ceremony--Ancestor worship
+
+                                                                140-156
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+
+                       Across the Yangtze Gorge
+
+  Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view of
+       the gorge--The Taku ferry--Cares
+
+                                                                157-163
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XX
+
+                       Through Unmapped Country
+
+  Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
+       mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid
+       inhabitants--Strange natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
+
+                                                                164-171
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI
+
+                        Traveling Toward Tibet
+
+  A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving
+       with the Lolos
+
+                                                                172-177
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXII
+
+                    Stalking Tibetans with a Camera
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing frightened
+       natives--Reason for suspicion
+
+                                                                178-181
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII
+
+                     Westward to the Mekong River
+
+  Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The
+       Shih-ku ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A well-deserved
+       beating--Chinese soldiers
+
+                                                                182-189
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIV
+
+                        Down the Mekong Valley
+
+  Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties
+       in the valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The salt
+       wells--A snow covered pass--Duck shooting--Return to Ta-li Fu
+
+                                                                190-201
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV
+
+                      Missionaries We Have Known
+
+  Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yün-nan
+       Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary exile--Medical
+       missionaries--A missionary's experience with the brigands at
+       Yuchi
+
+                                                                202-211
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVI
+
+                    Chinese New Year at Yung-chang
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants of
+       the city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
+       cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo
+
+                                                                212-222
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVII
+
+                     Traveling Toward the Tropics
+
+  Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical valley
+       at Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid camp--Many new
+       mammals--Preparing specimens Sambur--Trapping
+
+                                                                223-232
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+                 Meng-ting: a Village of Many Tongues
+
+  The first Shan Village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The
+       Shan mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing under
+       difficulties--Suppression of opium growing
+
+                                                                233-343
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIX
+
+                     Camping on the Nam-ting River
+
+  A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
+       fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
+
+                                                                244-251
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXX
+
+                            Monkey Hunting
+
+  Strange calls in the jangle--Our first gibbons--Relationship and
+       habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the jungle
+
+                                                                252-259
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXI
+
+                     The Shans of the Burma Border
+
+  An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at
+       Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan tribe--Dress
+
+                                                                260-263
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXII
+
+                       Prisoners of War in Burma
+
+                               Y. B. A.
+
+  The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The
+       _mafus_ rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding the
+       border--Life at Ma-li-pa
+
+                                                                264-272
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+                 Hunting Peacocks on the Salween River
+
+  The Valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker
+       stalked--Habits of peafowls
+
+                                                                273-280
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+                       The Gibbons of Ho-mu-shu
+
+  Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan
+       Village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping on a mountain pass--Gibbons--An
+       exciting hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the "hoolock"
+
+                                                                281-290
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXV
+
+                  Teng-yueh: a Link with Civilization
+
+  Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat
+       cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr. Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
+
+                                                                291-297
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+                          A Big Game Paradise
+
+  Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
+
+                                                                298-304
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+                           Serow and Sambur
+
+  Monkeys at Hai-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move camp to
+       Wa-tien--A fine sambur
+
+                                                                305-314
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+                          Last Days in China
+
+  Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of the
+       Expedition--On the road to Bhamo--The chair coolies--Burma
+       _vs._ China--In civilisation again--Farewell to the Orient
+
+                                                                315-322
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                             FACING
+                                                               PAGE
+
+  Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet
+                                           _Frontispiece_
+
+  Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yün-nan squirrel                4
+  Edmund Heller                                                   4
+  Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral                                 4
+
+  A Chinese hunter and a muntjac                                 28
+  Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion                      28
+
+  The Ling-suik monastery                                        62
+  A priest of Ling-suik                                          62
+
+  A Chinese mother with her children                             70
+  Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet              70
+
+  Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yün-nan Fu                    84
+  Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu                   84
+
+  The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu                                        96
+  The dead of China                                              96
+
+  The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li Fu            102
+  The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu                          102
+
+  One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu                                108
+
+  A Moso herder                                                 112
+  A Moso woman                                                  112
+
+  The Snow Mountain                                             116
+
+  A cheek gun used by one of our hunters                        118
+  The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain                   118
+
+  Hotenfa, one of oar Moso hunters, bringing in a goral         120
+  Another Moso hunter with a porcupine                          120
+
+  A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain                    132
+
+  A serow killed on the Snow Mountain                           140
+  The head of a serow                                           140
+
+  The "white water"                                             152
+
+  A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel                      162
+  The chief of our Lolo hunters                                 162
+
+  A Lolo village                                                174
+  Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time             174
+
+  Travelers in the Mekong valley                                180
+  Two Tibetans                                                  180
+
+  The gorge of the Yangtze River                                184
+
+  A quiet curve of the Mekong River                             190
+
+  The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu                     200
+  A crested muntjac                                             200
+
+  The south gate at Yung-chang                                  210
+  A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's  210
+
+  A Chinese patriarch                                           224
+  Young China                                                   224
+
+  A Shan village                                                234
+  A Shan woman spinning                                         234
+
+  A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting                     240
+  One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons               240
+
+  Our camp on the Nam-ting River                                246
+  The Shan village at Nam-ka                                    246
+
+  The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River             254
+  A civet                                                       254
+
+  A Shan girl                                                   260
+  A Shan boy                                                    260
+
+  A suspension bridge                                           288
+  Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs                     288
+
+  A sambur killed at Wa-tien                                    302
+  The head of a muntjac                                         302
+
+  A mountain chair                                              312
+  The waterfall at Teng-yueh                                    312
+
+  Map I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition   318
+
+  Map II. Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan                    320
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+
+The earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere
+in the vast plateau of Central Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains.
+From this region came the successive invasions that poured into Europe
+from the east, to India from the north, and to China from the west;
+the migration route to North America led over the Bering Strait and
+spread fanwise south and southeast to the farthest extremity of South
+America. The Central Asian plateau at the beginning of the Pleistocene
+was probably less arid than it is today and there is reason to believe
+that this general region was not only the distributing center of man
+but also of many of the forms of mammalian life which are now living in
+other parts of the world. For instance, our American moose, the wapiti
+or elk. Rocky Mountain sheep, the so-called mountain goat, and other
+animals are probably of Central Asian origin.
+
+Doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive
+wanderings of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters,
+one of the most important must have been the movements of the game
+upon which they lived. Therefore the study of the early human races is,
+necessarily, closely connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of
+the Central Asian mammalian life and its distribution. No systematic
+palæontological, archæological, or zoölogical study of this region on
+a large scale has ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of
+the inhabited surface of the earth about which so little is known.
+
+The American Museum of Natural History hopes in the near future to
+conduct extensive explorations in this part of the world along general
+scientific lines. The country itself and its inhabitants, however,
+present unusual obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the
+region one of vast intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the
+earth, but the climate is too cold in winter to permit of continuous
+work. The people have a natural dislike for foreigners, and the
+political events of the last half century have not tended to decrease
+their suspicions.
+
+It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for
+extensive research must be carefully prepared. One of the most
+important steps is the sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain
+a general knowledge of the natives and fauna and of the conditions to
+be encountered. For the first reconnaissance, which was intended to be
+largely a mammalian survey, the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition left New
+York in March, 1916.
+
+Its destination was Yün-nan, a province in southwestern China. This
+is one of the least known parts of the Chinese Republic and, because
+of its southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and
+faunal range is very great. It is about equal in size to the state
+of California and topographically might be likened to the ocean in a
+furious gale, for the greater part of its surface has been thrown into
+vast mountain waves which divide and cross one another in hopeless
+confusion.
+
+Yün-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and S'suchuan, on the west by
+Burma, on the south by Tonking, and on the east by Kwei-chau Province.
+Faunistically the entire northwestern part of Yün-nan is essentially
+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of
+8,000 feet to 20,000 feet above sea level. In the south and west along
+the borders of Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys,
+the climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as
+the fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in
+the north.
+
+The natives of Yün-nan are exceptionally interesting. There are about
+thirty non-Chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the
+Shans and Lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it
+is safe to say that in no similar area of the world is there such a
+variety of language and dialects as in this region.
+
+Although the main work of the Expedition was to be conducted in
+Yün-nan, we decided to spend a short time in Fukien Province, China,
+and endeavor to obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which
+has been seen twice by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary
+and amateur naturalist, who has done much hunting in the vicinity of
+Foochow.
+
+The white members of the first Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition included
+Mr. Edmund Heller, my wife (Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A
+Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten
+muleteers, completed the personnel.
+
+Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His early work, which
+was done in the western United States and the Galapagos Islands, was
+followed by many years of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America,
+and Africa. He first visited British East Africa with Mr. Carl E.
+Akeley, next with ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and again with Mr.
+Paul J. Rainey. During the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition Mr. Heller
+devoted most of his time to the gathering and preparation of small
+mammals. He joined our party late in July in China.
+
+Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition. She had studied
+photography as an amateur in Germany, France, and Italy, as well as
+in New York, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of
+photographs in natural colors. Such work requires infinite care and
+patience, but the results are well worth the efforts expended.
+
+Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and studied English at
+the Anglo-Chinese College in that city. He lived for some time in
+Teng-yueh, Yün-nan, in the employ of Mr. F. W. Carey, Commissioner
+of Customs, and not only speaks mandarin Chinese but also several
+native dialects. He acted as interpreter, head "boy," and general
+field manager. My own work was devoted mainly to the direction of the
+Expedition and the hunting of big game.
+
+[Illustration: Yvette Borup Andrews with a Pet Yün-nan Squirrel]
+
+[Illustration: Edmund Heller]
+
+[Illustration: Roy Chapman Andrews and a Goral]
+
+In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased
+only such equipment in New York as could not be obtained in Shanghai
+or Hongkong. Messrs. Shoverling, Daly & Gales furnished our guns,
+ammunition, tents, and general camp equipment, and gave excellent
+satisfaction in attention to the minor details which often assume
+alarming importance when an expedition is in the field and defects
+cannot be remedied. All food and commissary supplies were purchased in
+Hongkong (_see_ Chapter IX).
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the announcement of the Expedition was made by the American Museum
+of Natural History it received wide publicity in America and other
+parts of the world. Immediately we began to discover how many strange
+persons make up the great cities of the United States, and we received
+letters and telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take
+part in the Expedition. Men and boys were the principal applicants,
+but there was no lack of women, many of whom came to the Museum for
+personal interviews.
+
+Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. One was from a
+butcher who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our
+specimens, or defending us from savage natives; another young man
+offered himself to my wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure
+his twenty years' experience as a waiter would fit him for an important
+position on the Expedition, and numerous women, young and old, wished
+to become "companions" for my wife in those "drear wastes."
+
+Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way
+across the continent and in San Francisco until we embarked on the
+afternoon of Mardi 28 on the S. S. _Tenyo Maru_ for Japan.
+
+Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel
+drew in toward the wharf in Yokohama she was boarded by the usual
+crowd of natives. We were standing at the rail when three Japanese
+approached and, bowing in unison, said, "We are report for leading
+Japanese newspaper. We wish to know all thing about Chinese animal."
+Evidently the speech had been rehearsed, for with it their English
+ended abruptly, and the interview proceeded rather lamely, on my part,
+in Japanese.
+
+Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for
+a person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise.
+We stayed three weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea.
+But before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would
+like briefly to review the political situation in China as a background
+for our early work in the province of Fukien.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+
+During the time the Expedition was preparing to leave New York, China
+was in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai was president of the Republic, but the
+hope of his heart was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had
+plotted for the throne; he had been emperor for one hundred miserable
+days; and now he was watching, impotently, his dream-castles crumble
+beneath his feet. Yuan was the strong man of his day, with more power,
+brains, and personality than any Chinese since Li-Hung Chang. He always
+had been a factor in his political world. His monarchical dream first
+took definite form as early as 1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li,
+the province in which Peking is situated.
+
+It was then that he began to modernize and get control of the army
+which is the great basis of political power in China. Properly
+speaking, there was not, and is not now, a Chinese national army. It
+is rather a collection of armies, each giving loyalty to a certain
+general, and he who secures the support of the various commanders
+controls the destiny of China's four hundred millions of people
+regardless of his official title.
+
+Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of the leading generals,
+and in 1911, when the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, his plots and
+intrigues began to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and
+Manchus he managed to get himself elected president of the new
+republic, although he did not for a moment believe in the republican
+form of government. He was always a monarchist at heart but was
+perfectly willing to declare himself an ardent republican so long as
+such a declaration could be used as a stepping stone to the throne
+which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.
+
+As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1918 there was a rebellion
+in protest against his official acts but he defeated the rebels, won
+over more of the older generals, and solidified the army for his own
+interests, making himself stronger than ever before.
+
+At this time he might well have made a _coup d'état_ and proclaimed
+himself emperor with hardly a shadow of resistance, but with the
+hereditary caution of the Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and
+scheme. He wanted his position to be even more secure and to have it
+appear that he reluctantly accepted the throne as a patriotic duty at
+the insistent call of the people.
+
+Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment were typically
+Chinese but entirely effective, and he was making splendid progress,
+when in May, 1915, Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking
+advantage of the European war and presenting the historical twenty-one
+demands, to most of which China agreed.
+
+This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's agents pushed the
+work of making him emperor more actively than ever, with the result
+that the throne was tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the
+people." To "save his face" he declined at first but at the second
+offer he "reluctantly" yielded and on December 12, 1916, became emperor
+of China.
+
+But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later tidings of
+unrest in Yün-nan reached Peking. General Tsai-ao, a former military
+governor of the province, appeared in Yün-nan Fu, the capital, and, on
+December 28, sent an ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must repudiate
+the monarchy and execute all those who had assisted him to gain the
+throne, otherwise Yün-nan would secede; which it forthwith did on
+December 25.
+
+Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese who had
+intimated to Yuan that the change from a republican form of government
+would not meet with their approval The rebellion spread rapidly. On
+January 21, Kwei-chau Province, which adjoins Yün-nan, seceded, and, on
+March 18, Kwang-si also announced its independence.
+
+About this time the Museum authorities were becoming somewhat doubtful
+as to the advisability of proceeding with our Expedition. We had a
+long talk with Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United
+States, at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo, while certain that
+the rebellion would be short-lived, strongly advised us to postpone our
+expedition until conditions became more settled. He offered to cable
+Peking for advice, but we, knowing how unwelcome to the government of
+the harassed Yuan would be a party of foreigners who wished to travel
+in the disturbed area, gratefully declined and determined to proceed
+regardless of conditions. We hoped that Yuan would be strong enough
+to crush this rebellion as he had that of 1918, but day by day, as we
+anxiously watched the papers, there came reports of other provinces
+dropping away from his standard.
+
+On the _Tenyo Maru_ we met the Honorable Charles Denby, an ex-American
+Consul-General at Shanghai and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he
+was viceroy of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining a road
+concession near Peking and was then on his way to see Yuan. His anxiety
+over the political situation was not less than ours and together we
+often paced the decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless
+report told of more desertions to the ranks of the rebels.
+
+It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan had lost his nerve.
+He had decided to quit, and one hundred days after he became emperor
+elect he issued a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the
+republic. But the rebellious provinces were not satisfied and demanded
+that he get out altogether.
+
+About this time we reached Peking, literally blown in by a tremendous
+dust storm which seemed an elemental manifestation of the human turmoil
+within the grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins, Naval
+Attaché of the American Legation, was awaiting us on the platform,
+holding his hat with one hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with
+the other.
+
+The news we received from him was by no means comforting for in the
+Legation pessimism reigned supreme. The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch,
+was not enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions,
+but nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain the necessary visé
+for our passports.
+
+We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province, where we were
+to hunt tiger until Mr. Heller joined us in July for the expedition
+into Yün-nan. Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese
+influence in this province, which is directly opposite the island of
+Formosa, was causing considerable uneasiness in Peking.
+
+We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C. R. Kellogg, of the
+Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to stay while in Foochow,
+assuring us that all was quiet in the province, and through the
+influence of Dr. Reinsch, the Chinese Foreign Office viséd our
+passports. The huge red stamp which was affixed to them was an amusing
+example of Chinese "face saving." First came the seal of Yuan's
+impotent dynasty of Hung-Hsien, signifying "Brilliant Prosperity," and
+directly upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese Republic. One was
+almost as legible as the other and thus the Foreign Office saved its
+face in whichever direction the shifting cards of political destiny
+should fall.
+
+At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy in Peking, we met
+Admiral von Hintze, the German Minister, who had recently completed
+an adventurous trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to Mexico
+at the beginning of the war but had returned to Berlin incognito
+through England to ask the Kaiser for active sea service. The Emperor
+was greatly elated over von Hintze's performance and offered him the
+appointment of Minister to China if he could reach Peking in the same
+way that he had traveled to Berlin. Von Hintze therefore shipped as
+supercargo on a Scandinavian tramp steamer and arrived safely at
+Shanghai, where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign diplomat and
+proceeded to the capital.
+
+The Americans were in a rather difficult position at this time because
+of the international complications, and social intercourse was
+extremely limited. Dinner guests had to be chosen with the greatest
+care and one was very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever
+one went.
+
+Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who has shared
+its social life. In the midst of one of the most picturesque,
+most historical, and most romantic cities of the world there is a
+cosmopolitan community that enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is
+all of horses, polo, racing, shooting, dinners, and dances, with the
+interesting background of Chinese politics, in which things are never
+dull. There is always a rebellion of some kind to furnish delightful
+thrills, and one never can tell when a new political bomb will be
+projected from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden City.
+
+We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by rail for Shanghai.
+_En route_ we passed through Tsinan-fu where the previous night serious
+fighting had occurred in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the
+rebels against Yuan's troops. On every side there was evidence of
+Japan's efforts against him. In the foreign quarter of Shanghai just
+behind the residence of Mr. Sammons, the American Consul-General, one
+of Yuan's leading officers had been openly murdered, and Japanese were
+directly concerned in the plot. We were told that it was very difficult
+at that time to lease houses in the foreign concession because wealthy
+Chinese who feared the wrath of one party or the other were eager to
+pay almost any rent to obtain the protection of that quarter of the
+city.
+
+A short time later it became known to a few that Yuan was seriously
+ill. He was suffering from Bright's disease with its consequent
+weakness, loss of mental alertness, and lack of concentration. French
+doctors were called in, but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating him
+with concoctions of their own, and on June 6, shortly after three
+o'clock in the morning, he died.
+
+Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his face before the
+country, and his last words were a reiteration of what he knew no one
+believed. The story of his death is told in the China Press of June 7,
+1916:
+
+  According to news from the President's palace the condition of Yuan
+  became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan asked for his
+  old confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came immediately. On
+  the arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak, but entirely conscious.
+
+  With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he had
+  never had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown; he had
+  been deceived by his _entourage_ over the true state of public
+  opinion and thus had sincerely believed the people wished for
+  the restoration of the monarchy. The desire of the South for his
+  resignation he had not wished to follow for fear that general
+  anarchy would break out all over China. Now that he felt death
+  approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words known to the public.
+
+  In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung, situated it,
+  the Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly owned by Yang Tu,
+  the prominent monarchist, the formal transfer of the power to Li
+  Yuan-hung took place this morning at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui,
+  Secretary of State and Premier, as well as all the members of the
+  cabinet. Prince Pu Lun as chairman of the State Council, and other
+  high officials were present.
+
+  The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by
+  Li-Yuan-hung in the main hall and made three bows to the new
+  president, which were returned by the latter. The same ceremony
+  will take place at two o'clock, when all the high military
+  officials will assemble at the President's residence.
+
+  The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the
+  provinces that Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance with
+  the constitution, has become president of the Chinese Republic
+  (Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the seventh instance.
+
+So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself an emperor over four
+hundred millions of people, a plot which could only have been carried
+out in China. He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the
+humiliation of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children and his
+country in political chaos.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+Three days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at Pagoda Anchorage at the
+mouth of the Min River, twelve miles from Foochow.
+
+We boarded a launch which threaded its way through a fleet of
+picturesque fishing vessels, each one of which had a round black and
+white eye painted on its crescent-shaped bow. When asked the reason for
+this decoration a Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly
+for a moment and then said: "No have eye. No can see." How simple and
+how entirely satisfactory!
+
+The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of coolies swarmed like
+flies over it, fighting madly for our luggage. One seized a trunk,
+the other end of which had been appropriated by another man and, in
+the argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen the other by his
+screams. The habit of yelling to enforce command is inherent with the
+Chinese and appears to be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary
+tone of voice, pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems a
+psychological impossibility.
+
+There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival at Foochow, and
+we were two days earlier than we had been expected, so that Mr. C. R.
+Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to stay,
+was not on the jetty to meet us. We were at a loss to know where to
+turn amidst the chaos and confusion until a customs officer took us in
+charge and, judiciously selecting a competent looking woman from among
+the screaming multitude, told her to get two sedan chairs and coolies
+to carry our luggage. She disappeared and ten minutes later the chairs
+arrived. Dashing about among the crowd in front of us, she chose the
+baggage for such men as met with her approval and after the usual
+amount of argument the loads were taken.
+
+We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently all Foochow
+following us. As far as we could see down the narrow street were the
+heads and shoulders of our porters. We felt as if we were heading an
+invading army as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred
+pounds of luggage, we descended upon the homes of people whom we did
+not know and who were not expecting us. But our sudden arrival did
+not disturb the Kelloggs and our welcome was typical of the warm
+hospitality one always finds in the Far East.
+
+No matter how long one has lived in China one remains in a condition
+of mental suspense unable to decide which is the filthiest city of the
+Republic. The residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to the
+senses no town can compare with theirs, and although Amoy and several
+other places dispute this questionable title, we were inclined to
+grant it unreservedly to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its
+narrow, ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze. They
+are usually roofed over so that by no accident can a ray of purifying
+sun penetrate their dark comers. With no ventilation whatsoever the
+oppressive air reeks with the odors that rise from the streets and the
+steaming houses.
+
+In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow alleys are
+literally choked with every form of industrial obstruction. Countless
+workmen plant themselves in the tiny passageways with the pigs,
+children, and dogs, and women bring their quilts to spread upon the
+stones. There is a common saying that the Chinese do little which is
+not at some time done on the street.
+
+The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,
+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of the city on a hilltop.
+Their houses are built with very high ceilings and bare interiors, and
+as the occupants seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and
+have "punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible during the
+intense heat of summer.
+
+A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry Caldwell, with whom
+we were to hunt, asking us to come to his station two hundred miles up
+the river, and we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit while
+Mr. Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking cook.
+
+One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but when he learned that
+we were going "up country," he shook his head with an assumption of
+great filial devotion and said that he did not think his mother would
+let him go. Another was afraid the sun might be too hot. Finally on the
+eve of our departure we engaged a stuttering Chinese who assured us
+that he was a remarkable cook and exceptionally honest
+
+If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you have something to live
+for, and although we discovered that our cook was a shameless rascal
+he was worth all he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted
+to utter a word we became almost hysterical. He sounded exactly like
+a worn-out phonograph record buzzing on a single note, and when he
+finally did manage to articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was
+screamingly funny.
+
+One day he came to the _sampan_ proudly displaying a piece of beef and,
+after a series of vocal gymnastics, eventually succeeded in shouting:
+"Missie, this meat no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which
+meant that this particular piece of beef was not from an animal which
+had died from disease.
+
+The first stage of our trip began before daylight. We rode in four-man
+sedan chairs, followed by a long procession of heavily laden coolies
+with our cameras, duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through
+green rice fields between terraced mountains, and we jogged along first
+on the crest of a hill, then in the valley, passing dilapidated temples
+with the paint flaking off and picturesque little huts half hidden in
+the reeds of the winding river. It was a relief to get into the country
+again after passing down the narrow village streets and to breathe
+fresh air perfumed with honeysuckle.
+
+A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the beginning of the
+rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in the morning and is literally
+crowded to overflowing with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over
+every available inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries
+strongly advised us against taking it. The passengers not infrequently
+are pushed off into the water. One of the missionaries witnessed an
+incident which illustrates in a typical way the total lack of sympathy
+of the average Chinese.
+
+A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard, and
+although a friend was able to grasp his hand and hold him above the
+surface, no one offered to help him; the launch continued at full
+speed, and finally weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank.
+This is by no means an isolated case. Some years ago a foreign steamer
+was burned on the Yangtze River, and the crowds of watching Chinese did
+little or nothing to rescue the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast
+as they made their way to shore many of them were robbed even of their
+clothing and some were murdered outright.
+
+Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious of the entire
+Expedition, for we were fortunate in obtaining the Standard Oil
+Company's launch through the kindness of Mr. Livingstone, their agent.
+It was large and roomy, and the trip, which would have been worse than
+disagreeable on the public boat, was most delightful. The Min is one of
+the most beautiful rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains
+rising a thousand feet or more straight up from the water and often
+terraced to the summits.
+
+Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little gentleman with a
+pigtail wrapped around his head, who said he was a pilot, but as he
+inquired the channel of everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen
+times or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain, we felt that
+his claim was not entirely justified.
+
+The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture. One moment
+we would pass a _sampan_ so loaded with branches that it seemed like
+a small island floating down the stream. Next a huge junk with
+bamboo-ribbed sails projecting at impossible angles drifted by,
+followed by innumerable smaller crafts, the monotonous chant of the
+boatmen coming faintly over the water to us as they passed.
+
+When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The _sampans_ in which we
+were to spend eight days were drawn up on the beach with twenty or
+thirty others. Right above us was the straggling town looking very much
+like the rear view of tenement houses at home. Darkness blotted out the
+filth of our surroundings but could do nothing to lessen the odors that
+poured down from the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.
+
+Our beds were spread in the _sampans_ which we shared in common with
+the four river men who formed the crew. There was only a mosquito net
+to screen the end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange
+that this was but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots we could look
+up at the stars framed in the half oval of the _sampan's_ roof and
+listen to the sounds of the water life grow fainter and fainter as one
+by one the river men beached their boats for the night. It seemed only
+a few minutes later when we were roused by a rush of water, but it
+was daylight, and the boats had reached the first of the rapids which
+separated us from Yen-ping, one hundred and twenty miles away.
+
+In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan where Mr. Caldwell
+stood on the shore waving his hat to us amidst scores of dirty little
+children and the explosion of countless firecrackers. Wherever we
+went crackers preceded and followed us--for when a Chinese wishes to
+register extreme emotion, either of joy or sorrow, its expression
+always takes the form of firecrackers.
+
+There had been a good deal of persecution of the native Christians in
+the district, and only recently a band of soldiers had strung up the
+native pastor by the thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host
+that night and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man but quite
+deaf as a result of his cruel treatment. He never recovered and died a
+few weeks later. Mr. Caldwell had come to investigate the affair, for
+the missionaries are invested by the people themselves with a good deal
+of authority.
+
+We spent that night in the parish house just behind the little church,
+a bare schoolroom being turned over to us for our use, and it seemed
+very luxurious after we had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath
+tub; but the house was in the center of the town and the high walls
+shut out every breath of pure air. The barred windows opened on a
+street hardly six feet wide, and while we were preparing for bed there
+was a buzz of subdued whispers outside. We switched on a powerful
+electric flashlight and there stood at least forty men, women and
+children gazing at us with rapt attention, but they melted away before
+the blinding glare like snow in a June sun.
+
+That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was intense, the mosquitoes
+worse, and every dog and cat in the village seemed to choose our court
+yard as a dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax was
+reached at four o'clock in the morning, when directly under our windows
+there came a series of ear-splitting squeals followed by a horrible
+gurgle. The neighbors had chosen that particular spot and how to kill
+the family pig, and the entire process which followed of sousing it
+in hot water and scraping off the hair was accompanied by unceasing
+chatter. Boiling with rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not
+to spend another night in the place but to sleep in the _sampans_.
+
+On the whole our river men were nice fellows but they had the love of
+companionship characteristic of all Chinese and the inherent desire to
+huddle together as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way
+up the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on stopping at some
+foul-smelling village, and it was difficult to induce them to spend the
+night away from a town. Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would
+invariably ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where the sun
+beat down like a blast furnace.
+
+The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun and go bareheaded at
+all seasons of the year, shading their eyes with one hand or a partly
+opened fan. A fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to see
+coolies almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy load and with the
+perspiration streaming from their naked bodies, energetically fanning
+themselves meanwhile.
+
+Mr. Caldwell was _en route_ to Yuchi, one of his mission stations
+far up a branch of the Min River, and as there was a vague report of
+tiger in that vicinity we joined him instead of proceeding directly to
+Yen-ping. The tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but our trip
+was made interesting by meeting Miss Mabel Hartford, the only foreign
+resident of the place. She has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one
+time did not see a white person for eight months with the exception of
+Mr. Caldwell who was in the vicinity for three days. It requires four
+weeks to obtain supplies from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails
+are very irregular, but she enjoys the isolation and is passionately
+fond of her work.
+
+She has had an interesting life and one not devoid of danger. In 1895
+she was wounded and barely escaped death in the Hwa Shan (Flower
+Mountain) massacre in which ten women and one man were brutally
+murdered by a mob of fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians." The
+Chinese Government was required to pay a considerable indemnity to Miss
+Hartford, which she accepted only under protest and characteristically
+devoted to missionary work in Kucheng where the massacre occurred.
+
+Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled and for some
+months there had been a veritable "reign of terror." A large band of
+brigands was established in the hills not far from the city, and we
+were warned by the mandarin not to attempt to go farther up the river.
+A few months earlier several companies of soldiers had been sent from
+Foochow, and the result of turning loose these ruffians upon the town
+was to make "the remedy worse than the disease."
+
+The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants, accusing
+them of being brigands or aiding the bandits, and shooting them without
+a hearing. At one time accurate information concerning the camp of the
+robbers was received and the soldiers set bravely off, but when within
+a short distance of the brigands the commanders began to quarrel among
+themselves, guns were fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must
+always "save his face," however, and when they returned to Yuchi they
+arrested dozens of people on mere suspicion and executed them without
+the vestige of a trial. Finally conditions became so intolerable that
+no one was safe, and after repeated complaints by the missionaries, a
+new mandarin of a somewhat better type was sent to Yuchi.
+
+As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up the river because
+of the bandits, we left for Yen-ping two days after arriving at Yuchi.
+Yen-ping is a wonderfully picturesque old city, situated on a hill at
+a fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and
+loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little use against
+artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less
+than field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover.
+
+The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the
+very summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the
+four dwelling houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls.
+Mr. Caldwell's residence commands a wonderful view down the river and
+in the late afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and
+lavender and purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.
+
+But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable
+weather. In summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so
+nearly saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry
+anything except over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost as
+bad in the opposite extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but
+the early fall is said to be delightful.
+
+The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces in China, has
+been denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have
+all been planted. This deforestation consequently has driven out the
+game, and except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and
+gorals, none of the large species is left. However, the dense growth
+of sword grass and the thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke
+the ravines give cover to muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of
+small cats, civets, and other Viverines. These animals come to the rice
+paddys, which fill every valley, to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is
+difficult to catch them because of the Chinese who are continually at
+work in the fields.
+
+We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although we caught a
+good many animals they were almost always stolen together with the
+traps. We had this same difficulty in Yün-nan as well as in Fukien.
+None of us had ever seen natives in any part of the world who were
+such unmitigated thieves as the Chinese of these two provinces. The
+small mammals are hardly more abundant than the larger ones for the
+natives wage an unceasing war on those about the rice paddys and have
+exterminated nearly all but a few widely distributed forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+
+A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went with Mr. Caldwell and
+his son Oliver to a Taoist temple seven miles away in a lonely ravine
+known as Chi-yuen-kang. The walk to the temple in the early morning
+was delightful. The "bamboo chickens" and francolins were calling all
+about us and on the way we shot enough for our first day's dinner. Both
+these birds are abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means easy
+to kill them for they live in such thick cover that they can only be
+flushed with difficulty.
+
+Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins crowing in the
+trees or on the top of a hill and when a cock had taken possession of
+such a spot the intrusion of another was almost sure to cause trouble
+which only ended when one of them had been driven off.
+
+For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow cut between
+perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed to their very summits with
+bamboo and a tangle of thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a
+mountain torrent foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle, slow
+moving stream when it leaves the cool darkness of the cañon to spread
+itself over the terraced rice fields.
+
+About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle into the
+hillside. One stands just over the water, but the other clings to the
+rock wall three hundred feet above the river, and it was there that we
+made our camp.
+
+The old priest in charge did not appear especially delighted to see us
+until I slipped a Mexican dollar into his hand--then it was laughable
+to see his change of face. The far end of the balcony was given up to
+us while Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at the feet of a
+grinning idol in the main temple.
+
+We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (_see_ Chapter XVII) and
+had brought with us only a few traps for small mammals. Harry had seen
+several serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along the
+river, and all were reported to have been killed near this ravine.
+There was a village of considerable size at the upper end and here we
+collected a motley lot of beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the
+top of a mountain which towered about two thousand five hundred feet
+above the river.
+
+Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start at daylight but it
+was well toward six o'clock before we got our men together. A Chinaman
+would drive an impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it is
+well-nigh impossible to get him started within an hour of the appointed
+time, and with a half dozen the difficulty is multiplied as many times.
+Just when you think all is ready and that there can be no possible
+reason for delaying longer, the whole crowd will disappear suddenly and
+you discover that they have gone for "chow." Then you know that the end
+is really in sight, for chow usually is the last thing.
+
+We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning before we started
+on the long climb to the top of the mountain. The sun was simply
+blazing, and in fifteen minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When
+we were half way up the dogs disappeared in a small ravine overgrown
+with bamboo and sword grass and suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps.
+They had found a fresh trail and were driving our way.
+
+Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting to us to watch
+another higher up. We were hardly in position when his rifle banged,
+followed by such a bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he
+must have killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before we
+reached them Harry appeared, smiling all over, and dragging a muntjac
+(_Muntiacus_) by the fore legs. He had just made a beautiful shot,
+for the clearing he had been watching was not more than ten feet wide
+and the muntjac flashed across it at full speed. Caldwell fired while
+it was in mid-air and his bullet caught the animal at the base of the
+neck, rolling it over stone dead.
+
+This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger than a fox.
+Its antlers are only two or three inches in length and rise from an
+elongated skin-covered pedicel instead of from the base of the skull as
+in all other members of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw
+is a slender tusk, about two inches long, which projects well beyond
+the lips and makes a rather formidable weapon.
+
+We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a "good joss," but
+instead a disappointing day was in store for us. When we had worked our
+way to the very summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over
+a trail which led through a smothering bamboo jungle, we saw dozens of
+fresh serow tracks. The animals were there without a doubt and we were
+on the _qui vive_ with excitement.
+
+[Illustration: A Chinese Hunter and a Muntjac]
+
+[Illustration: Brigands Killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion]
+
+We selected positions and the men made a long circuit to drive toward
+us as Caldwell had directed. After half an hour had passed we heard
+them yelling as they closed in, but what was our disgust to see them
+solemnly parading in single file up the bottom of the valley on an open
+trail and carefully avoiding all thickets where a serow could possibly
+be. As Harry expressed it, "all the animals had to do was to sit tight
+and watch the noble procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew
+nothing whatever about driving nor were we able to teach them, for they
+seriously objected to leaving the open trails and going into the bush.
+
+We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless and it was
+impossible to "still hunt" the animals at that time of the year. The
+natives say that in September when the mushrooms are abundant in the
+lower forests the serow leave the mountain tops and thick cover to
+feed upon the fungus, and that they may be killed without the aid of
+beaters, but at any time the hunt would involve a vast amount of labor
+with only a moderate chance of success. After we had left Fukien,
+Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and female serow for us which
+are especially interesting as they represent a different subspecies
+(_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochætes_) from those we killed in
+Yün-nan.
+
+Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we discovered a
+wonderful bat cave less than a mile from our temple. Its entrance was
+a low round hole half covered with vegetation, and opening into a high
+circular gallery; from this three long corridors branched off like
+fingers from the palm of a giant's hand. The cave was literally alive
+with bats. There must have been ten thousand and on the first day we
+killed a hundred, representing seven species and at least four genera.
+This was especially remarkable as it is unusual to find more than two
+or three species living together.
+
+The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each corridor was
+divided by rock partitions into several small rooms in every one of
+which bats of different species were rearing their families. The young
+in most instances were only a few days old but were thickly clustered
+on the walls and ceilings, and each and every one was squeaking at the
+top of its tiny lungs. The place must have been occupied for scores, if
+not hundreds, of years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.
+
+When we returned the day after our first visit we found that many of
+the young bats had been removed by their parents and in some instances
+entire rooms had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the cave
+was so nauseating that to enable us to go inside it was necessary to
+wear gauze pads of iodoform over our noses.
+
+The bats at this place were killed with bamboo switches but later we
+always used a long gill net which had been especially made in New York.
+We could hang the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was
+ready, send a native into the galleries to stir up the animals. As they
+flew out they became entangled in the net and could be caught or killed
+before they were able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch
+every specimen in a cavern, and moreover, to secure them in perfect
+condition without broken skulls or wings.
+
+If a bat escaped from the net it would never again strike it, for
+the animals are wonderfully accurate in flight and most expert
+dodgers. Even while in a cave, where hundreds of bats were in the
+air, they seldom flew against us, although we might often be brushed
+by their wings; and it was a most difficult thing to hit them with a
+bamboo switch. Their ability in dodging is without doubt a necessary
+development of their feeding habits for, with the exception of a few
+species, bats live exclusively upon insects and catch them in the air.
+
+It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit in a bat cave
+especially if the light has gone out and she is in utter darkness. Of
+course she has a cap tightly pulled over her ears, for what girl, even
+if she be a naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats
+with one wisp of hair exposed!
+
+All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush her face or neck
+and the air is full of chattering noises like the grinding of hundreds
+of tiny teeth. Sometimes a soft little body plumps into her lap and
+if she dares to take her hands from her face long enough to disengage
+the clinging animal she is liable to receive a vicious bite from
+teeth as sharp as needles. But, withal, it is good fun, and think how
+quickly formalin jars or collecting trays can be filled with beautiful
+specimens!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+
+On Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to obtain a new supply
+of specimens. Upon our return, just as we were about to sit down to
+luncheon, four excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from
+Mr. Caldwell:
+
+  Dear Roy:
+
+  There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this
+  morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as though
+  there was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been sent for and
+  the chances are that either tonight or tomorrow morning there will
+  be quite a battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble and myself have just made
+  a round of the city, visiting the telegraph office, post office and
+  other places, and while we do not believe that the foreigners will
+  be molested, nevertheless it is impossible to tell just what to
+  expect. It is certain, however, that the Consul will order all of
+  us to Foochow if news of the situation reaches there. Owing to the
+  uncertainty, I think you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be
+  ready for any eventuality.
+
+  After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr.
+  Bankhardt, we all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to come
+  in immediately. I am sending four burden-bearers for it will be out
+  of the question to find any tomorrow, if trouble occurs tonight.
+  The city gates are closed so you will have to climb up the ladder
+  over the wall behind our compound. Best wishes.
+
+                                                                 Harry.
+
+  P. S.--Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers are to
+  arrive tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only chance is
+  to get to Yen-ping today.
+
+                                                                  H. C.
+
+
+The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for Da-Ming, the cook,
+and the burden-bearers were jabbering excitedly at the top of their
+voices. The servants began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile we
+ate a roast chicken faster than good table manners would permit--in
+fact, we took it in our fingers. We were both delighted at the prospect
+of some excitement and talked almost as fast as the Chinese.
+
+In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had been received, we
+were on the way to Yen-ping. It was the hottest part of the day, and
+we were dripping with perspiration when we left the cool darkness of
+the ravine and struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering in a
+furnace-like heat. At the first rest house an the top of the long hill
+we waited nearly an hour for our bearers who were struggling under the
+heavy loads.
+
+Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past us on her peglike
+feet leaning on the arm of a man. A short distance more and we came to
+the second rest house. We had been there but a few moments when three
+panting women, steadying themselves with long staves and barely able
+to walk on feet not more than four inches long, came up the hill. With
+them were several men bearing household goods in large bundles and huge
+red boxes.
+
+The exhausted women sank upon the benches and fanned themselves while
+the perspiration ran down their flushed faces. They looked so utterly
+miserable that we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which Mrs.
+Caldwell had sent us the day before. Their gratitude was pitiful, but,
+of course, they gave the larger share to the men.
+
+It was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill
+path, all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on
+tightly bound feet. Probably these women had not walked so far in their
+entire lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and what would
+happen in the city if they took possession had driven them from their
+homes.
+
+Farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line
+of people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside.
+Half a mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees
+and their goods. Hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every
+little house beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and
+pigpens.
+
+At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city
+and half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall
+of the compound, just behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through
+and while cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. It
+seemed that a certain element in the city was in coöperation with the
+representatives of the revolutionary organization. These men wished
+to obtain possession of Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well
+started, to gather forces, march to Foochow, and force the Governor to
+declare the independence of the province.
+
+The plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of Yuan
+Shi-kai had somewhat delayed its fruition. Saturday, however, it was
+known throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday
+morning at half past three, a band of one hundred men from Yuchi
+had marched to Yen-ping where they were received by a delegation
+of rebels dressed in white who opened to them the east gate of the
+city. Immediately they began to fire up the streets to intimidate the
+people and in a short time were in a hot engagement with the seventeen
+Northern soldiers, some of whom threw away their guns and swam across
+the river. The remaining city troops were from the province of Hunan
+and their sympathies were really with the South in the great rebellion.
+These immediately joined the rebels, where they were received with open
+arms. It was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district mandarin) had asked
+for troops from Foochow and that these might be expected at any moment;
+thus when they arrived a real battle could be expected and it was very
+likely that the city would be partly destroyed.
+
+We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and discussed the
+situation. It was the opinion of all that the foreigners were in
+no immediate danger, but nevertheless it was considered wise to be
+prepared, and we decided upon posts for each man if it should become
+necessary to protect the compound.
+
+Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries with requests to be
+allowed to bring their goods and families inside the walls, but these
+necessarily had to be refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese
+to bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the right of
+Consular protection and, moreover, their compound would have been the
+first to be attacked if looting began.
+
+On Monday morning while we were sitting on the porch of Mr. Caldwell's
+house preparing some bird skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle
+fire and then a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and
+we could see puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a black powder gun
+punctuated the vicious snapping of the high-power rifles. The firing
+gradually ceased after half an hour and we decided to go down to the
+city to see what had happened, for, as no Northern troops had appeared,
+the cause of the fighting was a mystery.
+
+We went first to the mission hospital which lay across a deep ravine
+and only a few yards from the quarters of the soldiers. At the door of
+the hospital compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble in the
+operating room examining a wounded man who had just been brought in.
+The fellow had been shot in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball
+that had gone entirely through him, emerging about three inches to the
+right of his spine.
+
+From the doctor we got the first real news of the puzzling situation.
+It appeared that all the men who had arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi
+to join the Yen-ping rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their
+own lives, the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had played a clever
+trick. They had pretended to join the rebels but at a given signal
+had turned upon them, killing or capturing almost every one. Although
+their sympathies were really with the South, the Hunan men knew that
+the rebels in Yen-ping could not hold the city against the Northern
+soldiers from Foochow and, by crushing the rebellion themselves, they
+hoped to avert a bigger fight.
+
+As we could not help the doctor he suggested that we might be of
+some assistance to the wounded in the city, and with rude crosses
+of red cloth pinned to our white shirt sleeves we left the hospital,
+accompanied by four Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In the
+compound we met a chair in which was lying an old man groaning loudly
+and dripping with blood. Beside him were his wife and several boys. The
+poor woman was crying quietly and, between her sobs, was offering the
+wounded man mustard pickles from a small dish in her hand! Poor things,
+they have so little to eat that they believe food will cure all ills!
+
+The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and lifted the filthy rag
+which covered a gaping wound in the man's shoulder, over which had been
+plastered a great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection, but it
+was the only remedy they knew!
+
+We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was preparing to operate on
+the fellow who had been shot in the abdomen. The doctor was working
+steadily and quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native
+hospital staff with his own coolness; the way this young missionary
+handled his cases made us glad that he was an American.
+
+On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us, each carrying four
+or five rifles and slung about with cartridge belts--plunder stripped
+from the men who had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we
+found two brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The nearest one had
+fallen on his face and, as we turned him over, we saw that half his
+head had been blown away; the other was staring upward with wide open
+eyes on which the flies already were settling in swarms.
+
+There was little use in wasting time over these men who long ago had
+passed beyond need of our help, and we went on rapidly down the alley
+to the main thoroughfare. Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the
+rough stones for fifteen minutes, and suddenly came to a man lying
+at the side of the street, his head propped on a wooden block. An
+umbrella once had partly covered him but had fallen away, leaving him
+unprotected in the broiling sun. His face and a terrible wound in his
+head were a solid mass of flies, and thousands of insects were crawling
+over the blood clots on the stones beside him. At first we thought
+he was dead but soon saw his abdomen move and realized that he was
+breathing. It did not seem possible that a human being could live under
+such conditions; and yet the bystanders told us that he had been lying
+there for thirty hours--he had been shot early the previous morning and
+it was now three o'clock of the next afternoon.
+
+The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his wife in the most
+utter poverty. He had been peering over the city wall when the firing
+began Sunday morning and was one of the first innocent bystanders to
+pay the penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not been taken to
+the hospital, and the answer was that his wife was too poor to hire
+anyone to carry him and he had no friends. So there he lay in the
+burning sun, gazed at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand being
+lifted to help him.
+
+Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed him in the
+stretcher and started up the long hill, followed by the haggard,
+weeping wife and a curious crowd. On every hand were questions: "Why
+are these men taking him away?" "What are they going to do with him?"
+But several educated natives who understood said, "=Ing-ai-gidaiie="
+(A work of love). They got right there a lesson in Christianity which
+they will not soon forget. It is seldom that Chinese try to help an
+injured man, for ever present in their minds is the possibility that he
+may die and that they will be responsible for his burial expenses.
+
+We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main street with
+orders to return as soon as they had deposited the man in the hospital
+and, under the guidance of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where
+it was said seven or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us first
+to a brigand who had been wounded and left to die beside the gutter.
+The corpse was a horrible sight and with a feeling of deathly nausea
+we made a hurried examination and walked to the gate at the end of the
+street.
+
+A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from the officer that there
+were no wounded in the pile of dead just beyond the entrance, so we
+turned toward the river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading
+to the _tao-tai's yamen_ (official residence) where the firing had been
+heaviest. The _yamen_ was crowded with soldiers, and we were informed
+that the dead had all been removed and that there were no wounded--a
+grim statement which told its own story.
+
+The _yamen_ is but a short distance from the hospital so we climbed
+the hill to the compound. The sun was simply blazing and I realized
+then what the wounded men must have suffered lying in the heat without
+shelter. We returned to the house and were resting on the upper porch
+when suddenly, far down the river, we saw the glint of rifle barrels in
+the sunlight, and with field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad
+men winding along the shore trail. At the same time two huge boats
+filled with soldiers came into view heading for the water gate of the
+city. These were undoubtedly the Northern troops from Foochow who were
+expected Monday night.
+
+Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of musketry and a cloud of
+smoke drifted up from the barracks right below us--then a rattling
+fusillade of shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls
+firing at men below and often in our direction. Bullets hummed in the
+air like angry bees and we rushed for cover, but in a few moments the
+firing ceased as suddenly as it began.
+
+We were at a loss to know what it all meant and why the troops were
+firing upon the Northern soldiers whom they wished to placate. It was
+still a mystery when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but
+a few minutes later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that he had just
+received a note from the _tao-tai_. The mandarin's personal servant
+had brought word that the Northern soldiers, who had just entered
+the city, were going to kill him and he begged the missionaries for
+assistance. Bankhardt also told us of the latest developments in the
+situation. It seems that the city soldiers supposed the Northern troops
+to be brigands and had fired upon them and killed several before they
+discovered their mistake. A very delicate situation had thus been
+precipitated, for the Northern commander believed that it was treachery
+and intended to attack the barracks in the morning and kill every man
+whom he found with a rifle, as well as all the city officials.
+
+The story of the way in which the missionaries acted as peacemakers,
+saved the _tao-tai_, and prevented the slaughter which surely would
+have taken place in the morning, is too long to be told here, for it
+was accomplished only after hours of the talk and "face saving" so
+dear to the heart of the Oriental. Suffice it to say that through the
+exercise of great tact and a thorough understanding of the Chinese
+character they were able to settle the matter without bloodshed.
+
+The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called trial, marched
+off to the west gate, beheaded amid great enthusiasm, and the incident
+was closed. In the afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each
+of us an official letter from the commander of the Northern troops
+thanking us for the part we had played in averting trouble and bringing
+the matter to a peaceful end.
+
+An interesting sidelight on the affair was received a few days later.
+A young man, a Christian, who was born in the same town from which a
+number of the brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night
+after the fight and found seven of the robbers concealed in his
+bedroom. He was terrified because if they were discovered he and all
+his family would be killed for aiding the bandits. He told them they
+must leave at once, but they pleaded with him to let them stay for
+they knew there were soldiers at every corner and that it would be
+impossible to get away.
+
+While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded at the door. He
+pushed the brigands into the courtyard, and opened to three soldiers.
+They said: "We understand you have brigands in your house." He was
+trembling with fear, but answered, "Come in and see for yourself, if
+you think so."
+
+The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner and, as they knew
+him to be a good man, did not search the house, but went away. The poor
+fellow was frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being
+watched it was impossible for the brigands to leave during the day.
+
+At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads, and dressed like
+coolies, and were able to get to the ladder down the city wall just
+below the mission compound where they could escape into the hills.
+
+The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in the afternoon, a
+breathless Chinese appeared at the house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt
+saying that his Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been
+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded in an hour.
+We hurried to the police office where they were confined and found that
+not only the two men but three others were in custody.
+
+The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the management of one
+of his relatives and, while Bankhardt's teacher and the other man were
+sitting at a table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom owed
+the restaurant keeper a small amount of money. When asked to pay, the
+soldier turned upon him and shouted: "You have been assisting the
+brigands. I saw some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon
+the soldiers arrested everyone in the shop.
+
+The police officials were quite ready to release the teacher and the
+other man upon our statements, but they would not allow the cook to go.
+His hands were kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by the
+neck. The soldier who arrested him was his sole accuser, but of course,
+others would appear to uphold him in his charge if it were necessary.
+
+The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries, but it
+required several hours of work and threats of complaint to the
+government at Foochow to prevent the man from being summarily executed.
+
+We were not able to get any mail from Foochow during the rebellion
+because the constant stream of Northern soldiers on their way up the
+river had paralyzed the entire country to such an extent that all the
+river men had fled.
+
+The soldiers were firing for target practice upon every boat they saw
+on the river and dozens of men had been killed and then robbed. The
+Northern commander told us frankly that this could not be prevented,
+and when we announced that we were going to start with all the
+missionaries down the river on the following day, he was very much
+disturbed. He insisted that we have American flags displayed on our
+boats to prevent being fired upon by the soldiers.
+
+Although it had taken eight days to work our way laboriously through
+the rapids and up the river from Foochow to Yen-ping, we covered the
+same distance down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast
+with Mr. Kellogg at his house the morning after we left Yen-ping. In
+two days our equipment was repacked and ready for the trip to Futsing
+to hunt the blue tiger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"
+
+
+For many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping he had been
+stationed at the city of Futsing, about thirty miles from Foochow. Much
+of his work consisted of itinerant trips during which he visited the
+various mission stations under his charge. He almost invariably went
+on foot from place to place and carried with him a butterfly net and
+a rifle, so that to so keen a naturalist each day's walk was full of
+interest.
+
+The country was infested with man-eating tigers, and very often the
+villagers implored him to rid their neighborhood of some one of
+the yellow raiders which had been killing their children, pigs, or
+cattle. During ten years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing
+region. He often said that his gun had been just as effective in
+carrying Christianity to the natives as had his evangelistic work.
+Although Mr. Caldwell has been especially fortunate and has killed his
+tigers without ever really hunting them, nevertheless it is a most
+uncertain sport as we were destined to learn. The tiger is the "Great
+Invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere, here today and gone tomorrow.
+A sportsman in China may get his shot the first day out or he may hunt
+for weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they are all about
+him; and it is this very uncertainty that makes the game all the more
+fascinating.
+
+The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes mountains of
+considerable height, many of which are planted with rice and support
+a surprising number of Chinese who are grouped in closely connected
+villages. While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger and
+the mountain slopes themselves are usually more or less denuded of
+forest, yet the deep and narrow ravines, choked with sword grass and
+thorny bramble, offer an impenetrable retreat in which an animal can
+sleep during the day without fear of being disturbed. It is possible
+for a man to make his way through these lairs only by means of the
+paths and tunnels which have been opened by the tigers themselves.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead a goat with one or
+two kids to an open place where they could be fastened just outside
+the edge of the lair, and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The
+bleating of the goats would usually bring the tiger into the open where
+there would be an opportunity for a shot in the late afternoon.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was with a shotgun
+at the village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers had not arrived with
+the basket containing his rifle, and as it was already late in the
+afternoon, he suggested to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant
+companion, that they make a preliminary inspection of the lair even
+though they carried only shotguns loaded with lead slugs about the size
+of buckshot.
+
+They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the lair and the tiger
+responded to its bleating almost immediately. Caldwell did not see the
+animal until it came into the open about fifty yards away and remained
+in plain view for almost half an hour. The tiger seemed to suspect
+danger and crouched on the terrace, now and then putting his right
+foot forward a short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He had
+approached along a small trail, but before he could reach the goat it
+was necessary to cross an open space a few yards in width, and to do
+this the animal flattened himself like a huge striped serpent. His head
+was extended so that the throat and chin were touching the ground, and
+there was absolutely no motion of the body other than the hips and
+shoulders as the beast slid along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at
+the instant the cat gained the nearest cover it made three flying leaps
+and landed at the foot of the terrace upon which the goat was tied.
+
+"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and slowly pushed his great
+black-barred face over the edge of the grass not fifteen feet away.
+
+"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped into the air with
+the blood spurting over the grass, and fell into a heap, but gathered
+himself and slid down over the terraces. As he went I fired a second
+load of slugs into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the hill
+parallel with us, and stood looking back at me, his face streaming with
+blood.
+
+"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other shells, but before I
+could reload the gun he walked unsteadily into the lair and lay down.
+It was already too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail
+showed where he had gone upward into the grass. Later, in the same
+afternoon, he was found dead by some Chinese more than three miles
+away."
+
+During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers Mr. Caldwell has
+learned much about their habits and peculiarities, and some of his
+observations are given in the following pages.
+
+"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted by his greatest
+enemy--man. Bold and daring as he may be when circumstances are in his
+favor, he will hurriedly abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a
+shepherd boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will always
+weigh conditions before making an attack. If things do not exactly suit
+him nothing will tempt him to charge into the open upon what may appear
+to be an isolated and defenseless goat.
+
+"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate this point. I led
+a goat into a ravine where a tiger which had been working havoc among
+the herds of the farmers was said to live. This animal only a few
+days previous to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three
+of them, but on this occasion the beast must have suspected danger
+and was exceedingly cautious. He advanced under cover along a trail
+until within one hundred feet of the goat and there stopped to make a
+survey of the surroundings. Peering into the valley, he saw two men
+at a distance of five hundred yards or more cutting grass and, after
+watching intently for a time, the great cat turned and bounded away
+into the bushes.
+
+"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity to attack a cow
+which a farmer was using in plowing his field. The man had unhitched
+his cow and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day meal,
+when the tiger suddenly rushed from cover and killed the animal only a
+few yards behind the peasant. This shows how daring a tiger may be when
+he is able to strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem to
+favor an attack. I have known tigers to rush at a dog or hog standing
+inside a Chinese house where there was the usual confusion of such a
+dwelling, and in almost every instance the victim was killed, although
+it was not always carried away.
+
+"There is probably no creature in the wilds which shows such a
+combination of daring strategy and slinking cowardice as the tiger.
+Often courage fails him after he has secured his victim, and he
+releases it to dash off into the nearest wood.
+
+"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a mountain-side when a
+large tiger was routed from his bed. The beast made a rushing attack on
+the man standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing him by
+the leg dragged him into the ravine below. Luckily the man succeeded in
+grasping a small tree whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving
+his victim lying upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and fear.
+
+"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills near Futsing when a
+tiger which had been sleeping in the high grass was disturbed. The
+enraged beast tinned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly
+and striking another a ripping blow with his paw which sent him
+lifeless to the terrace below. The beast did not attempt to drag either
+of its victims into the bush or to attack the other persons near by.
+
+"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are amazing. I
+had occasion to spend the night a short time ago in a place where
+a tiger had performed some remarkable feats. Just at dusk one of
+these marauders visited the village and discovered a cow and her
+six-months-old calf in a pen which had been excavated in the side of
+a hill and adjoined a house. There was no possible way to enter the
+enclosure except by a door opening from the main part of the dwelling
+or to descend from above. The tiger jumped from the roof upon the neck
+of the heifer, killing it instantly, and the inmates of the house
+opened the door just in time to see the animal throw the calf out
+bodily and leap after it himself. I measured the embankment and found
+that the exact height was twelve and a half feet.
+
+"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked a hog, just back of
+the village and carried it into the hills. The villagers pursued the
+beast and overtook it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed
+weighed more than two hundred pounds, was found, it had no marks or
+bruises upon it other than the deep fang wounds in the neck. This
+is another instance where courage failed a tiger after he had made
+off with his kill to a safe distance. The Chinese declare that when
+carrying such a load a tiger never attempts to drag its prey, but
+throws it across its back and races off at top speed.
+
+"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in years I shot in May,
+1910. Two days previous to my hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a
+sixteen-year-old boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to
+make an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast. Obtaining a mother
+goat with two small kids, I led them into a ravine near where the boy
+had been killed. The goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the
+lair, and the kids were concealed in the tall grass well in toward the
+place where the tiger would probably be. I selected a suitable spot
+and kneeled down behind a bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one
+may be stalked by the very beast which one is hunting adds to the
+excitement and keeps one's nerves on edge. I expected that the tiger
+would approach stealthily as long as he could not see the goat, as the
+usual plan of attack, so far as my observation goes, is to creep up
+under cover as far as possible before rushing into the open. In any
+case the tiger would be within twenty yards of me before it could be
+seen.
+
+"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert and waiting,
+behind the little blind of ferns and grass. There was nothing to break
+the silence other than the incessant bleating of the goats and the
+unpleasant rasping call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope
+of a shot when suddenly the huge head of the man-eater emerged from the
+bush, exactly where I had expected he would appear and within fifteen
+feet of the kids. The back, neck, and head of the beast were in almost
+the same plane as he moved noiselessly forward.
+
+"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the gun in my hand,
+and at the crack of the rifle the huge brute settled forward with
+hardly a quiver not ten feet from the kids upon which he was about to
+spring. A second shot was not necessary but was fired as a matter of
+precaution as the tiger had fallen behind rank grass, and the bullet
+passed through the shoulder blade lodging in the spine. The beast
+measured more than nine feet and weighed almost four hundred pounds.
+
+"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into the ravine, each
+eager not so much to see their slain tormentor as to gather up the
+blood. But little attention was paid to the tiger until every available
+drop was sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men
+and children even pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I learned that
+the blood of a tiger is used for two purposes. A bit of blood-stained
+cloth is tied about the neck of a child as a preventive against either
+measles or smallpox, and tiger flesh is eaten for the same purpose. It
+is also said that if a handkerchief stained with tiger blood is waved
+in front of an attacking dog the animal will slink away cowed and
+terrified.
+
+"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the most valuable part
+of a tiger. Almost always before a hunt is made, or a trap is built,
+the villagers hum incense before the temple god, and an agreement is
+made to the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin of
+the beast taken becomes the property of the gods. Thus it happens that
+in many of the temples handsome tiger-skin robes may be found spread
+in the chair occupied by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the
+land. When a hunt is successful, the flesh and bones are considered
+of greatest value, and it often happens that a number of cows are
+killed and their flesh mixed with that of the tiger to be sold at the
+exorbitant price cheerfully paid for tiger meat. The bones are boiled
+for a number of days until a gelatine-like product results, and this is
+believed to be exceptionally efficacious medicine.
+
+"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger in the tangle of
+its lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded for the risk when one
+begins to sum up one's observations. The most interesting result of
+investigating an oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's food.
+That a tiger always devours its prey upon the spot where it is taken
+or in the adjacent bush is an erroneous idea. This is often true when
+the kill is too heavy to be carried for a long distance, but it is by
+no means universally so. Not long ago the remains of a young boy were
+found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's lair a few miles from Futsing
+city. No child had been reported missing in the immediate neighborhood
+and everything indicated that the boy had been brought alive to
+this spot from a considerable distance. The sides of the grave were
+besmeared with the blood of the unfortunate victim, indicating that the
+tiger had tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as it
+remains alive.
+
+"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or places under
+overhanging trees, which are covered with bones, and are evidently
+spots to which the animal brings its prey to be devoured. On such
+a terrace one will find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig,
+porcupine, pangolin, and other animals both domestic and wild. A fresh
+kill shows that with its rasp-like tongue the tiger licks off all the
+hair of its prey before devouring it and the hair will be found in a
+circle around what remains of the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair
+in order to gather up the quills of the porcupine and the bony scales
+of the pangolin which are esteemed for medicinal purposes.
+
+"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon reptiles and
+frogs which they find among the rice fields. On the night of April 22,
+1914, a party of frog catchers were returning from a hunt when the man
+carrying the load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The
+animal made no attempt to drag the man away and it would appear that it
+was attracted by the croaking of the frogs.
+
+"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some trail or path
+in, or adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the tiger measures its full length
+upon a tree, standing in a convenient place, and with its powerful
+claws rips deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting
+to the sportsman as it not only indicates the presence of a tiger in
+the immediate vicinity but serves to give an accurate idea as to the
+size of the beast. The trails leading into a lair often are marked in
+a different way. In doing this the animal rakes away the grass with a
+forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but claw prints never appear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+
+After one has traveled in a Chinese _sampan_ for several days the
+prospect of a river journey is not very alluring but we had a most
+agreeable surprise when we sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house
+boat to hunt the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the
+luxury of a private yacht, for our boat contained a large central cabin
+with a table and chairs and two staterooms and was manned by a captain
+and crew of six men--all for $1.50 per day!
+
+In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long time before
+we spread our beds on the roof of the boat and went to sleep under
+the stars. We left the boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for
+the six-mile walk to Lung-tao. To my great surprise the coolies were
+considerably distressed at the lightness of our loads. In this region
+they are paid by weight and some of the bearers carry almost incredible
+burdens. As an example, one of our men came into camp swinging a
+125-pound trunk on each end of his pole, laughing and chatting as gayly
+as though he had not been carrying 250 pounds for six miles under a
+broiling sun.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at Lung-tao and we found
+his house to be one of several built on the outskirts of a beautiful
+grove of gum and banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean
+for a Chinese dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance away.
+At first we were somewhat doubtful about sleeping outside, but after
+one night indoors we decided that any risk was preferable to spending
+another hour in the stifling heat of the house.
+
+It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious of the white tents
+that it would not attack us, but nevertheless during the first nights
+we were rather wakeful and more than once at some strange night sound
+seized our rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.
+
+Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred yards from our
+camp site, in 1911, a tiger had rushed into the house of one of the
+peasants and attempted to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its
+play under the family table. All was quiet in the house when suddenly
+the animal dashed through the open door. The Chinese declare that the
+gods protected the infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing
+the leg of the table against which the baby's head was resting, bolted
+through the door dragging the table into the courtyard.
+
+This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which we had come to
+hunt and which had on two occasions been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The
+first time he heard of this strange beast was in the spring of 1910.
+The animal was reported as having been seen at various places within
+an area of a few miles almost simultaneously and so mysterious were
+its movements that the Chinese declared it was a spirit of the devil.
+After several unsuccessful hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at
+close range but as he was armed with only a shotgun it would have been
+useless to shoot.
+
+His second view of the beast was a few weeks later and in the same
+place. I will give the story in his own words:
+
+"I selected a spot upon a hilltop and cleared away the grass and ferns
+with a jack-knife for a place to tie the goat. I concealed myself
+in the bushes ten feet away to await the attack, but the unexpected
+happened and the tiger approached from the rear.
+
+"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily along a little
+trail just across a shallow ravine. I supposed, of course, that he was
+trying to locate the goat which was bleating loudly, but to my horror
+I saw that he was creeping upon two boys who had entered the ravine to
+cut grass. The huge brute moved along lizard-fashion for a few yards
+and then cautiously lifted his head above the grass. He was within easy
+springing distance when I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized
+that if I wounded the animal the boys would certainly meet a horrible
+death.
+
+"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so instead of firing I
+stepped from the bushes, yelling and waving my arms. The huge cat,
+crouched for a spring, drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and
+then slowly slipped away into the grass. The boys were saved but I had
+lost the opportunity I had sought for over a year.
+
+"However, I had again seen the animal about which so many strange tales
+had been told. The markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The
+ground color is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light
+gray-blue on the underparts. The stripes are well defined and like
+those of the ordinary yellow tiger."
+
+Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written me repeatedly urging me
+to stop at Futsing on the way to Yün-nan to try with him for the blue
+tiger which was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical
+as to its being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was a most
+interesting animal and would certainly be well worth getting.
+
+I believed then, and my opinion has since been strengthened, that it
+is a partially melanistic phase of the ordinary yellow tiger. Black
+leopards are common in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a
+single individual of the blue tiger has been reported the evidence
+hardly warrants the assumption that it represents a distinct species.
+
+We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute ranged in the vicinity
+of two or three villages about seven miles apart, but was seen most
+frequently near Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp,
+killing a dog or goat in one village and by the time we had hurried
+across the mountains appearing in another spot a few miles away,
+leaving a trail of terrified natives who flocked to our camp to recount
+his depredations. He was in truth the "Great Invisible" and it seemed
+impossible that we should not get him sooner or later, but we never did.
+
+Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer bad luck, and it
+was only by exercising almost super-human restraint that we prevented
+ourselves from doing bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our
+hunt. Every evening for a week we had faithfully taken a goat into the
+"Long Ravine," for the blue tiger had been seen several times near this
+lair. On the eighth afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock
+as usual. We had tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two kids were but
+a few feet away.
+
+The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless heat, silent
+save for the echoes of the bleating goats. Crouched behind the
+screen of branches, for three long hours we sat in the patchwork
+shade,--motionless, dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and
+watched the shadows steal slowly down the narrow ravine.
+
+It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut out of the mountain
+side with two strokes of a mighty ax and was choked with a tangle of
+thorny vines and sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the
+only entrance was by the tiger tunnels which drove their twisting way
+through the murderous growth far in toward its gloomy heart.
+
+The shadows had passed over us and just reached a lone palm tree on
+the opposite hillside. By that I knew it was six o'clock and in half
+an hour another day of disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the
+left and just below us there came the faintest crunching sound as a
+loose stone shifted under a heavy weight; then a rustling in the grass.
+Instantly the captive goat gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged
+frantically at the rope which held it to the tree.
+
+At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear "Get ready, he's
+coming." I was half kneeling with my heavy .405 Winchester pushed
+forward and the hammer up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck
+muscles ached with the strain but I thanked Heaven that my hands were
+steady.
+
+Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his little 22 caliber
+high power Savage nestling against his cheek. Our eyes met for an
+instant and I knew in that glance that the blue tiger would never make
+another charge, for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten minutes
+we waited and my heart lost a beat when twenty feet away the grass
+began to move again--but rapidly and _up the ravine_.
+
+I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look which changed to one
+of disgust as a chorus of yells sounded across the ravine and three
+Chinese wood cutters appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking
+a short cut home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and they had
+succeeded only too well, for the blue tiger had slipped back to the
+heart of the lair from whence he had come.
+
+He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him ! I felt so badly
+that I could not even swear and it wasn't the fact that Harry was a
+missionary which kept me from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once,
+for his disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had been
+hunting this same tiger off and on for six years.
+
+It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and we pushed our
+way through the sword grass to the entrance of the tunnel down which
+the tiger had come. There in the soft earth were the great footprints
+where he had crouched at the entrance to take a cautious survey before
+charging into the open.
+
+As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said: "Roy, let's go
+into the lair. There is just one chance in a thousand that we may get
+a shot." Now I must admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that
+little excursion, but in we went, crawling on our hands and knees up
+the narrow passage. Every few feet we passed side branches from the
+main tunnel in any one of which the tiger might easily have been lying
+in wait and could have killed us as we passed. It was a foolhardy
+thing to do and I am free to admit that I was scared. It was not long
+before Harry twisted about and said: "Roy, I haven't lost any tigers in
+here; let's get out." And out we came faster than we went in.
+
+This was only one of the times when the "Great Invisible" was almost in
+our hands. A few days later a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under
+a rice bank early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he ran a
+mile and a half to our camp only to find that we had left half an hour
+before for another village where the brute had killed two wild cats
+early in the morning.
+
+Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at daybreak just
+as the members of the family were getting up, stole a dog from the
+"heaven's well," dragged it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We
+were in camp only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the carcass
+on a narrow ledge in the sword grass high up on the mountain side. The
+spot was an impossible one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap
+which had been carried with us from New York.
+
+It seemed out of the question for any animal to return to the carcass
+of the dog without getting caught and yet the tiger did it. With his
+hind quarters on the upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long
+neck across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired to a tree and
+pulled it away. It was evident that he was quite unconscious of the
+trap for his fore feet had actually been placed upon one of the jaws
+only two inches from the pan which would have sprung it.
+
+One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao, a village seven
+miles beyond Lung-tao, where the blue tiger had been seen that day. The
+natives assured us that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly
+clothed with pines and sword grass just above the village and even
+though it was late when we arrived Harry thought it wise to set the
+trap that night.
+
+It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying the trap, two
+lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a wretched little dog for bait. We
+had been engaged for about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog,
+and Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when suddenly a low
+rumbling growl came from the grass not twenty feet away. We jumped to
+our feet just as it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The
+tiger had arrived a few moments too early and we were in the rather
+uncomfortable position of having to return to the village by way of a
+narrow trail through the jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric
+lamp cutting a brilliant path in the darkness we walked slowly toward
+the edge of the sword grass hoping to see the flash of the tiger's
+eyes, but the beast backed off beyond the range of the light into
+an impenetrable tangle where we could not follow. Apparently he was
+frightened by the lantern, for we did not hear him again.
+
+After nearly a month of disappointments such as these Mr. Heller joined
+us at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg. Caldwell thought it advisable to shift
+camp to the Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where he had
+once spent a summer with his family and had killed several tigers. This
+was within the blue tiger's range and, moreover, had the advantage of
+offering a better general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with
+Heller to look after the small mammals we could begin to make our time
+count for something if we did not get the tiger.
+
+Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of temples, built
+into a hillside at the end of a long narrow valley which swells out
+like a great bowl between bamboo clothed mountains, two thousand feet
+in height. On his former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the
+head priest and we were allowed to establish ourselves upon the broad
+porch of the third and highest building. It was an ideal place for a
+collecting camp and would have been delightful except for the terrible
+heat which was rendered doubly disagreeable by the almost continual
+rain.
+
+The priests who shuffled about the temples were a hard lot. Most of
+them were fugitives from justice and certainly looked the part, for a
+more disreputable, diseased and generally undesirable body of men I
+have never seen.
+
+Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple life interesting.
+We slept on the porch and each morning, about half an hour before
+daylight, the measured strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple
+just below us. _Boom--boom--boom--boom_ it went, then rapidly _bang,
+bang, bang_. It was a religious alarm clock to rouse the world.
+
+A little later when the upturned gables and twisted dolphins on the
+roof had begun to take definite shape in the gray light of the new day,
+the gong boomed out again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like
+rooms shuffled the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before the
+early service. The droning chorus of hoarse voices, swelling in a
+meaningless half-wild chant, harmonized strangely with the romantic
+surroundings of the temple and become our daily _matin_ and evensong.
+
+[Illustration: The Ling-suik Monastery]
+
+[Illustration: A Priest of Ling-suik]
+
+At the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito nets and dressed
+to be ready for the bats which fluttered into the building to hide
+themselves beneath the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully
+come we scattered to the four winds of heaven to inspect traps, hunt
+barking deer, or collect birds, but gathered again at nine o'clock for
+breakfast and to deposit our spoil. Caldwell and I always spent the
+afternoon at the blue tiger's lair but the animal had suddenly shifted
+his operations back to Lung-tao and did not appear at Ling-suik while
+we were there.
+
+Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of help to other
+naturalists who contemplate a visit to this province. We satisfied
+ourselves that summer collecting is impracticable, for the heat is
+so intense and the vegetation so heavy that only meager results can
+be obtained for the efforts expended. Continual tramping over the
+mountains in the blazing sun necessarily must have its effect upon
+the strongest constitution, and even a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has
+become thoroughly acclimated, is not immune.
+
+Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty pounds in weight during
+the time we hunted the blue tiger and each of us had serious trouble
+from abscesses. I have never worked in a more trying climate--even
+that of Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected in 1909-10,
+was much less debilitating than Fukien in the summer. The average
+temperature was about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so
+high that one felt as though one were wrapped in a wet blanket and even
+during a six weeks' rainless period the air was saturated with moisture
+from the sea-winds.
+
+In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting then would
+be vastly easier than in summer, not only on account of climatic
+conditions, but because much of the vegetation disappears and there is
+an opportunity for "still hunting."
+
+Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because of the dense
+population. The mud dykes and the rice fields usually are covered with
+tracks of civets, mongooses, and cats which come to hunt frogs or
+fish, but if a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly is
+stolen. Moreover, the small mammals are neither abundant nor varied in
+number of species, and the larger forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild
+pig and serow are exceedingly difficult to kill.
+
+While our work in the province was done during an unfavorable season
+and in only two localities, yet enough was seen of the general
+conditions to make it certain that a thorough zoölogical study of the
+region would require considerable time and hard work and that the
+results, so far as a large collection of mammals is concerned, would
+not be highly satisfactory. Work in the western part of the province
+among the Bohea Hills undoubtedly would be more profitable, but even
+there it would be hardly worth while for an expedition with limited
+time and money.
+
+Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology of Fukien
+already has received considerable attention through the collections of
+Swinhoe, La Touche, Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably
+not a great number of species remain to be described.
+
+Much work could still be done upon the herpetology of the region,
+however, and I believe that this branch of zoölogy would be well worth
+investigation for reptiles and batrachians are fairly abundant and the
+natives would rather assist than retard one's efforts.
+
+The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than in any other of the
+Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow dialect (which is one of the most
+difficult to learn) is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles
+of the city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow" perfectly,
+could not understand a word of the "southern mandarin" which is the
+language of that region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives
+from Amoy have settled, the dialect is unintelligible to one who knows
+only "Foochow."
+
+Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport is entirely
+by coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred pounds. The men are
+paid by distance or weight; therefore, when coolies finally have been
+obtained there is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one
+to two hours are consumed before the party can start.
+
+But the worst of it is that one can never be certain when one's entire
+outfit will arrive at its new destination. Some men walk much faster
+than others, some will delay a long time for tea, or may give out
+altogether if the day be hot, with the result that the last load will
+arrive perhaps five or six hours after the first one.
+
+As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the only alternative
+is to be carried in a mountain chair, which is an uncomfortable,
+trapeze-like affair and only to be found along the main highways.
+On the whole, transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and
+expensive that for a large expedition it forms a grave obstacle to
+successful work, if time and funds be limited.
+
+On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually good. We employed a
+very fair cook who received monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about
+three and one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from five
+to seven dollars (Mexican). As none of the servants knew English they
+could be obtained at much lower wages, but English-speaking cooks
+usually receive from fifteen to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.
+
+It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger but we had hunted
+him unsuccessfully for five weeks and there was other and more
+important work awaiting us in Yün-nan. It required thirty porters
+to transport our baggage from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei,
+twenty-one miles away, where two houseboats were to meet us, and by ten
+o'clock in the evening we were lying off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the
+flood tide to take us to Foochow. We made our beds on the deck house
+and in the morning opened our eyes to find the boat tied to the wharf
+at the Custom House on the Bund, and ourselves in full view of all
+Foochow had it been awake at that hour.
+
+The week of packing and repacking that followed was made easy for us by
+Claude Kellogg, who acted as our ministering angel. I think there must
+be a special Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and
+directs them to such men as Kellogg, for without divine aid they could
+never be found. When we last saw him, he stood on the stone steps of
+the water front waving his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board
+the S. S. _Haitan_ for Hongkong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+The schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping interested us
+greatly, even when we first came to China, but we could not appreciate
+then as we did later the epoch-making step toward civilization of these
+institutions.
+
+How much the missionaries are able to accomplish from a religious
+standpoint is a question which we do not wish to discuss, but no one
+who has ever lived among them can deny that the opening of schools
+and the diffusing of western knowledge are potent factors in the
+development of the people. The Chinese were not slow even in the
+beginning to see the advantages of a foreign education for their
+boys and now, along the coast at least, some are beginning to make
+sacrifices for their daughters as well. The Woman's College, which
+was opened recently in Foochow, is one of the finest buildings of the
+Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced girls dressed in their
+quaint little pajama-like garments, it is difficult to realize that
+outside such schools they are still slaves in mind and body to those
+iron rules of Confucius which have molded the entire structure of
+Chinese society for over 2400 years.
+
+The position of women in China today, and the rules which govern the
+household of every orthodox Chinese, are the direct heritage of
+Confucianism. The following translation by Professor J. Legge from the
+_Narratives of the Confucian School_, chapter 26, is illuminating:
+
+  Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and is supreme
+  over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions of man
+  and helps to carry out his principles. On this account she can
+  determine nothing of herself and is subject to the rule of the
+  three obediences.
+
+  "(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder brother;
+
+  "(2) When married, she must obey her husband;
+
+  "(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.
+
+  "She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions or
+  orders must issue from the harem. Women's business is simply the
+  preparation and supplying of drink and food. Beyond the threshold
+  of her apartments she shall not be known for evil or for good. She
+  may not cross the boundaries of a state to attend a funeral. She
+  may take no steps on her own motive and may come to no conclusion
+  on her own deliberation."
+
+  The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:
+
+  "(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;
+
+  "(2) Not giving birth to a son;
+
+  "(3) Dissolute conduct;
+
+  "(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates of
+         his harem);
+
+  "(5) Talkativeness, and
+
+  "(6) Thieving."
+
+A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her mother-in-law, and as
+she is often reared by her husband's family, or else married to him as
+a mere child, and is under the complete control of his mother for a
+considerable period of her existence, her life in many instances is one
+of intolerable misery. There is generally little or no consideration
+for a girl under the best of circumstances until she becomes the
+mother of a male child; her condition then improves but she approaches
+happiness only when she in turn occupies the enviable position of
+mother-in-law.
+
+It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness and vacuity
+than that of the average Chinese woman. Owing to her bound feet and
+resultant helplessness, if she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs
+from the narrow confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her entire
+life she may not go a mile from the house to which she was brought a
+bride, except for the periodical visits to her father's home.
+
+It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in China and it is
+not surprising that, ignored and despised for centuries, the Chinese
+woman shows no ability to improve the squalor of her surroundings. She
+passes her life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken furniture
+and a mud floor, together with pigs, chickens and babies enjoying
+a limited sphere of action under the tables and chairs, or in the
+tumble-down courtyard without. Her work is actually never done and a
+Chinese bride, bright and attractive at twenty, will be old and faded
+at thirty.
+
+But without doubt the crowning evil which attends woman's condition
+in China is foot binding, and nothing can be offered in extenuation
+of this abominable custom. It is said to have originated one thousand
+years before the Christian era and has persisted until the present
+day in spite of the efforts directed against it. The Empress Dowager
+issued edicts strongly advising its discontinuation, the "Natural Foot
+Society," which was formed about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to
+educate public opinion, and the missionaries refuse to admit girls
+so mutilated to their schools; but nevertheless the reform has made
+little progress beyond the coast cities. "Precedent" and the fear of
+not obtaining suitable husbands for their daughters are responsible for
+the continuation of the evil, and it is estimated that there are still
+about seventy-four millions of girls and women who are crippled in this
+way.
+
+The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and seven. The toes are
+bent under the sole of the foot and after two or three years the heel
+and instep are so forced together that a dollar can be placed in the
+cleft; gradually also the lower limbs shrink away until only the bones
+remain.
+
+The suffering of the children is intense. We often passed through
+streets full of laughing boys and tiny girls where others, a few years
+older, were sitting on the doorsteps or curbstones holding their
+tortured feet and crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are
+constructed a considerable distance from the family dwelling where the
+girls must sleep during their first crippled years in order that their
+moans may not disturb the other members of the family. The child's only
+relief is to hang her feet over the edge of the bed in order to stop
+the circulation and induce numbness, or to seek oblivion from opium.
+
+If the custom were a fad which affected only the wealthy classes it
+would be reprehensible enough, but it curses rich and poor alike, and
+almost every day we saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves
+by means of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads or laboring
+in the fields.
+
+[Illustration: A Chinese Mother with Her Children]
+
+[Illustration: Chinese Women of the Coolie Class with Bound Feet]
+
+Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly making
+itself felt to a certain extent in the coast provinces, in Yün-nan
+the horrible practice continues unabated. During the year in which we
+traveled through a large part of the province, wherever there were
+Chinese we saw bound feet. And the fact that virtually _every_ girl
+over eight years old was mutilated in this way is satisfactory evidence
+that reform ideas have not penetrated to this remote part of the
+Republic.
+
+I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation because of its
+senselessness and brutality, and China can never hope to take her place
+among civilized nations until she has abandoned this barbarous custom
+and liberated her women from their infamous subjection.
+
+There has been much criticism of foreign education because the girls
+who have had its advantages absorb western ideas so completely that
+they dislike to return to their homes where the ordinary conditions of
+a Chinese household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of China are ever
+to be emancipated it must come through their own education as well as
+that of the men.
+
+One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay marriage, and
+in some instances the early betrothal with its attendant miseries. The
+evil which results from this custom can hardly be overestimated. It
+happens not infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy,
+the respective families being in like circumstances at the time. The
+opportunity perhaps is offered to the girl to attend school and she
+may even go through college, but an inexorable custom brings her back
+to her parents' home, forces her to submit to the engagement made in
+babyhood and perhaps ruins her life through marriage with a man of no
+higher social status or intelligence than a coolie.
+
+Among the few girls imbued with western civilization a spirit of revolt
+is slowly growing, and while it is impossible for them to break down
+the barriers of ages, yet in many instances they waive aside what would
+seem an unsurmountable precedent and insist upon having some voice in
+the choosing of their husbands.
+
+While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign wedding
+of a girl who had been brought up in the Woman's School and who was
+qualified to be a "Bible Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was
+whispered that she had actually met her betrothed on several occasions,
+but on their wedding day no trace of recognition was visible, and the
+marriage was performed with all the punctilious Chinese observances
+compatible with a Christian ceremony.
+
+Precedent required of this little bride, although she might have been
+radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly was, to appear tearful and
+shrinking and as she was escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid
+one might have thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not
+becoming to the Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning, so she
+had chosen pink for her wedding gown and had a brilliant pink veil over
+her carefully oiled hair.
+
+After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded downstairs to the
+joyous strain of the wedding march, but with nothing joyous in their
+demeanor--in fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception
+and endured for over an hour the stares and loud criticism of the
+guests. He assumed during the ordeal a look of bored indifference while
+the little bride sat with her head bowed on her breast, apparently
+terror stricken. But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle
+in her shining black eyes that made me realize that perhaps it wasn't
+all quite so frightful as she would have us believe. I often wonder
+what sort of a life she is leading in her far away Chinese courtyard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+VOYAGING TO YÃœN-NAN
+
+
+We had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our trip to Yün-nan.
+Hongkong is one of the best cities in the Orient in which to purchase
+supplies of almost any kind, for not only is the selection excellent,
+but the best English goods can be had for prices very little in excess
+of those in London itself.
+
+The system which we used in our commissary was that of the unit food
+box which has been adopted by most large expeditions. The boxes were
+packed to weigh seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary
+staple supplies for three persons for one week; thus only one box
+needed to be opened at a time, and, moreover, if the party separated
+for a few days a single box could be taken without the necessity
+of repacking and with the assurance that sufficient food would be
+available.
+
+Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar, coffee, milk,
+bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned meat, vegetables, or fruit
+because we were certain to be able to obtain a plentiful supply of such
+food in the country through which we were expecting to travel.
+
+Our tents were brought from New York and were made of light Egyptian
+cotton thoroughly waterproof, but we also purchased in Hongkong a large
+army tent for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and
+specimens. We used sleeping bags and folding cots, tables and chairs,
+for when an expedition expects to remain in the field for a long time
+it is absolutely necessary to be as comfortable as possible and to live
+well; otherwise one cannot work at one's highest efficiency.
+
+For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits with flannel shirts
+and high leather shoes for mountain climbing, and we had light rubber
+automobile shirts and rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto
+shirt is a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens about
+the neck and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can be so spread about
+as to cover all exposed parts of the body; it is especially useful and
+necessary, and hip rubber boots are also very comfortable during the
+rainy season.
+
+Our traps for catching small mammals were brought from New York. We had
+two sizes of wooden "Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five
+sizes of Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as
+civets and polecats. We also carried a half dozen No. 5 wolf traps.
+Mr. Heller had used this size in Africa and found that they were large
+enough even to hold lions.
+
+Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I used a 6-1/2 mm.
+Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All of these guns were eminently
+satisfactory, but the choice of a rifle is a very personal matter and
+every sportsman has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat
+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we were armed was
+absolutely essential for many of our shots were at long range and we
+frequently killed gorals at three hundred yards or over.
+
+The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks, a Graphic 4 × 5
+tripod camera, and Graflex 4 × 5 for rapid work. We have found after
+considerable field experience that the 4 × 5 is the most convenient
+size to handle, for the plate is large enough and can be obtained
+more readily than any other in different parts of the world. The same
+applies to the 3A Kodak "post-card" size film, for there are few places
+where foreign goods are carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.
+
+All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin boxes before
+we left America, and thus the material was in perfect condition when
+the cans were opened. We used plates almost altogether in the finer
+photographic work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to
+handle than films, nevertheless the results obtained are very superior.
+A collapsible rubber dark room about seven feet high and four feet in
+diameter was an indispensable part of the camera equipment. This tent
+was made for us by the Abercrombie & Fitch Company, of New York, and
+could be hung from the limb of a tree or the rafters of a building and
+be ready for use in five minutes.
+
+The motion pictures were taken with a Universal camera, and like all
+other negatives were developed in the field by means of a special
+apparatus which had been designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American
+Museum of Natural History. This work required a much larger space than
+that of the portable dark room and we consequently had a tent made of
+red cloth which could be tied inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.
+
+Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and in wooden boxes
+with sliding tops. The latter arrangement is especially desirable in
+Yün-nan, for the loads can be opened without being untied from the
+saddle, thus saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.
+
+It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies together, but
+the Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong pushed the making and packing
+of our boxes in a remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one
+of their departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a Chinaman
+is to get more Chinamen," and they put a small army at work upon our
+material, which was ready for shipment in just a week.
+
+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.
+
+Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad from Hanoi to
+Yün-nan Fu had caved in and for almost a month trains had not been
+running. It was now in operation, however, but all luggage had to be
+transferred by hand at the broken tunnel and consequently must not
+exceed eighty-five pounds in weight. This meant repacking our entire
+equipment and three days of hard work. M. Dupontès arranged to have
+our 4000 pounds of baggage put in a special third class carriage
+with our "boys" in attendance and in this way saved the expedition a
+considerable amount of money. He personally went with us to the station
+to arrange for our comfort with the _chef de gare_, telegraphed ahead
+at every station upon the railroad, and gave us an open letter to all
+officials; in fact there was nothing which he left undone.
+
+The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement for it was
+constructed in great haste through a difficult mountainous range.
+Yün-nan is an exceedingly rich province and the French were quick to
+see the advantages of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports.
+The British were already making surveys to construct a railroad from
+Bhamo on the headwaters of the Irawadi River across Yün-nan to connect
+with the Yangtze, and the French were anxious to have their road in
+operation some time before the rival line could be completed.
+
+Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall, or perhaps to
+both, the tunnels and bridges frequently cave in or are washed away and
+the railroad is chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year
+in which it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve great
+credit for their enterprise in extending their line to Yün-nan Fu over
+the mountains where there is a tunnel or bridge almost every mile of
+the way. While it was being built through the fever-stricken jungles of
+Tonking the coolies died like flies, and it was necessary to suspend
+all work during the summer months.
+
+The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the traveling is by no
+means uncomfortable, but the hotels in which one stops at night are
+wretched. One of our friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience
+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad. He asked for
+a bath and discovered that a tub of hot water had been prepared. He
+wished a cold bath, and seeing a large tank filled with cold water in
+the corner of the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when the
+hotel proprietor suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming, "Mon Dieu, Mon
+Dieu, you are in the tank of drinking water."
+
+When we arrived at Yün-nan Fu we found a surprisingly cosmopolitan
+community housed within its grim old walls; some were consuls, some
+missionaries, some salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese
+employ, and others represented business firms in Hongkong, but all
+received us with open-handed hospitality characteristic of the East.
+
+We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening clothes would not
+again be used, but they were requisitioned every night for we were
+guests at dinners given by almost everyone of the foreign community.
+Mr. Howard Page, a representative of the Standard Oil Company, proved
+a most valuable friend, and through him we were able to obtain a
+caravan and make other arrangements for the transportation of our
+baggage. M. Henry Wilden, the French Consul, an ardent sportsman and a
+charming gentleman, took an active interest in our affairs and arranged
+a meeting for us with the Chinese Commissioner of Foreign Affairs.
+Moreover, he later transported our trunks to Hongkong with his personal
+baggage and assisted us in every possible way.
+
+We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and were ushered into
+a large room where a rather imposing lunch had already been spread.
+The Commissioner, a fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of
+French but none of English, received us in the most cordial way and
+immediately opened several bottles of champagne in our honor. He asked
+why our passports had not been viséd in Peking, and we pleased him
+greatly by replying that at the time we were in the capital Yün-nan was
+an independent province and consequently the Peking Government had not
+the temerity to put their stamp upon our passports.
+
+Inasmuch as Yün-nan was infested with brigands we had expected some
+opposition to our plans for traveling in the interior, but none was
+forthcoming, and with the exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers
+for our trip to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse,
+we left the Foreign Office with all the desired permits.
+
+The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested in our
+zoölogical study of Yün-nan, offered to assist us in every way we could
+suggest, and telegraphed to every mandarin in the north and west of
+the province, instructing them to receive us with all honor and to
+facilitate our work in every way. None of the opposition which we had
+been led to expect developed, and it is difficult to see how we could
+have been more cordially received.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+
+On August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to Ta-li Fu, and three
+days later we ourselves left Yün-nan Fu at eleven o'clock in the
+morning after an interminable wait for our caravan. Through the
+kindness of Mr. Page, a house boat was put at our disposal and we
+sailed across the upper end of the beautiful lake which lies just
+outside the city, and intercepted the caravan twenty-five _li_[1] from
+Yün-nan Fu.
+
+On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers, each with ten or a
+dozen birds sitting quietly upon the boat with outspread wings drying
+their feathers. Every bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus
+prevented from swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into the
+water.
+
+After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the long train of mules
+and horses winding up the hill toward us. There were seventeen
+altogether, and in the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately
+with both hands to a diminutive mule, his long legs dangling and a look
+of utter wretchedness upon his face. Just before the caravan reached us
+it began to rain, and the cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow
+oilskins which we had purchased for him in Yün-nan Fu. These, together
+with a huge yellow hat, completed a picture which made us roar with
+laughter; Heller gave the caption for it when he shouted, "Here comes
+the 'Yellow Peril.'"
+
+[Footnote 1: A _li_ in this province equals one-third of an English
+mile.]
+
+[Illustration: Cormorant Fishers on the Lake at Yün-nan Fu]
+
+[Illustration: Our Camp at Chou Chou on the Way to Ta-li Fu]
+
+We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller vainly tried to
+get his girth tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding over the
+animal's tail he exclaimed, "Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying
+to ride?" But it was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and
+found that we did not crush the little brutes.
+
+A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with a few odds and
+ends on top made a pack of at least one hundred and sixty pounds. This
+is heavy even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an
+impossibility, but it is the usual weight, and the business-like way in
+which they moved off showed that they were not overloaded.
+
+The Yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. The
+load is strapped with a rawhide to a double A-shaped frame which fits
+loosely over a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place
+by its own weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it
+can be easily removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. It
+has the great disadvantage, however, of giving the horses serious back
+sores which receive but scanty attention from the _mafus_ (muleteers).
+
+When we were fairly started upon our long ride to Ta-li Fu the time
+slipped by in a succession of delightful days. Since this was the main
+caravan route the _mafus_ had regular stages beyond which they would
+not go. If we did not stop for luncheon the march could be ended early
+in the afternoon and we could settle ourselves for the night in a
+temple which always proved a veritable "haven of rest" after a long
+day in the saddle. A few pages from my wife's "Journal" of September
+fifteenth describes our camp at Lu-ho-we and our life on the road to
+Ta-li Fu.
+
+  We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on a
+  hilltop in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at our
+  feet. The sun is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and throwing
+  bars of golden light through the twisted branches of a bent old
+  pine, over the stone well, and into the dim recesses behind the
+  altar where a benevolent idol grins down upon us.
+
+  We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting to
+  rest in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children are shouting
+  and laughing but all is quiet here save for the drip of water in
+  the well, and the chatter of a magpie on the pine tree. Today we
+  made the stage in one long march and now we can rest and browse
+  among our books or wander with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded
+  paths.
+
+  The sun is hot at mid-day, although the mornings and evenings are
+  cold, and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of yellow pine,
+  and talk for an hour before we go to sleep upon the porch where we
+  can see the moon come up and the stars shining so low that they
+  seem like tiny lanterns in the sky.
+
+  It is seven days since we left Yün-nan Fu and each night we have
+  come to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible charm
+  about them, lying asleep, as it were, among the trees of their
+  courtyards, with stately, pillared porches, and picturesque gables
+  upturned to the sky. They seem so very, very old and filled with
+  such great calm and peace.
+
+  Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride
+  through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged
+  women, filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the
+  dilapidated entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close
+  the huge gates and are in another world.
+
+  We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn.
+  As we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted
+  against the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and
+  the contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans.
+
+  Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we
+  have fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the
+  remotest corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs,
+  and oatmeal is awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean
+  white cloth. While we are eating, the beds are packed, and the
+  loads retied, accompanied by a running fire of exhortations to the
+  _mafus_ who cause us endless trouble.
+
+  They are a hard lot, these _mafus_. Force seems to be the only
+  thing they understand and kindness produces no results. If the
+  march is long and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to
+  get them started within three hours without the aid of threats.
+  Once after a long halt when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to
+  wait by the roadside for hours before the caravan arrived. As soon
+  as we were out of sight they had begun to shoe their mules and that
+  night we did not make our stage until long after dark.
+
+  In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses
+  we ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling
+  line of mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones
+  of the road. It is delightful in the early morning for the air is
+  fresh and brisk like that of October at home, but later in the day
+  when the sun is higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to
+  find a bit of shade where we can rest until the caravan arrives.
+
+  The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which says:
+  "A road is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this
+  applies most excellently to those of Yün-nan. The main caravan
+  highways are paved with huge stones to make them passable during
+  the rainy season, but after a few years' wear the blocks become
+  broken and irregular, the earth is washed from between them and
+  they are upturned at impossible angles. The result is a chaotic
+  mass which by no stretch of imagination can be called a road.
+  Where the stones are still in place they have been worn to such
+  glasslike smoothness by the thousands of passing mules that it
+  is well-nigh impossible to walk upon them. As a result a caravan
+  avoids the paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes dozens
+  of deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.
+
+  We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire
+  province is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges
+  which we crossed. It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep
+  mountain-sides, but once on the ridges where the country is spread
+  out below us like a great, green relief map, there is a wonderful
+  exhilaration, and we climb higher with a joyous sense of freedom.
+
+  Yün-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the peaks
+  about us are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like mists still
+  float about the mountain tops when we climb into them, and we are
+  suddenly enveloped in a wet gray blanket which sends us shivering
+  into the coats tied to our saddles.
+
+For centuries this road has been one of the main trade arteries
+through the province, and with the total lack of conservation ideas so
+characteristic of the Chinese, every available bit of natural forest
+has been cut away. As a result the mountains are desert wastes of
+sandstone alternating with grass-covered hills sometimes clothed with
+groves of pines or spruces. These trees have all been planted, and ere
+they have reached a height of fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the
+insistent demand for wood which is ever present with the Chinese.
+
+The ignorance of the need of forest conservation is an illuminating
+commentary on Chinese education. Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of
+Ta-li Fu, told us that one day he was riding over this same road with a
+Chinese gentleman, a deep scholar, who was considered one of the best
+educated men of the province. Pointing to the barren hills washed clean
+of soil and deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked that
+all this could have been prevented, and that instead of a rocky waste
+there might have been a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to
+grow.
+
+The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts which every western
+schoolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was
+ignorant because they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox Chinese
+for "everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the
+past utterly neglectful of the present.
+
+Every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this,
+together with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for
+the almost total lack of animal life. Night after night we set traps
+about our temple camps only to find them untouched in the morning.
+There were no mammals with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels
+(_Callosciurus erythræus_ subsp.) and now and then a tree shrew
+(_Tupaia belangeri chinensis_).
+
+The latter is an interesting species. Although it is an Insectivore,
+and a relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs,
+it has squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel
+to which it is totally unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired
+mouselike tails of the ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed
+long bushy tails and in fact look and act so much like squirrels
+that it is difficult to convince the white residents of Yün-nan, who
+are accustomed to see them run about the hedges and walls of their
+courtyards that the two are quite unrelated.
+
+The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one of the most
+remarkable instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated
+animals with similar habits. A study of their anatomy has revealed the
+fact that they represent a distinct group which is connected with the
+monkeys (lemurs).
+
+Although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. We
+were about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the
+winter swarm into Yün-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants
+are difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed in the game
+birds, for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road
+and virtually none were to be found.
+
+The main caravan roads of Yün-nan held little of interest for
+us as naturalists, but as students of native customs they were
+fascinating, for the life of the province passed before us in panoramic
+completeness. Chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels
+of utter and abandoned filth and although those of Yün-nan are no
+exception to the rule, they are considerably better than the coast
+cities.
+
+Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion with the human
+inmates of the houses, the pigs especially being treated as we favor
+dogs at home. On the door steps children play with the swine, patting
+and pounding them, and one of my friends said that he had actually
+seen a mother bring her baby to be nursed by a sow with her family of
+piglets.
+
+The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed to be industrious.
+Wherever the deforestation had left sufficient soil on the lower
+hillsides patches of corn took the place of the former poppy fields
+for opium. In 1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting
+the growing of opium, and gave guarantees to the British that it would
+be entirely stamped out during the next ten years. Strangely enough
+these promises have been faithfully kept, and in Yün-nan the hillsides,
+which were once white with poppy blossoms, are now yellow with corn. In
+all our 2000 miles of riding over unfrequented trails and in the most
+out-of-the-way spots we found only one instance where opium was being
+cultivated.
+
+The mandarin of each district accompanied by a guard of soldiers makes
+periodical excursions during the seasons when the poppy is in blossom,
+cuts down the plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China
+deserves the greatest credit for so successfully dealing with a
+question which affects such a large part of her four hundred millions
+of people and which presents such unusual difficulties because of its
+economic importance.
+
+Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown freely and much
+is smuggled into Yün-nan. Therefore its use has by no means been
+abandoned, especially in the south of the province, and in some towns
+it is smoked openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just before
+we reached Yün-nan Fu there was an _exposé_ of opium smuggling which
+throws an illuminating side light on the corruption of some Chinese
+officials.
+
+Opium can be purchased in Yün-nan Fu for two dollars (Mexican) an
+ounce, while in Shanghai it is worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the
+Military Governor), the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother and
+three members of Parliament had collected six hundred pounds of opium
+which they undertook to transfer to Shanghai.
+
+Their request that no examination of their baggage be made by the
+French during their passage through Tonking was granted, and a similar
+favor was procured for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were
+safely landed, but a few hours later, through the opium combine,
+foreign detectives learned of the smuggling and the boxes were seized.
+
+The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the opium, as did the
+three Parliament members, and Governor Tang was not interrogated as
+that would be quite contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however,
+he will not receive reappointment when his official term expires.
+
+As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire road, we were amazed
+at the prevalence of goitre. At a conservative estimate two out of
+every five persons were suffering from the disease, some having two, or
+even three, globules of uneven size hanging from their throats. In one
+village six out of seven adults were affected, but apparently children
+under twelve or fourteen years are free from it as we saw no evidences
+in either sex. Probably the disease is in a large measure due to the
+drinking water, for it is most prevalent in the limestone regions and
+seems to be somewhat localized.
+
+Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them, "mountain
+schooners," in each of which a fat Chinaman sprawled while two or
+four sweating coolies bore him up hill. The chair is rigged between a
+pair of long bamboo poles and consists of two sticks swung by ropes
+on which is piled a heap of bedding. Overhead a light bamboo frame
+supports a piece of yellow oil-cloth, which completely shuts in the
+occupant, except from the front and rear.
+
+The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even to ride, and if
+one is about to make an official visit nothing less than a four-man
+chair is required. Haste is just as much tabooed in the "front
+families" as physical exertion, and is utterly incomprehensible to
+the Chinese. Major Davies says that while he was in Tonking before
+the railroad to Yün-nan Fu had been constructed, M. Doumer, the
+Governor-General of French Indo-China, who was a very energetic
+man, rode to Yün-nan Fu in an extraordinarily short time. While the
+Europeans greatly admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must be in
+some difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of the Viceroy
+of Yün-nan could extricate him.
+
+In Yün-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding for the inns
+supply nothing but food, and consequently when a Chinaman rides from
+one city to another he piles a great heap of blankets on his horse's
+back and climbs on top with his legs astride the animal's neck in
+front. The horses are trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and
+I know of no more ridiculous sight than a Chinaman bouncing along a
+road on the summit of a veritable mountain of bedding with his arms
+waving and streamers flying in every direction. He is assisted in
+keeping his balance by broad brass stirrups in which he usually hooks
+his heels and guides his horse by means of a rawhide bridle decorated
+with dozens of bangles which make a comforting jingle whenever he moves.
+
+On the sixth day out when approaching the city of Chu-hsuing Fu we
+took a short cut through the fields leaving the caravan to follow
+the main road. The trail brought us to a river about forty feet wide
+spanned by a bridge made from two narrow planks, with a wide median
+fissure. We led our horses across without trouble and Heller started to
+follow. He had reached the center of the bridge when his horse shied at
+the hole, jumped to one side, hung suspended on his belly for a moment,
+and toppled off into the water.
+
+The performance had all happened behind Heller's back and when he
+turned about in time to see his horse diving into the river, he stood
+looking down at him with a most ludicrous expression of surprise and
+disgust, while the animal climbed out and began to graze as quietly as
+though nothing had happened.
+
+Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss Cordelia Morgan, a
+niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia. We found her to be a most charming
+and determined young woman who had established a mission station in the
+city under considerable difficulties. The mandarin and other officials
+by no means wished to have a foreign lady, alone and unattended,
+settle down among them and become a responsibility which might cause
+them endless trouble, and although she had rented a house before she
+arrived, the owner refused to allow her to move in.
+
+She could get no assistance from the mandarin and was forced to live
+for two months in a dirty Chinese inn, swarming with vermin, until they
+realized that she was determined not to be driven away. She eventually
+obtained a house and while she considers herself comfortable, I doubt
+if others would care to share her life unless they had an equal amount
+of determination and enthusiasm.
+
+At that time she had not placed her work under the charge of a mission
+board and was carrying it on independently. Until our arrival she had
+seen but one white person in a year and a half, was living entirely
+upon Chinese food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.
+
+We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the next morning as our
+caravan wound down the long hill past her house she stood at the window
+to wave good-by. She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless
+if we could have seen her face we would have found tears upon it, for
+the evening with another woman of her kind had brought to her a breath
+of the old life which she had resolutely forsaken and which so seldom
+penetrated to her self-appointed exile.
+
+On our ninth day from Yün-nan Fu we had a welcome bit of excitement. We
+were climbing a long mountain trail to a pass over eight thousand feet
+high and were near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to the
+caravan, jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required fifteen minutes of
+questioning before we finally learned that bandits had attacked a big
+caravan less than a mile ahead of us and were even then ransacking the
+loads.
+
+He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them and that they had
+killed two _mafus_; almost immediately a second gesticulating Chinaman
+appeared and gave the number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as
+five. Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt quite
+sure that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently learned that
+forty was the correct number and that no one had been killed.
+
+Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but we got out our
+rifles and made for a village at the top of the pass. There were not
+more than a half dozen mud houses and in the narrow street between them
+perfect bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to wait for
+us, and men, horses, loads, and chairs were packed and jammed together
+so tightly that it seemed impossible ever to extricate them. Our
+arrival added to the confusion, but leaving the _mafus_ to scream and
+chatter among themselves, we scouted ahead to learn the true condition
+of affairs.
+
+Almost within sight we found the caravan which had been robbed. Paper
+and cloth were strewn about, loads overturned, and loose mules wandered
+over the hillside. The frightened _mafus_ were straggling back and
+told us that about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the caravan,
+shooting and brandishing long knives. Instantly the _mafus_ had run
+for their lives leaving the brigands to rifle the packs unmolested.
+The goods chiefly belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang, and
+included some five thousand dollars worth of jade and gold dust, all of
+which was taken.
+
+Yün-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China, is infested
+with brigands who make traveling very unsafe. There are, of course,
+organized bands of robbers at all times, but these have been greatly
+augmented since the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who
+have taken to brigandage as the easiest means to avoid starvation.
+
+The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with the situation
+and makes only half-hearted attempts to punish even the most flagrant
+robberies, so that unguarded caravans carrying valuable material which
+arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves very lucky.
+
+[Illustration: The Pagoda at Ta-li Fu]
+
+[Illustration: The Dead of China]
+
+So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel great
+apprehension for it was generally known that we carried but little
+money and our equipment, except for guns, could not readily be disposed
+of. Throughout the entire expedition we paid our _mafus_ and servants a
+part of their wages in advance when they were engaged, and arranged to
+have money sent by the mandarins or the British American Tobacco Co.,
+to some large town which would be reached after several months. There
+the balance on salaries was paid and we carried with us only enough
+money for our daily needs.
+
+Before we left Yün-nan Fu we were assured by the Foreign Office that we
+would be furnished with a guard of soldiers--an honor few foreigners
+escape! The first day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These
+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered their official
+message to the _yamen_ and intrusted us to the care of others for our
+next day's journey.
+
+Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage of 1872, but
+their cartridges were seldom of the' same caliber as the rifles and in
+most cases the ubiquitous umbrella was their only weapon. Just what
+good they would be in a real attack it is difficult to imagine, except
+to divert attention by breaking the speed limits in running away.
+
+Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped them but they
+always turned up in an hour or two. They were not so much a nuisance
+as an expense, for custom requires that each be paid twenty cents
+(Mexican) a day both going and returning. They are of some use in
+lending an official aspect to an expedition and in requisitioning
+anything which may be needed; also they act as an insurance policy, for
+if a caravan is robbed a claim can be entered against the government,
+whereas if the escort is refused the traveler has no redress.
+
+It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier way in which
+these men treat other caravans or the peasants along the road. Waving
+their arms and shouting oaths they shoe horses, mules or chairs out of
+the way regardless of the confusion into which the approaching caravan
+may be thrown. They must also be closely watched for they are none too
+honest and are prone to rely upon the moral support of foreigners to
+take whatever they wish without the formality of payment.
+
+We were especially careful to respect the property on which we camped
+and to be just in all our dealings with the natives, but it was
+sometimes difficult to prevent the _mafus_ or soldiers from tearing
+down fences for firewood or committing similar depredations. Wherever
+such acts were discovered we made suitable payment and punished the
+offenders by deducting a part of their wages. Foreigners cannot respect
+too carefully the rights of the peasants, for upon their conduct rests
+the reception which will be accorded to all others who follow in their
+footsteps.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+
+On Friday, September 28, we were at Chou Chou and camped in a
+picturesque little temple on the outskirts of the town. As the last
+stage was only six hours we spent half the morning in taking moving
+pictures of the caravan and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an
+early =tiffin=.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan, a large
+commercial town at the lower end of the lake. Its population largely
+consists of merchants and it is by all means the most important
+business place of interior Yün-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the
+residence and official city.
+
+At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner, Mr. Lui, to whom Mr.
+Bode, the salt inspector at Yün-nan Fu, had very kindly telegraphed
+money for my account, and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went
+oil to Ta-li Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was so
+slippery that it was well-nigh impossible for either horse or man to
+move over it faster than a walk.
+
+This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern Yün-nan,
+the thermometer registering 85°+ in the shade, which is the usual
+mid-summer temperature, but the moment the sun dropped behind the
+mountains it was cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the
+winter it is never very cold and its delightful summer should make
+Northern Yün-nan a wonderful health resort for the residents of
+fever-stricken Burma and Tonking.
+
+We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our right hand and on
+the other the Ts'ang Shan mountains which rise to a height of fourteen
+thousand feet. As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined
+against the foothills the slender shafts of three ancient pagodas. They
+were erected to the _feng-shui_, the spirits of the "earth, wind, and
+water," and for fifteen hundred years have stood guard over the stone
+graves which, in countless thousands, are spread along the foot of the
+mountains like a vast gray blanket. In the late afternoon sunlight the
+walls of the city seemed to recede before us and the picturesque gate
+loomed shadowy and unreal even when we passed through its gloomy arch
+and clattered up the stone-paved street.
+
+We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H. G. Evans, agent of the
+British American Tobacco Company, to whose care our first caravan had
+been consigned, and he very hospitably invited us to remain with him
+while we were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr. Evans'
+assistance to the Expedition, for he acted as its banker throughout our
+stay in Yün-nan, cashing checks and transferring money for us whenever
+we needed funds.
+
+The British American Tobacco Company and the Standard Oil Company of
+New York are veritable "oases in the desert" for travelers because
+their agencies are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia and
+their employees are always ready to extend the cordial hospitality of
+the East to wandering foreigners.
+
+Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include the Reverend
+William J. Hanna, his wife and two other ladies, all of the China
+Inland Mission. Mr. Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially
+along educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful little
+chapel, a large school, and a dispensary in connection with his house,
+where he and his wife are occupied every morning treating the minor
+ills of the natives, Christian and heathen alike.
+
+Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at the time of the
+Mohammedan war, when the Chinese captured the city through the
+treachery of its commander and turned the streets to rivers of blood.
+The Mohammedans were almost exterminated, and the ruined stone walls
+testify to the completeness of the Chinese devastation.
+
+The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt.
+He called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately
+asked if we had any shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun
+but no shells, and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to
+hint broadly at every opportunity.
+
+The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what
+they can make in "squeeze" from the natives of their district for
+reimbursement and a profit on their investment. In almost every case
+which is brought to them for adjustment the decision is withheld until
+the magistrate has learned which of the parties is prepared to offer
+the highest price for a settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant,
+accepting this as the established custom, pays the bribe without a
+murmur if it is not too exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly
+surprised if "justice" were dispensed in any other way.
+
+My personal relations with the various mandarins whom I was constantly
+required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and I was
+treated with great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were in China
+that there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant
+and official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the
+law, undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in
+the republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a lesson in
+etiquette. The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary
+to conform to their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or
+accept in excuse, the fact that Western customs differ from their own.
+
+At the end of the reception room in every _yamen_ is a raised platform
+on which the visitor sits at the _left hand_ of the mandarin; it would
+be exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right
+hand. Tea is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted
+until the official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to
+the lips with both hands. Usually when the magistrate sips his tea
+it is a sign that the interview is ended. When leaving, the mandarin
+follows his visitor to the doorway of the outer court, while the latter
+continually bows and protests asking him not to come so far.
+
+Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time
+investigating the shops. One important find was the panda (_Ælurus
+fulgens_). The panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family
+but looks rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the "fire
+fox" because of its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were supposed to be
+exceedingly rare and we could hardly believe it possible when we saw
+dozens of coats made from their skins hanging in the fur shops.
+
+[Illustration: The Residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li Fu]
+
+[Illustration: The Gate and Main Street of Ta-li Fu]
+
+Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, _Petaurista yunnanensis_,
+were also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was
+almost as great a surprise as the finding of the pandas. This is often
+true in the case of supposedly rare species. A few specimens may be
+obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or from a locality where
+it really is rare, and for years it may be almost unique in museum
+collections but eventually the proper locality may be visited and the
+animals found to be abundant.
+
+We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (_Felis temmincki_) which,
+with the snow leopard (_Felis uncia_), it was said came from Tibet.
+Civets, bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for
+furs and pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops. The scales
+of the pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of
+certain diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the
+horns of deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows.
+
+Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in China
+by foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops. If a Chinaman
+discovers a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an
+actual gold mine to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed
+with an acid, and a phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain
+value as a tonic. When a considerable amount of faith and Chinese
+superstition is added its efficacy assumes double proportions.
+
+Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan from the
+southern part of the province along the Tonking border, but the good
+ones are quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty
+dollars (Mexican). Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.
+
+Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century and, among other
+things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province.
+We were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and
+more heavily built than those of Yün-nan Fu and appear to be better
+in every way. A good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five
+dollars (Mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty
+dollars because they are considered better pack animals.
+
+On the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of Yün-nan
+we hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them
+outright, and subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course.
+Saddle ponies, which are used only for short trips about the city,
+cannot endure continual traveling over the execrable roads of the
+interior where often it is impossible to feed them properly. If an
+entire caravan were purchased the leader of the expedition would have
+unceasing trouble with the _mafus_ to insure even ordinary care of the
+animals, an opportunity would be given for endless "squeeze" in the
+purchase of food, and there are other reasons too numerous to mention
+why in this province the plan is impracticable.
+
+However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to the limit. They
+are trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind
+another horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat
+or kick the beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely
+to the horse in front. On the first day out Heller, who was on a
+particularly bad animal, when trying to pass one of us began to cavort
+about like a circus rider, prancing from side to side and backward but
+never going forward. We shouted that we would wait for him to go on but
+he replied helplessly, "I can't, this horse isn't under my management,"
+and we found very soon that our animals were not under our management
+either!
+
+In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the caravan with Wu and
+Heller: Wu stopped to buy a basket of mushrooms but his horse refused
+to move ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a circle,
+ours followed, and in a few moments we were packed together so tightly
+that it was impossible even to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the
+huge delight of the villagers until rescued by a _mafu_. As soon as he
+led Wu's horse forward the others proceeded as quietly as lambs.
+
+We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal while traveling,
+and fifteen or twenty cents when in camp, but the rate varies somewhat
+in different parts of the province, and in the west and south, along
+the Burma border fifty cents is the usual price. When a caravan is
+engaged the necessary _mafus_ are included and they buy food for
+themselves and beans and hay for the animals.
+
+Ever since leaving Yün-nan Fu the cook we engaged at Paik-hoi had
+been a source of combined irritation and amusement. He was a lanky,
+effeminate gentleman who never before had ridden a horse, and who was
+physically and mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life. After
+five months in the field he appeared to be as helpless when the caravan
+camped for the night as when we first started, and he would stand
+vacantly staring until someone directed him what to do. But he was a
+good cook, when he wished to exert himself, and had the great asset of
+knowing a considerable amount of English. While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr.
+Evans overheard him relating his experiences on the road to several of
+the other servants. "Of course," said the cook, "it is a fine way to
+see the country, but the riding! My goodness, that's awful! After the
+third day I didn't know whether to go on or turn back--I was so sore I
+couldn't sit down even on a chair to say nothing of a horse!"
+
+He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see the country" that
+way for the day after we left Ta-li Fu _en route_ to the Tibetan
+frontier he became violently ill. Although we could find nothing the
+matter with him he made such a good case for himself that we believed
+he really was quite sick and treated him accordingly. The following
+morning, however, he sullenly refused to proceed, and we realized that
+his illness was of the mind rather than the body. As he had accepted
+two months' salary in advance and had already sent it to his wife in
+Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a certain amount of forceful
+persuasion which entirely accomplished its object and illness did not
+trouble him thereafter.
+
+The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition. Good
+meals and varied food must be provided if the personnel is to work at
+its highest efficiency and cooking requires a vast amount of thought
+and time. In Yün-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no means
+easy to find and when our Paik-hoi gentleman finally left us upon
+our return to Ta-li Fu we were fortunate in obtaining an exceedingly
+competent man to take his place through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+
+We left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu and with a
+new caravan of twenty-five animals traveled northward for six days to
+Li-chiang Fu. By taking a small road we hoped to find good collecting
+in the pine forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was a
+total absence of animal life. The woods were beautiful, parklike
+stretches which in a country like California would be full of game,
+but here were silent and deserted. During the fourth and fifth days we
+were still in the forests, but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000
+feet high and descended abruptly into a long marshy plain where at the
+far end were the gray outlines of Li-chiang dimly visible against the
+mountains.
+
+Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our camp, leaving Heller
+and my wife to follow. A few pages from her journal tell of their entry
+into the city.
+
+  We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the outskirts
+  of the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither Roy nor Wu
+  was in sight but we expected that the _mafus_ would ask where they
+  had gone and follow, for of coarse we could not speak a word of
+  the language. Already there was quite a sensation as we came down
+  the street, for our sudden appearance seemed to have stupefied
+  the people with amazement. One old lady looked at me with an
+  indescribable expression and uttered what sounded exactly like a
+  long-drawn "Mon Dieu" of disagreeable surprise.
+
+  I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to
+  appreciate our friendliness and in return merely stared with open
+  mouths and eyes. We halted and immediately the street was blocked
+  by crowds of men, women, and children who poured out of the
+  houses, shops, and cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention. When
+  the caravan arrived we moved on again expecting that the _mafus_
+  had learned where Roy had gone, but they seemed to be wandering
+  aimlessly through the narrow winding streets. Even though we did
+  not find a camping place we afforded the natives intense delight.
+
+  I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade at home,
+  but the most remarkable attraction there could not have equaled
+  our unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second excursion
+  through the town we passed down a cross-street, and suddenly from a
+  courtyard at the right we heard feminine voices speaking English.
+
+  "It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair, it's
+  a girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably
+  foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They were Mrs.
+  A. Kok, wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary, and two
+  assistants, who rushed into the street as soon as they had
+  determined my sex and literally "fell upon my neck." They had not
+  seen a white woman since their arrival there four years ago and it
+  seemed to them that I had suddenly dropped from the sky.
+
+  While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the camp. They had
+  chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled courtyard on the
+  summit of a hill overlooking the city. It was wonderfully clean and
+  when our beds, tables, and chairs were spread on the broad stone
+  porch it seemed like a real home.
+
+  [Illustration: One of the Pagodas at Ta-li Fu]
+
+  The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller setting
+  traps, and I working at my photography. We let it be known that we
+  would pay well for specimens, and there was an almost uninterrupted
+  procession of men and boys carrying long sticks, on which were
+  strung frogs, rats, toads, and snakes. They would simply beam with
+  triumph and enthusiasm. Our fame spread and more came, bringing the
+  most ridiculous tame things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white
+  rabbits, caged birds, and I even believe we might have purchased a
+  girl baby or two, for mothers stood about with little brown kiddies
+  on their backs as though they really would like to offer them to us
+  but hardly dared.
+
+  The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap, and hidden
+  under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe that his
+  religious vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and so
+  he would beckon Roy into the darkness of the temple with a most
+  mysterious air, and would extract all sorts of things from his
+  sleeves just like a sleight-of-hand performer. He was a rich man
+  when we left!
+
+  The people are mostly tribesmen--Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans, and many
+  others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in front and with
+  a long plait in back. They wash their hair once--on their wedding
+  day--and then it is wrapped up in turbans for the rest of their
+  lives. The Tibetan women dress their hair in dozens of tiny braids,
+  but I don't believe there is any authority that they ever wash it,
+  or themselves either.
+
+Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never had a better one.
+On the morning after our arrival Heller found mammals in half his
+traps, and in the afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which
+brought us fifty mammals of eleven species. This was a wonderful relief
+after the many days of travel through country devoid of animal life.
+
+Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow voles, Asiatic
+white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels, and tree shrews. The
+small mammals were exceedingly abundant and easy to catch, but after
+the first day we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole
+our traps. We usually marked them with a bit of cotton, and the boys
+would follow an entire line down a hedge, taking every one. Sometimes
+they even brought specimens to us for sale which we knew had been
+caught in our stolen traps!
+
+The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the grass where we
+found the "runways" or paths which mice, rats and voles often make.
+These animals begin to move about just after dark, and we usually would
+inspect our traps with a lantern about nine o'clock in the evening.
+This not only gave the trap a double chance to be filled but we also
+secured perfect specimens, for such species as mice and shrews are
+cannibalistic, and almost every night, if the specimens were not taken
+out early in the evening, several would be partly eaten.
+
+Small mammals are often of much greater interest and importance
+scientifically than large ones, for, especially among the Insectivores,
+there are many primitive forms which are apparently of ancestral stock
+and throw light on the evolutionary history of other living groups.
+
+Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance for the Tibetans
+bring down vast quantities of skins for sale and trade. Lambs, goats,
+foxes, cats, civets, pandas, and flying squirrels hang in the shops and
+there are dozens of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.
+
+This city is a most interesting place especially on market day, for its
+inhabitants represent many different tribes with but comparatively few
+Chinese. By far the greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who
+are semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally an
+independent race who ruled a considerable part of northern Yün-nan,
+and Li-chiang was their ancient capital. To the effeminate and "highly
+civilized" Chinese they are "barbarians," but we found them to be
+simple, honest and wholly delightful people. Many of those whom we met
+later had never seen a white woman, and yet their inherent decency was
+in the greatest contrast to that of the Chinese who consider themselves
+so immeasurably their superior.
+
+The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle, and this is the one
+place in the Orient except in large cities along the coast, where we
+could obtain fresh milk and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered
+tea and _tsamba_ (parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but they
+also grow quantities of delicious vegetables and fruit. Buttered tea
+is prepared by churning fresh butter into hot tea until the two have
+become well mixed. It is then thickened with finely ground _tsamba_
+until a ball is formed which is eaten with the fingers. The combination
+is distinctly good when the ingredients are fresh, but if the butter
+happens to be rancid the less said of it the better.
+
+The natives of this region are largely agriculturists and raise great
+quantities of squash, turnips, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions,
+corn, peas, beans, oranges, pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling
+we filled our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or
+chestnuts and could replenish our stock at almost any village along the
+road.
+
+Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually about eight cents
+(Mexican) a dozen, and we could always purchase a chicken for an empty
+tin can, or two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest
+desideratum and when offers of money failed to induce a native to pose
+for the camera a bottle nearly always would decide matters in our favor.
+
+In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting only twelve miles
+north of the city on the Snow Mountain range, the highest peak of which
+rises 18,000 feet above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr.
+Kok's house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules to take us to the
+hunting grounds. Mr. Kok assisted us in numberless ways while we were
+in the vicinity of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took
+charge of all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned us money
+when it was difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu and helped us to engage
+servants and caravans.
+
+It had rained almost continually for five days and a dense gray curtain
+of fog hung far down in the valley, but on the morning of October
+11 we awoke to find ourselves in another world. We were in a vast
+amphitheater of encircling mountains, white almost to their bases,
+rising ridge on ridge, like the foamy billows of a mighty ocean. At the
+north, silhouetted against the vivid blue of a cloudless sky, towered
+the great Snow Mountain, its jagged peaks crowned with gold where the
+morning sun had kissed their summits. We rode toward it across a level
+rock-strewn plain and watched the fleecy clouds form, and float upward
+to weave in and out or lose themselves in the vast snow craters beside
+the glacier. It was an inspiration, that beautiful mountain, lying so
+white and still in its cradle of dark green trees. Each hour it seemed
+more wonderful, more dominating in its grandeur, and we were glad to be
+of the chosen few to look upon its sacred beauty.
+
+[Illustration: A Moso Herder]
+
+[Illustration: A Moso Woman]
+
+In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple which nestled into a
+grove of spruce trees on the outskirts of a straggling village. To the
+north the Snow Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and south
+a grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle undulations to a range
+of hills which jutted into the valley like a great recumbent dragon.
+
+A short time after our camp was established we had a visit from an
+Austrian botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti, who had been in the village
+for two weeks. He had come to Yün-nan for the Vienna Museum before the
+war, expecting to remain a year, but already had been there three.
+Surrounded as he was by Tibet, Burma, and Tonking, his only possible
+exit was by way of the four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had
+little money and for two years had been living on Chinese food. He
+dined with us in the evening, and his enjoyment of our coffee, bread,
+kippered herring, and other canned goods was almost pathetic.
+
+A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti left for Yün-nan Fu and
+eventually reached Shanghai which, however, became a closed port to him
+upon China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped that his
+collections, which must be of great scientific value and importance,
+have arrived at a place of safety long ere this book issues from the
+press.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+
+We hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain village. They were
+picturesque fellows, supposedly dressed in skins, but their garments
+were so ragged and patched that it was difficult to determine the
+original material of which they were made.
+
+One of them was armed with a most extraordinary gun which, it was said,
+came from Tibet. Its barrel was more than six feet long, and the stock
+was curved like a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in
+the side of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was fastened a
+forked spring. At his waist the man carried a long coil of rope, the
+slowly burning end of which was placed in the crotched spring. When
+about to shoot the native placed the butt of the weapon against his
+cheek, pressed the spring so that the burning rope's end touched the
+powder fuse, and off went the gun.
+
+The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned arrows. They
+were remarkably good shots and at a distance of one hundred feet could
+place an arrow in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found
+later that crossbows are in common use throughout the more remote parts
+of Yün-nan and were only another evidence that we had suddenly dropped
+back into the Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth
+century equipment, were anachronisms.
+
+The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game even with such
+primitive weapons for they depend largely upon dogs which bring gorals
+and serows to bay against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive.
+The dogs are a mongrel breed which appears to be largely hound, and
+some are really excellent hunters. White is the usual color but a few
+are mixed black and brown, or fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos,
+owned a good pack and we all came to love its big red leader. This
+fine dog could be depended upon to dig out game if there was any in
+the mountains, but his life with us was short for he was killed by our
+first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable and the tears he shed were in
+sincere sorrow for the loss of a faithful friend.
+
+Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we saw while passing
+through Chinese villages were nauseating in their unsightliness, for at
+least thirty per cent of them were more or less diseased. Barely able
+to walk, they would stagger across the street or lie in the gutter in
+indescribable filth. One longed to put them out of their misery with a
+bullet but, although they seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed
+an owner appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.
+
+The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly good condition
+and there seemed to be comparatively little disease among them. Our
+hunters treated their hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals
+themselves, although loyal to their masters, manifested but little
+affection. In Korea dogs are eaten by the natives, but none of the
+tribes with which we came in contact in Yün-nan used them for food.
+
+On our first day in the temple Heller went up the Snow Mountain for a
+reconnaissance and the party secured a fine porcupine. It is quite a
+different animal from the American tree porcupines and represents a
+genus (_Hystrix_) which is found in Asia, Africa, and southern Europe.
+This species lives in burrows and, when hunting big game, we were often
+greatly annoyed to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one
+of these animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing about the
+burrow yelping excitedly instead of having a goral at bay as we had
+expected.
+
+Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills are more than twelve
+inches long and very sharp. A porcupine will keep an entire pack of
+dogs at bay and is almost sure to drive its murderous weapons into the
+bodies of some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short time. The
+Mosos eat the flesh which is white and fine.
+
+Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang the traps yielded
+four shrews and one mouse which were new to our collection. The natives
+brought in three bats which we had not previously seen and began a
+thriving business in toads and frogs with now and then a snake.
+
+The temple was an excellent place for small mammals but it was evident
+that we would have to move high up on the slopes of the mountain if
+gorals and other big game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while
+Heller prepared a number of bat skins we started out on horse-back to
+hunt a camp site.
+
+It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly from a cloudless
+sky and just a touch of autumn snap in the air. We crossed the sloping
+rock-strewn plain to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail
+which led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main peaks. An
+hour of steady climbing brought us to the summit of the ridge where we
+struck into the woods toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The
+trail led us along the brink of a steep escarpment from which we could
+look over the valley and away into the blue distance toward Li-chiang.
+Three thousand feet below us the roof of our temple gleamed from among
+the sheltering pine trees, and the herds of sheep and cattle massed
+themselves into moving patches on the smooth brown plain.
+
+[Illustration: The Snow Mountain]
+
+We pushed our way through the spruce forest with the glistening
+snow bed as a beacon and suddenly emerged into a flat open meadow
+overshadowed by the ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place
+to camp," we both exclaimed. "If we can only find water, let's come
+tomorrow."
+
+The hunters had assured us that there were no streams on this end of
+the mountain but we hoped to find a snow bank which would supply our
+camp for a few days at least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in
+the grandeur of the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling very small and
+helpless amid surroundings where nature had so magnificently expressed
+herself.
+
+At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry creek bed which led
+upward through the dense spruce forest. "Where water has been, water
+may be again," we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way among
+the trees and over fallen logs to a fairly open hill slope where we
+attempted to ride, but our animals were nearly done. After climbing a
+few feet they stood with heaving sides and trembling legs the breath
+rasping through distended nostrils. We felt the altitude almost as
+badly as the horses for the meadow itself was twelve thousand feet
+above the level of the sea and the air was very thin.
+
+There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable snow bank when it
+was slowly borne in upon us that the subdued roaring in our ears was
+the sound of water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined.
+Above and to the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet in height,
+and as we toiled upward and emerged beyond timber line we caught a
+glimpse of a silver ribbon streaming down its face. It came from a
+melting snow crater and we could follow its course with our eyes to
+where it swung downward along a rock wall not far from the upper end of
+the meadow. It was so hidden by the trees that had we not climbed above
+timber line, it never would have been discovered.
+
+This solved the question of our camp and we looked about us happily. On
+the way through the forest we had noticed small mammal runways under
+almost every log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy
+slope was cut by an intricate network of tiny tunnels. These were
+plainly the work of a meadow vole (_Microtus_) and at this altitude it
+certainly would prove to be a species new to our collection.
+
+The sun had already dropped behind the mountain and the meadow was in
+shadow when we reached it again on our homeward way. By five o'clock
+we were in the temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations
+for an early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the morning three
+of the mules had strayed, and we did not arrive at the meadow until two
+o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce forest a few hundred
+yards from the snow stream. As soon as the tents were up we climbed to
+the grassy slope above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of
+traps in the vole runways and under logs and stumps in the forest.
+
+[Illustration: A Cheek Gun Used by One of Our Hunters]
+
+[Illustration: The First Goral Killed on the Snow Mountain]
+
+The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a short distance away
+and slept in their ragged clothes without a blanket or shelter of any
+kind. It was delightfully warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was
+out, but as soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and the nights were
+freezing cold; yet the natives did not seem to mind it in the slightest
+and refused our offer of a canvas tent fly.
+
+We never will forget that first night on the Snow Mountain. As we sat
+at dinner about the camp-fire we could see the somber mass of the
+forest losing itself in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of
+the mighty peaks standing guard about our mountain home. We slept,
+breathing the strong, sweet perfume of the spruce trees and dreamed
+that we two were wandering alone through the forest opening the
+treasure boxes of the Wild.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+
+We were awakened before daylight by Wu's long drawn call to the
+hunters, "_L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o._" The steady drum of
+rain on our tent shot a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened
+my eyes, but before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags and dressed
+it lessened to a gentle patter and soon ceased altogether. It left a
+cold, gray morning with dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks
+but, nevertheless, I decided to go out with the hunters to try for
+goral.
+
+Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a high rock shoulder
+sparsely covered with scrub spruce while I went up the opposite slope
+accompanied by the other two. We had not been away from camp half an
+hour when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately we heard them
+coming around the summit of the ridge in our direction. The hunters
+made frantic signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the thin
+air with my heart pounding like a trip hammer I could not go faster
+than a walk.
+
+We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly the dogs appeared
+on the side of the cliff near the summit. Just in front of them was
+a bounding gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs and
+animals but ten minutes later a blessed gust of wind drifted the fog
+away and the goral was indistinctly visible with its back to a rock
+ledge facing the dogs. The big red leader of the pack now and then
+dashed in for a nip at the animal's throat but was kept at bay by its
+vicious lunges and sharp horns.
+
+[Illustration: Hotenfa, One of Our Moso Hunters, Bringing in a Goral]
+
+[Illustration: Another Moso Hunter with a Porcupine]
+
+It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud was drifting in
+again and I dropped down for a shot. The hunters were running up the
+slope, frantically waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to
+shoot at that distance. I could just see the gray form through the
+sights and the first two shots spattered the loose rock about a foot
+low. For the third I got a dead rest over a stone and as the crash of
+the little Mannlicher echoed up the gorge, the goral threw itself into
+the air whirling over and over onto the rocks below.
+
+The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill and down into the
+stream bed, and when I arrived the goral lay on a grassy ledge beside
+the water. The animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through
+its lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed on the rocks,
+its horns were uninjured and the beautiful gray coat was in perfect
+condition. It so happened that this ram was the largest which we killed
+on the entire trip.
+
+When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp we met Yvette and
+Heller on their way to visit the traps just below snow line, and she
+returned with me to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies
+which I knew would be performed. One of the natives cut a leafy branch,
+placed the goral upon it and at the first cut chanted a prayer. Then
+laying several leaves one upon the other he sliced off the tip of the
+heart, wrapped it carefully in the leaves and placed it in a nearby
+tree as an offering to the God of the Hunt.
+
+I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters perform similar
+ceremonies at the death of an animal, and the idea that it is necessary
+to propitiate the God of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting
+in Korea in 1912, and also in other parts of China, if luck had been
+against us for a few days the hunters would invariably ask me to buy a
+chicken, or some animal to sacrifice for "good joss."
+
+After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood we again climbed
+the cliff at the end of the meadow. When we were nearly 2,000 feet
+above camp the clouds shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain
+wrapped itself about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for it to
+drift away.
+
+After an hour the fog began to thin and the men sent the hounds toward
+a talus slope at the base of the highest peak. Almost immediately the
+big red dog picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with
+the pack yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly as possible over
+such hard going but before we reached the other side the dogs had
+rounded a sharp pinnacle and disappeared far below us. Expecting that
+the goral would swing about the base of the peak the hunters sent me
+back across the talus to watch for a shot, but the animal ran down the
+valley and into a heavily wooded ravine where the dogs lost his trail
+only a short distance above camp.
+
+I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich haul from the traps.
+As we supposed, the runways which Yvette and I had discovered above
+timber line were made by a meadow vole (_Microtus_) and in the forest
+almost every trap had caught a white-footed mouse (_Apodemus_). He also
+had several new shrews and we caught eight different species of these
+important little animals at this one camp.
+
+Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came to me one day in
+great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese dictionary. He had looked up
+the word "shrew" and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"
+
+The following day Heller went out with the hunters and saw two gorals
+but did not get a shot. In the meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and
+prepared the small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side,
+Baron Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with ropes and an alpine snow ax.
+He was about to attempt to climb the highest peak which had never been
+ascended but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet from the
+summit. He dined at our camp and as all of us carefully refrained from
+"war talk" we spent a very pleasant evening. During his three years in
+Yün-nan he had explored and mapped many sections of the province which
+had not been visited previously by foreigners and from him we obtained
+much valuable information.
+
+On the third morning we were up before daylight and I left with the
+hunters in the gray dawn. We climbed steadily for an hour after leaving
+camp and, when well up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge
+peak through a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets, emerging
+upon a steep grassy meadow; this abutted on a sheer rock wall at the
+upper end, and below ran into a thick evergreen forest.
+
+As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog, trotted off by
+himself toward the rock wall above us, and in a few moments we heard
+his sharp yelps near the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing
+out in a long line up the hillside.
+
+We had nearly crossed the open slope and were standing on the edge of
+a deep gully when the dogs gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were
+sure they were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom of
+the gorge and began the sharp ascent on the other side. It was almost
+straight up and before we had gone a hundred feet we were all gasping
+for breath and my legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps
+of the dogs sounding closer and closer kept us going.
+
+When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill I was absolutely
+done. I lay flat on my back for a few minutes and got to my knees
+just as the goral appeared on the opposite cliff. The sight of the
+magnificent animal bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet
+seemed hardly to touch down the face of a sheer wall, will remain in my
+memory as long as I live. He seemed the very spirit of the mountains, a
+thing born of peaks and crags, vibrant with the breath of the clouds.
+Selecting a spot which he must touch in the next flying leap, I waited
+until his body darkened the sights and then pulled the trigger.
+
+The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to his feet, and with a
+tremendous leap landed on a projecting shelf of rock four yards below.
+Instantly I fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass not
+two feet from the edge of the precipice which fell away in a dizzy drop
+of six hundred feet.
+
+The dogs were on him long before we had worked our way down the cañon
+and up to the shelf where he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as
+the first one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they were
+very tired from their two days of hunting, so I decided to return to
+camp with the men. On the way a second goral was started but it swung
+about the summit of the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction,
+giving one of the hunters a shot with his crossbow, which he missed.
+
+It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear and blue but the
+clouds still lay thickly over the meadow and the camp was invisible.
+The billowy masses clung to the forest line, but from the slopes above
+them we could look far across the valley into the blue distance where
+the snow-covered summits of range after range of magnificent mountains
+lay shining in the sun like beaten silver. There was a strange
+fascination about those mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that
+for twelve long months I was free to roam where I willed and explore
+their hidden mysteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+
+Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns. Their hair was thick
+and soft, pale olive-buff tipped with brownish, and the legs on the
+"cannon bones" were buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches.
+Their color made them practically invisible against the rocks and when
+I killed the second goral my only distinct impression as he dashed
+down the face of the precipice, was of four yellowish legs entirely
+separated from a body which I could hardly see.
+
+This invisibility, combined with the fact that the Snow Mountain
+gorals lived on almost inaccessible cliffs thickly covered with
+scrub spruce forest, made "still hunting" impossible. In fact. Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti, who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains
+fairly thoroughly in his search for plants, had never seen a goral, and
+did not know that such an animal existed there.
+
+Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although he saw several
+gorals, he was not successful in getting one until we had been in camp
+almost a week. His was a young male not more than a year old with horns
+about an inch long. It was a valuable addition to our collection for
+I was anxious to obtain specimens of various ages to be mounted as a
+"habitat group" in the Museum and we lacked only a female.
+
+The preparation of the group required the greatest care and study.
+First, we selected a proper spot to reproduce in the Museum, and
+Yvette took a series of natural color photographs to guide the artist
+in painting the background. Next she made detail photographs of the
+surroundings. Then we collected portions of the rocks and typical bits
+of vegetation such as moss and leaves, to be either dried or preserved
+in formalin. In a large group, perhaps several thousand leaves will be
+required, but the field naturalist need select typical specimens of
+only five or six different sizes from each of which a plaster mold can
+be made at the Museum and the leaves reproduced in wax.
+
+After two days of rain during which I had a hard and unsuccessful
+hunt for serows we decided to return to the temple at the foot of the
+mountain which was nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We
+had already been in our camp on the meadow for nine days and, besides
+the gorals, had gathered a large and valuable collection of small
+mammals. The shrews were especially varied in species and, besides a
+splendid series of meadow voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained a
+new weasel and a single specimen of a tiny rock-cony or little chief
+hare, an Asiatic genus (_Ochotona_) which is also found in the western
+part of North America on the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
+Although we set dozens of traps among the rocks we did not get another
+on the entire expedition nor did we see indications of their presence
+in other localities.
+
+The almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great
+surprise. Except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that
+foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though
+food was abundant.
+
+On the day before we went to the temple I had a magnificent hunt. We
+left camp at daylight in a heavy fog and almost at once the dogs took
+up a serow trail. We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the
+upper edge of a little meadow and expected the animal to break cover
+any moment, but it turned down the mountain and the hounds lost the
+trail in the thick spruce woods.
+
+We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were well above the
+clouds, which lay in a thick white blanket over the camp, and headed
+for the cañon where I had shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go
+lower down into the forests but I prevailed upon him to stay along the
+open slopes and, while we were resting, the big red dog suddenly gave
+tongue on a ridge above and to the right of us. It was in the exact
+spot where my second goral had been started and we were on the _qui
+vive_ when the rest of the pack dashed up the mountain-side to join
+their leader.
+
+In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard them swinging about
+in our direction. Just then the clouds, which had been lying in a solid
+bank below us, began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the
+cañon. On and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps of the dogs. I
+was trembling with impatience and swearing softly as the gray vapor
+streamed into the gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the
+ravine, until we were enveloped so completely that I could hardly see
+the length of my gun barrel. A moment later we heard the goral leaping
+down the cliff not a hundred yards away.
+
+With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each hoof beat and the
+stones which his flying feet sent rattling into the gorge. Then the
+dogs came past, and we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps
+growing fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The goral was
+lost, and as though the Fates were laughing at us, ten minutes later
+a puff of wind sucked the cloud out of the cañon as swiftly as it had
+come, and above us shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.
+
+Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I had loaned him my
+three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .808 Savage) and he was as excited as a
+child with a new toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered
+the safety catches in a short time even though he had never before seen
+a breach-loading gun.
+
+There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain for the dogs might
+bring the goral to bay on one of the cliffs below us, and in twenty
+minutes we stood on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce
+forest. One of the hunters picked his way down the rock wall while
+Hotenfa and I circled the top of the spur.
+
+We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter shouted that a goral
+was running in our direction. Hotenfa reached the edge of the ridge
+before me, and I saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral
+which disappeared into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt only a few
+feet behind the animal although it must have been well beyond a hundred
+yards and almost straight below us.
+
+Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other hunter brought us
+again to the edge of the cliff just in time to see a second goral dash
+into the forest a good three hundred yards away in the very bottom of
+the gorge.
+
+Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and Hotenfa made
+signs which said as plainly as words, "I told you so. The gorals are
+not on the peaks but down in the forest. We ought to have come here
+first."
+
+There were not many moments for regret, however, for this was "our busy
+day." Suddenly a burst of frantic yelps from the red dog turned us
+off to the left and we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which
+we had just left. One of the other hunters was standing there and his
+crossbow twanged as the goral passed only a few yards from him, but the
+wicked little poisoned dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches
+above the animal's back.
+
+The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the second hunter who
+was too surprised to shoot and only yelled that it was coming toward
+us on the cliff below. Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like
+a goat himself, and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting shelf
+which overhung the gorge.
+
+We reached the rim at the same moment and saw a huge ram standing on
+a narrow ledge a hundred yards below. I fired instantly and the noble
+animal, with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched himself
+into space falling six hundred feet to the rocks beneath us.
+
+As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to go insane. Yelling with
+joy, he threw his arms about my neck, rubbing my face with his and
+pounding me on the back until I thought he would throw us both off the
+cliff. I was utterly dumbfounded but seized his three-barrel gun to
+unload it for in his excitement there was imminent danger that he would
+shoot either himself or me.
+
+Then I realized what it was all about. We had both fired
+simultaneously and neither had heard the other's shot. By mistake
+Hotenfa had discharged a load of buckshot and it was my bullet which
+had killed the goral but his joy was so great that I would not for
+anything have disillusioned him.
+
+It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place where the goral had
+fallen. The dogs were already there lying quietly beside the animal
+when we arrived. My bullet had entered the back just in front of the
+hind leg and ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself against
+the breast bone; the jacket had split, one piece tearing into the
+heart, so that the ram was probably dead before it struck the rocks.
+
+I photographed the goral where it lay and after it had been
+eviscerated, and the hunters had performed their ceremonies to the God
+of the Hunt, I sent one of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked
+toward the bottom of the cañon in the hope of finding the other animals.
+
+It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me in his vivid sign
+language that the gorals were likely to be asleep on the sunny side of
+the ravine; therefore we worked up the opposite slope.
+
+It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours we plodded
+steadily upward, clinging by feet and hands to bushes and rocks, and
+were almost exhausted when we reached a small open patch of grass about
+two thirds of the way to the summit.
+
+We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin, toiled on again.
+I had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa was still sitting down, when I
+saw him wave his arm excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped
+down to his side just as he fired at a big female goral which was
+sound asleep in an open patch of grass on the mountain-side.
+
+Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the knee but without the
+slightest sign of injury she dashed down the cliff. I fired as she ran,
+striking her squarely in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the
+bushes a hundred feet below.
+
+How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the summit of the ridge I
+never can understand, for with a light sack upon my back and a rifle it
+was all I could do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely done
+when we finally threw ourselves on the grass at the edge of the meadow
+which we had left in the morning. Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we
+opened the goral, but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for my
+bullet had smashed the heart to a pulp.
+
+On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead tired, disappeared
+alone into the heavy forest below us. Suddenly we heard his deep bay
+coming up the hill in our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens
+and ran to an opening in the forest where we thought the animal must
+pass.
+
+Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared higher up
+at the heels of a crested muntjac (_Elaphodus_), which was bounding
+along at full speed, its white flag standing straight up over its dark
+bluish back. I had one chance for a shot at about one hundred and fifty
+yards as the pair crossed a little opening in the trees, but it was too
+dangerous to shoot for, had I missed the deer, the dog certainly would
+have been killed.
+
+[Illustration: A Typical Goral Cliff on the Snow Mountain]
+
+I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is an exceedingly
+rare species, but a few days later a shepherd brought in another which
+had been wounded by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the
+plains to die.
+
+When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out to meet us, falling
+over logs and bushes in her eagerness to see what we were carrying.
+No dinner which I have ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral
+steak that night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping bag, dead
+tired in body but with a happy heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+
+On October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain and camped in the
+temple which we had formerly occupied. This was directly below the
+forests inhabited by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts
+exclusively toward obtaining a representative series of these animals.
+
+Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the palm of my right
+hand almost immediately, and had it not been for the devoted care of
+my wife I should not have left China alive. Through terrible nights of
+delirium when the poison was threatening to spread over my entire body,
+she nursed me with an utter disregard of her own health and slept only
+during a few restless hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I
+could do no work but at last was able to bend my "trigger finger" and
+resume hunting although I did not entirely recover the use of my hand
+for several months.
+
+However, the work of the expedition by no means ceased because of my
+illness. Mr. Heller continued to collect small mammals with great
+energy and the day after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new
+native hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit from the independent
+tribe of S'suchuan and they proved to be excellent men.
+
+The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our third day in the
+temple. Heller went out with the hunters but in a few hours returned
+alone. A short time after he had left the natives the dogs took up
+the trail of a huge serow and followed it for three miles through the
+spruce forest. They finally brought the animal to bay against a cliff
+and a furious fight ensued. One dog was ripped wide open, another
+received a horn-thrust in the side, and the big red leader was thrown
+over a cliff to the rocks below. More of the hounds undoubtedly would
+have been killed had not the hunters arrived and shot the animal.
+
+The men brought the serow in late at night but our joy was considerably
+dampened by the loss of the red dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms
+and laid him gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal
+died during the night. His master cried like a child and I am sure that
+he felt more real sorrow than he would have shown at the loss of his
+wife; for wives are much easier to get in China than good hunting dogs.
+
+The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from fighting, and had lost
+one horn by falling over a cliff when he was killed. He was brownish
+black, with rusty red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was
+nine and three-quarters inches in length and five and three-quarters
+inches in circumference at the base and the effectiveness with which
+he had used his horns against the dogs demonstrated that they were
+by no means only for ornaments. In the next chapter the habits and
+relationships of the gorals and serows will be considered more fully.
+
+On the morning following the capture of the first serow the last rain
+of the season began and continued for nine days almost without ceasing.
+The weather made hunting practically impossible for the fog hung
+so thickly over the woods that one could not see a hundred feet and
+Heller found that many of his small traps were sprung by the raindrops.
+The Lolos had disappeared, and we believed that they had returned to
+their village, but they had been hunting in spite of the weather and
+on the fifth day arrived with a fine male serow in perfect condition.
+It showed a most interesting color variation for, instead of red, the
+lower legs were buff with hardly a tinge of reddish.
+
+November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless sky and during
+the remainder of the winter we had as perfect weather as one could
+wish. Yvette's constant mussing and efficient surgery combined with
+the devotion of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread of the
+poison in my hand and my nights were no longer haunted with the strange
+fancies of delirium, but I was as helpless as a babe. I could do
+nothing but sit with steaming cloths wrapped about my arm and rail at
+the fate which kept me useless in the temple.
+
+The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just above our camp but
+the animal fell into a rock fissure more than a hundred feet deep and
+was recovered only after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging
+ladder from tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the serow bodily up
+the cliff; as it weighed nearly three hundred pounds this was by no
+means an easy undertaking.
+
+Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led by a slender young
+chief with patrician features who ruled his village like an autocrat
+with absolute power of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people
+who at one time probably occupied much of the region south of the
+Yangtze River but were pushed south and west by the Chinese and, except
+in one instance, now exist only in scattered units in the provinces of
+Kwei-chau and Yün-nan.
+
+In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which is absolutely
+closed to the Chinese on pain of death and over which they exercise no
+control. Several expeditions have been launched against the Lolos but
+all have ended in disaster.
+
+Only a few weeks before we arrived in Yün-nan a number of Chinese
+soldiers butchered nearly a hundred Lolos whom they had encountered
+outside the independent territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned
+several villages almost under the walls of a fortified city in which
+were five hundred soldiers, massacred all the men and boys, and carried
+off the women as slaves.
+
+The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with comparatively
+fair complexions, and often with straight features, suggesting a
+mixture of Mongolian with some more straight-featured race. Their
+appearance marks them as closely connected by race with the eastern
+Tibetans, the latter being, if anything, rather the bigger men of the
+two."[2] They are great wanderers and over a very large part of Yün-nan
+form the bulk of the hill population, being the most numerous of all
+the non-Chinese tribes in the province.
+
+[Footnote 2: "Yün-nan, the Link between India and the Yangtze," by
+Major H. R. Davies, 1909, p. 389.]
+
+Like almost every race which has been conquered by the Chinese or has
+come into continual contact with them for a few generations, the Lolos
+of Yün-nan, where they are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by
+the Chinese. We found, as did Major Davies, that in some instances
+they were giving up their language and beginning to talk Chinese even
+among themselves. The women already had begun to tie up their feet in
+the Chinese fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.
+
+Those whom we employed were living entirely by hunting and, although
+we found them amiable enough, they were exceedingly independent. They
+preferred to hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased
+chance for game our high-power rifles gave them, and eventually left
+us while I was away on a short trip, even though we still owed them
+considerable money.
+
+The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of Yün-nan. Major
+Davies has considered this question in his valuable book to which I
+have already referred, and I cannot do better than quote his remarks
+here.
+
+  The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in
+  western China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features
+  of travel in that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any
+  other part of the world is there such a large variety of languages
+  and dialects, as are to be heard in the country which lies between
+  Assam and the eastern border of Yün-nan and in the Indo-Chinese
+  countries to the south of this region.
+
+  The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical
+  characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges
+  and the deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the
+  differences in customs and language, and the innumerable tribal
+  distinctions, which are so perplexing to the enquirer into
+  Indo-Chinese ethnology.
+
+  A tribe has entered Yün-nan from their original Himalayan or
+  Tibetan home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land
+  they have settled on not equal to their wants. The natural result
+  has been the emigration of part of the colony. The emigrants,
+  having surmounted pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers
+  on extemporized rafts, have found a new place to settle in, and
+  have felt no inclination to undertake such a journey again to
+  revisit their old home.
+
+  Being without a written character in which to preserve their
+  traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside
+  world, and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support
+  themselves, the recollection of their connection with their
+  original ancestors has died out. It is not then surprising that
+  they should now consider themselves a totally distinct race from
+  the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and the practice of slave
+  raiding so common among the wilder members of the Indo-Chinese
+  family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In fact
+  it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for
+  hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the
+  languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to
+  each other the marked general resemblance which is still to be
+  found.
+
+  The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good
+  means of communication have also naturally militated against the
+  formation of any large kingdoms with effective control over the
+  mountainous districts. Directly we get to a flat country with
+  good roads and navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions
+  disappear, and the whole of the inhabitants are welded into a
+  homogeneous people under a settled government, speaking one
+  language.
+
+  Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the same
+  everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will find one language
+  spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same
+  length in the hilly country to the east or to the west of the
+  Irrawaddy valley would bring him into contact with twenty mutually
+  unintelligible tongues.
+
+  The same state of things applies to Siam and Tonking--one nation
+  speaking one language in the flat country and a Tower of Babel in
+  the hills (_loc. cit._, pp. 332-883).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+
+Gorals and serows belong to the subfamily _Rupicaprinæ_ which is an
+early mountain-living offshoot of the _Bovidæ_; it also includes the
+chamois, takin, and the so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America.
+The animals are commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in order to
+express the intermediate position which they apparently hold between
+the goats and antelopes. They are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine
+antelopes from the scientific name of the chamois (_Rupicapra_).
+
+The horns of all members of the group are finely ridged, subcylindrical
+and are present in both sexes, being almost as long in the female as
+in the male. Although no one would suspect that the gorals are more
+closely related to the takins than to the serows, which they resemble
+superficially, such seems to be the case, but the cranial differences
+between the two genera are to a certain extent bridged over by the
+skull of the small Japanese serow (_Capricornulus crispus_). This
+species is most interesting because of its intermediate position. In
+size it is larger than a goral but smaller than a serow; its long coat
+and its horns resemble those of a goral but it has the face gland and
+short tail of a serow. It is found in Japan, Manchuria and southern
+Siberia.
+
+The principal external difference between the gorals and serows,
+besides that of size, is in the fact that the serows have a short tail
+and a well developed face gland, which opens in front of the eyes by a
+small orifice, while the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.
+
+[Illustration: A Serow Killed on the Snow Mountain]
+
+[Illustration: The Head of a Serow]
+
+In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are similar to some
+of the antelopes but in their clumsy build, heavy limbs and stout
+hoofs as well as in habits they resemble goats. The serow has a long,
+melancholy-looking face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese in
+Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey" but in Yün-nan it is
+called "wild cow."
+
+The specific relationships of the serows are by no means satisfactorily
+determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent of the London Zoölogical
+Society's Gardens, has recently devoted considerable study to the
+serows of British India and considers them all to be races of the
+single species _Capricornis sumatrensis_. With this opinion I am
+inclined to agree, although I have not yet had sufficient time in which
+to thoroughly study the subject in the light of our new material.
+
+These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration, and fall
+into three groups all of which partake more or less of the characters
+of each other. Chinese serows usually have the lower legs rusty red,
+while in Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern Burma
+and Malayan forms.
+
+The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain can probably be
+referred to _Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, those of
+Fukien obtained by Mr. Caldwell represent the white-maned serow
+_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochætes_ and one which I shot in May,
+1917, near Teng-yueh, not far from the Burma frontier, is apparently an
+undescribed form.
+
+Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable individual
+variation exists in the color of the legs of these animals; this
+character was considered to be of diagnostic value, and probably is
+in some degree, but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly
+supposed to be.
+
+Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain have the lower legs rusty
+red, while in two others these parts are buff colored. The animals,
+all males of nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain,
+and virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no important
+differences and there is no reason to believe that they represent
+anything but an extreme individual variation.
+
+The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping are even
+more surprising. The old female is coal black, but the young male
+is distinctly brownish-black with a chestnut stripe from the mane
+to the tail along the mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back
+form a ridge. The horns of the female are nearly parallel for half
+their extent and approach each other at the tips; their surfaces
+are remarkably smooth. The horns of the young male diverge like a V
+from the skull and are very heavily ridged. The latter character is
+undoubtedly due to youth.
+
+These serows are an excellent example of the necessity for collecting
+a large number of specimens from the same locality. Only by this means
+is it possible to learn how the species is affected by age, sex and
+individual variation and what are its really important characters.
+In the case of the gorals, our Expedition obtained at Hui-yao such a
+splendid series of all ages that we have an unequaled opportunity for
+intelligent study. Serows are entirely Asian and found in China, Japan,
+India, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly at altitudes of from
+9,000 to 13,000 feet in dense spruce forests, among the cliffs. The
+animals seemed to be fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we
+were constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive use.
+Apparently serows seldom come out into the open, but feed on leaves and
+grass while in the thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to
+kill them without the aid of dogs or beaters.
+
+Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or four miles, and
+eventually lose them or it may turn at bay and fight the pack after
+only a short chase; a large serow is almost certain to kill several of
+the hounds if in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back. The
+animal can use its strong curved horns with deadly effect for it is
+remarkably agile for a beast of its size.
+
+In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high mountain clothed
+with a dense jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was in quite different country
+from that which the animals inhabit in Yün-nan for although the cover
+was exceedingly thick it was without such high cliffs and there were
+extensive grassy meadows. We did not see any serows in Fukien because
+of the ignorance of our beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh
+tracks. The natives said that in late September the animals could often
+be found in the forests of the lower mountain slopes when they came to
+browse upon the new grown mushrooms.
+
+Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin of a splendid
+female serow and a short time later obtained a young male. The latter
+was seen swimming across the river just below the city wall and was
+caught alive by the natives. The female weighed three hundred and ten
+pounds and the male two hundred and ninety pounds.
+
+Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather dangerous pets
+unless tamed when very young. We are reproducing a photograph taken and
+kindly loaned by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the Berlin
+Zoölogical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zoölogical Park at Calcutta
+and one from Darjeeling is owned by the London Zoölogical Society.
+
+Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the chamois. The
+species which we killed on the Snow Mountain can probably be referred
+to _Næmorhedus griseus_, but I have not yet had an opportunity to study
+our specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals have blackish
+brown tails which from the roots to the end of the hairs measure about
+10 inches in length. The horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for
+the basal half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The male
+horns are strongly recurved and are thick and round at the base but
+narrow rapidly to the tips; the female horns are straighter and more
+slender. The longest horns in the series which we received measured six
+inches in length and three and three-quarters inches in circumference
+at the base. Like the serows, gorals are confined to Asia and are found
+in northern India, Burma, and China, and northwards through Korea and
+southern Manchuria.
+
+We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain for in this particular
+region they could be killed in no other way. There was so much cover,
+even at altitudes of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so
+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still hunting" and never
+see a goral. They are vicious fighters, and often back up to a cliff
+where they can keep the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds
+while hunting alone, brought a goral to bay and was found dead next day
+by the hunters with its side ripped open.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly but at Hui-yao, not
+far from the Burma frontier, where we hunted another species in the
+spring, they were almost universally in herds of from six to seven or
+eight. It was at the latter place that we had our best opportunity to
+observe gorals and learn something of their habits. We were camping on
+the banks of a branch of the Shweli River, which had cut a narrow gorge
+for itself; on one side this was seven or eight hundred feet deep. A
+herd of about fifty gorals had been living for many years on one of
+the mountain sides not far from the village, and although they were
+seen constantly the natives had no weapons with which to kill them; but
+with our high-power rifles it was possible to shoot across the river at
+distances of from two hundred to four hundred yards.
+
+We could scan every inch of the hillside through our field glasses and
+watch the gorals as they moved about quite unconscious of our presence.
+At this place they were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of
+low bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where the slopes had
+been partly burned over. We found them browsing from daylight until
+about nine o'clock, and from four in the afternoon until dark. They
+would move slowly among the bushes, picking off the new leaves, and
+usually about the middle of the morning would choose a place where the
+sun beat in warmly upon the rocks, and go to sleep.
+
+Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides, as do many
+hoofed animals, but doubled their forelegs under them, stretched their
+necks and hind legs straight out, and rested on their bellies. It was a
+most uncomfortable looking attitude, and the first time I saw an animal
+resting thus I thought it had been wounded, but both Mr. Heller and
+myself saw them repeatedly at other times, and realized that this was
+their natural position when asleep.
+
+When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or goats, they would run a
+short distance and stop to look back. This was usually their undoing,
+for they offered excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against
+the sky. They were very difficult to see when lying down among the
+rocks, but our native hunters, who had most extraordinary eyesight,
+often would discover them when it was almost impossible for me to find
+them even with the field glasses. We never could be sure that there
+were no gorals on a mountain-side, for they were adepts at hiding,
+and made use of a bunch of grass or the smallest crevice in a rock to
+conceal themselves, and did it so completely that they seemed to have
+vanished from the earth.
+
+Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where it seemed
+impossible for any animal to move. I have seen a goral run down the
+face of a cliff which appeared to be almost perpendicular, and where
+the dogs dared not venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock
+it would bounce off as though made of rubber, and leap eight or ten
+feet to a narrow ledge which did not seem large enough to support a
+rabbit.
+
+The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is largely due to
+the animal's foot structure. Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn has
+investigated this matter in the mountain goat and as his remarks apply
+almost equally well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote them
+here:
+
+  The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme front.
+  Behind this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which gives the
+  horny hoof a chance to get its hold. Both the main digits and the
+  dewclaws terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded and expanded
+  soles, which are of great service in securing a firm footing on
+  the shelving rocks and narrow ledges on which the animal travels
+  with such ease. This sole, Smith states, softens in the spring of
+  the year, when the snow is leaving the ground, a fresh layer of
+  the integument taking its place. The rubber-like balls with which
+  the dewclaws are provided are by no means useless; they project
+  back below the horny part of the hoof, and Mr. Smith has actually
+  observed the young captive goats supporting themselves solely on
+  their dewclaws on the edge of a roof. It is probable that they are
+  similarly used on the rocks and precipices, since on a very narrow
+  ledge they would serve favorably to alter the center of gravity by
+  enabling the limb to be extended somewhat farther forward.[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: "Mountain Goat Hunting with the Camera," by Henry
+Fairfield Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth _Annual Report of the New
+York Zoölogical Society_, 1906, pp. 18-14.]
+
+There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes at Hui-yao which
+the gorals must have used continually, judging by the way in which
+these were worn. We also found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and
+on projecting ledges to indicate that these were definite resorts for
+numbers of the animals. Many which we saw were young or of varying ages
+running with the herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly
+they had mastered the art of self-concealment even when hardly a year
+old. Although at Hui-yao almost all were on the east side of the
+river, they did not seem to be especially averse to water, and several
+times I watched wounded animals swim across the stream.
+
+Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little brutes inspire
+the sportsman with admiration, besides leading him over peaks which try
+his nerve to the utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my
+life the wonderful hunts in Yün-nan, far above the clouds, at the edge
+of the snow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+October had slipped into November when we left the temple and shifted
+camp to the other side of the Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It
+was a brilliant day and the ride up the valley could not have been more
+beautiful. Crossing the _gangheisa_ or "dry sea," a great grassy plain
+which was evidently a dry lake basin, we followed the trail into the
+forest and down the side of a deep cañon to a mountain stream where
+the waters spread themselves in a thin, green veil over a bed of white
+stones.
+
+We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the stream at the
+edge of the spruce forest. Above us towered the highest peak of the
+mountain, with a glacier nestling in a basin near its summit, and the
+snow-covered slopes extending in a glorious shining crescent about our
+camp. The moon was full, and each night as we sat at dinner before the
+fire, the ragged peaks turned crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and
+changed to purest silver at the touch of the white moonlight. We have
+had many camps in many lands but none more beautiful than the one at
+the "White Water."
+
+The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone in a cloudless blue
+sky and in the morning the ground was frozen hard and covered with
+snowlike frost, but the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that
+we could be happy at the "White Water" forever, but it did not prove to
+be as good a hunting ground as that on the other side of the mountain.
+The Lolos killed a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in a
+young goral a short time later, but big game was by no means abundant.
+At the "White Water" we obtained our first Lady Amherst's pheasant
+(_Thaumalea amherstiæ_) one of the most remarkable species of a family
+containing the most beautiful birds of the world. The rainbow colored
+body and long tail of the male are made more conspicuous by a broad
+white and green ruff about the neck. The first birds brought alive to
+England were two males which had been presented to the Countess Amherst
+after whom the species was named. We found this pheasant inhabiting
+thick forests where it is by no means easy to discover or shoot. It is
+fairly abundant in Yün-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan but its habits
+are not well known. Although the camp yielded several small mammals
+new to our collection, we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a new
+caravan for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller remained in
+camp.
+
+The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter than by way of
+the Snow Mountain village and at three o'clock in the afternoon our
+beloved "Temple of the Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking
+the city. As we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque gathering
+on the porch and heard the sound of many voices laughing and talking.
+The beautiful garden-like courtyard was filled with women and children
+of every age and description, and all the doors from one side of
+the temple had been removed, leaving a large open space where huge
+cauldrons were boiling and steaming.
+
+We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the young priest was
+delighted to see us and insisted that we wait until Wu arrived. We
+were glad that we did not seek other quarters for we were to witness
+an interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of Chinese life.
+It seemed that about five years before a gentleman of Li-chiang had
+"shuffled off this mortal coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his
+mortal coil" certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited a
+few hundred dollars several years later and the village "astrologer"
+informed them that according to the _feng-shui_, or omnipotent
+spirits of the earth, wind, and water, the situation of the deceased
+gentleman's grave was ill-chosen and that if they ever hoped to enjoy
+good fortune again they must dig him up, give the customary feast in
+his honor and have another burial site chosen.
+
+Every village has a "wise man" who is always called upon to select the
+resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to
+two thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's
+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether or not
+the spot will prove a propitious one and if the family later sell any
+property, receive a legacy, or are known to have obtained money in
+other ways, the astrologer usually finds that the _feng-shui_ do not
+favor the original place and he will exact another fee for choosing a
+second grave.
+
+The dead are never buried until the astrologer has named an auspicious
+day as well as an appropriate site, with the result that unburied
+coffins are to be seen in temples, under roadside shelters, in the
+fields and in the back yards of many houses.
+
+Any interference by foreigners with this custom is liable to bring
+about dire results as in the case of the rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A
+number of French residents objected to a temple near by being used to
+store a score or more of bodies until a convenient time for burial and
+the result was the death of many people in the fighting which ensued.
+Mr. Tyler Dennet cites an amusing anecdote regarding the successful
+handling of the problem by a native mandarin in Yen-ping where we
+visited Mr. Caldwell:
+
+  The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was the
+  presence of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate had a census
+  taken of the coffins above ground in the city and found that they
+  actually numbered sixteen thousand. The city itself is estimated to
+  have only about twenty thousand inhabitants.
+
+  It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily move
+  in such a way as to bring the whole city down about his head. But
+  the Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps the cleverest
+  people on earth. He finally devised a way out. A proclamation was
+  issued levying a tax of fifty cents on every unburied coffin. The
+  Chinese may be superstitious, but they are even more thrifty. For a
+  few weeks Yen-ping devoted itself to funerals, a thousand a week,
+  and now this little city, one of the most isolated in China, can
+  truly be said to be on the road to health.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: "Doctoring China," by Tyler Dennet, _Asia_, February,
+1918, p. 114.]
+
+[Illustration: The "White Water"]
+
+There are very few such progressive cities in China, however, and a
+missionary told us that recently a young child and his grandfather were
+buried on the same day although their deaths had been nearly fifty
+years apart. The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but it
+is the great ambition of every Chinese to have his resting place as
+near as possible to those of his ancestors. That is one of the reasons
+why they are so loath to emigrate.
+
+We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under the load of a
+heavy coffin, transporting a body sometimes a month's journey or more
+to bury it at the dead man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be
+fastened to the coffin for, according to the Yün-nan superstition, the
+spirit of the man enters the bird and is conveyed by it to his home.
+
+There is a strange absence of the fear of death among the Chinese. One
+often sees large planks of wood stored in a corner of a house and one
+is told that these are destined to become the coffins of the man's
+father or mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying
+the most robust health. Indeed, among the poorer classes, a coffin is
+considered a most fitting gift for a son to present to his father.
+
+We established our camp on the porch of the temple at Li-chiang and
+from its vantage point could watch the festivities going on about us.
+The feasting continued until after dark and at daylight the kettles
+were again steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.
+
+By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour later there came a
+partial stillness which was broken by a sudden burst of music (?) from
+Chinese violins and pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests
+standing about an improvised altar. The foot of the coffin was just
+visible in the midst of the paper decorations and in front of it
+were set half a dozen dishes of tempting food. These were meant as an
+offering to the spirit of the departed one, but we knew this would not
+prevent the sorrowing relatives from eating the food with much relish
+later on.
+
+In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting a figure
+clothed in white with a hood drawn over her face. She was bent nearly
+to the ground and muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of
+her veil as she prostrated herself in front of the altar. For more
+than an hour this chief mourner, the wife of the deceased, lay on her
+face, her whole figure shaking with what seemed the most uncontrollable
+anguish. This same lady, however, moved about later among her guests an
+amiable hostess, with beaming countenance, the gayest of the gay. But
+every morning while the festivities lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock
+she would prostrate herself before the coffin and display heartrending
+grief in the presence of the unmoved spectators in order to satisfy the
+demands of "custom."
+
+Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities with the Chinese, and
+such a display of feigned emotion is required on certain prescribed
+occasions. As one missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all
+face and no heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night while passing
+down a deserted street in a Chinese village he was startled to hear the
+most piercing shrieks issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone
+was being murdered, he rushed through the courtyard only to find that
+a girl who was to be married the following day, according to Chinese
+custom, was displaying the most desperate anguish at the prospect of
+leaving her family, even though she probably was enchanted with the
+idea.
+
+On the third day of the celebration in the temple at Li-chiang the
+feasting ended in a burst of splendor. From one o'clock until far past
+sundown the friends and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any
+person could receive an invitation by bringing a small present, even
+if it were only a bowl of rice or a few hundred cash (ten or fifteen
+cents).
+
+All during the morning girls and women flocked up the hill with trays
+of gifts. There were many Mosos and other tribesmen among them as well
+as Chinese. The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the
+sides and hanging in long narrow plaits down their backs. They wore
+white leather capes (at least that was the original shade) and pretty
+ornaments of silver and coral at their throats, and as they were young
+and gay with glowing red cheeks and laughing eyes they were decidedly
+attractive. The guests were seated in groups of six on the stones
+of the temple courtyard. Small boys acted as waiters, passing about
+steaming bowls of vegetables and huge straw platters heaped high with
+rice. As soon as each guest had stuffed himself to satisfaction he
+relinquished his place to someone else and the food was passed again.
+We were frequently pressed to eat with them and in the evening when the
+last guest had departed the "chief mourner" brought us some delicious
+fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that they had fed three
+hundred people during the day and we could well believe it. The next
+morning the coffin was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of
+anguished wails and we were left once more to the peace and quiet of
+our beautiful temple courtyard.
+
+Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for generations to come
+to provide a suitable funeral for one of its members, because to bury
+the dead without the proper display would not only be to "lose face"
+but subject them to the possible persecution of the angered spirits.
+This is only one of the pernicious results of ancestor worship and it
+is safe to say that most of the evils in China's social order today can
+be traced, directly or indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.
+
+A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants to worship at
+his grave and appease his spirit. The more sons, grandsons, and
+great-grandsons who walk in his funeral procession, the more he is to
+be envied. As a missionary humorously says "the only law of God that
+ever has been obeyed in China is to be fruitful and multiply." Craving
+for progeny has brought into existence thousands upon thousands of
+human beings who exist on the very brink of starvation. Nowhere in
+the civilized world is there a more sordid and desperate struggle to
+maintain life or a more hopeless poverty. But fear and self-love oblige
+them to continue their blind breeding. The apparent atrophy of the
+entire race is due to ancestor worship which binds it with chains of
+iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these bonds are severed
+can China expect to take her place among the progressive nations of the
+earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+
+In mid-November we left the White Water with a caravan of twenty-six
+mules and horses. Following the road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze,
+we crossed the "Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several
+tremendous wooded ridges, each higher than the last, to the summit of
+the divide.
+
+The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine and spruce forest.
+Some of the trees were at least one hundred and fifty feet high, and
+were draped with beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from
+branch to branch and hung suspended in delicate streamers yards in
+length. The forest was choked with underbrush and a dense growth of
+dwarf bamboo, and the hundreds of fallen logs, carpeted with bronze
+moss, made ideal conditions for small mammal collecting. However, as
+all the species would probably be similar to those we had obtained on
+the Snow Mountain, we did not feel that it was worth while stopping to
+trap.
+
+At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a beautiful hill in a
+pine forest which was absolutely devoid of underbrush, and where the
+floor was thinly overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso
+hunter, who acted as our guide, assured us that the river was only
+three miles away, it proved to be more than fifteen, and we did not
+reach the ferry until half past one the next afternoon.
+
+We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in China is, by the
+inaccuracy of the natives, and especially of the Chinese. Their ideas
+of distance are most extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it
+is to a certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen _li_ to
+go, but thirty _li_ when you come back." After a short experience one
+learns how to interpret such an answer, for it means that when going
+the road is down hill and that the return uphill will require double
+the time.
+
+Caravans are supposed to travel ten _li_ an hour, although they seldom
+do more than eight, and all calculations of distance are based upon
+time so far as the _mafus_ are concerned. If the day's march is eight
+hours you invariably will be informed that the distance is eighty _li_,
+although in reality it may not be half as great.
+
+In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith gives many
+illuminating observations on the inaccuracy of the Chinese. In regard
+to distance he says:
+
+  It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the
+  distance is given in "miles" (_li_), whether the "miles" are
+  "large" or not! That there is some basis for estimates of distances
+  we do not deny, but what we do deny is that these estimates or
+  measurements are either accurate or uniform.
+
+  It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment
+  one leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become "long." If
+  120 _li_ constitute a fair day's journey on the main road, then on
+  country roads it will take fully as long to go 100 _li_, and in the
+  mountains the whole day will be spent in getting over 80 _li_ (p.
+  51).
+
+  In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of his
+  oxen gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains
+  that he has omitted to estimate the bones! A servant who was asked
+  his height mentioned a measure which was ridiculously inadequate
+  to cover his length, and upon being questioned admitted that he
+  had left out of account all above his shoulders! He had once been
+  a soldier, where the heft of the men's clavicle is important in
+  assigning the carrying of burdens. And since a Chinese soldier
+  is to all practical purposes complete without his head, this was
+  omitted.
+
+  Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who
+  affirmed that he lived "ninety _li_ from the city," but upon
+  cross-examination he consented to an abatement, as this was
+  reckoning both to the city and back, the real distance being as he
+  admitted, only "forty-five _li_ one way!" (p. 49) ...
+
+  The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads to much
+  vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few tens," or
+  perhaps "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate enumeration
+  is one of the rarest of experiences in China.... An acquaintance
+  told the writer that two men had spent "200 strings of cash" on a
+  theatrical exhibition, adding a moment later, "It was 173 strings,
+  but that is the same as 200--is it not?" (p. 54).
+
+  A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that he
+  himself "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious from
+  his narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city. Upon
+  inquiry, he admitted that he did not _now_ live in the village, and
+  further investigation revealed the fact that the removal took place
+  nineteen generations ago! "But do you not almost consider yourself
+  a resident of the city now?" he was asked. "Yes," he replied
+  simply, "we do live there now, but the old root is in that village."
+
+  ... The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a line of
+  assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed, and
+  they can ill comprehend the mania which seems to possess the
+  Occidental to ascertain everything with unerring exactness. The
+  Chinese does not know how many families there are in his native
+  village, and he does not wish to know. What any human being can
+  want to know this number for is to him an insoluble riddle. It is
+  "a few hundred," "several hundreds" or "not a few," but a fixed and
+  definite number it never was and never will be. (p. 55.)
+
+After breaking camp on the day following our departure from the "White
+Water" we rode along a broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and
+in the late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one of the most
+impressive sights which China has to offer. At the left, and a thousand
+feet below, the mighty Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a
+gorge almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been carved out
+of the solid rock, sharp and clean, with a giant's knife. A few miles
+to the right the mountains widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet
+above the river. Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys
+which stretch upward between the hills, is under cultivation, giving
+support for three villages, the largest of which is Taku.
+
+The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for miles where
+the river can be crossed. The south bank is so precipitous that the
+trail from the plain twists and turns like a snake before it emerges
+upon a narrow sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river is
+a vertical wall of rock which slopes back a little at the lower end to
+form a steep hillside covered with short grass. The landing place is
+a mass of jagged rocks fronting a small patch of still water and the
+trail up the face of the cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed
+by any loaded animal; therefore all the packs must be unstrapped and
+laboriously carted up the slope on the backs of the _mafus_.
+
+At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the boat, which carried
+only two animals and their packs, for the first trip across the river.
+It was difficult to get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped,
+shoved and actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the ferrymen
+first drew the craft along the rocks by a long rope, then climbed up
+the face of what appeared to be an absolutely flat wall, and after
+pulling the boat close beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the
+dory was worked well up stream and when pushed into the swift current
+was rowed diagonally to the other side.
+
+After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen decided to stop work
+although there was yet more than an hour of daylight and they could not
+be persuaded to cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an
+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do but camp where we
+were even though the greater part of our baggage was on the other side,
+with only the _mafus_ to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.
+
+About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a sandy cornfield on
+a level shelf just above the water, and pitched our tents. A slight
+wind was blowing and before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our
+beds, sand in our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller went down
+the river with a bag of traps while we set forty on the hills above
+camp, and after a supper of goral steak, which did much to allay the
+irritation of the day, we crawled into our sandy beds.
+
+At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported that the loads were
+safe but that one of the boatmen had gone to the village and no one
+knew when he would return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as
+breakfast was over and spent an aggravating hour trying by alternate
+threats and cajoling to persuade the remaining ferryman to cross the
+river to us. But it was useless, for the louder I swore the more
+frightened he became and he finally retired into a rock cave from which
+the _mafus_ had to drag him out bodily and drive him into the boat.
+
+The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten o'clock and we felt like
+beating them both, but Wu impressed upon us the necessity for patience
+if we ever expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed our
+wrath; nevertheless, we decided not to leave until the loads and mules
+were on the other side, and we ate a cold tiffin while sitting on the
+sand.
+
+Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty small mammals (one of
+which was a new rat) that our traps had yielded. We took a good many
+photographs and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of
+the _mafus_ to get the mules aboard. Some of them went in quietly
+enough but others absolutely refused to step into the boat. One of the
+_mafus_ would pull, another push, a third twist the animal's tail and
+a fourth lift its feet singly over the side. With the accompaniment of
+yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the performance was picturesque to say
+the least.
+
+[Illustration: A Liso Hunter Carrying a Flying Squirrel]
+
+[Illustration: The Chief of Our Lolo Hunters]
+
+By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken across the racing
+green water and we had some time before dark in which to investigate
+the caverns with which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed.
+They were of two kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves. The latter
+consist of a long central shaft, just high enough to allow a man to
+stand erect; this widens into a circular room. Along the sides of the
+corridor shallow nests have been scooped out to serve as beds and all
+the cooking is done not far from the door. The caves, although almost
+dark, make fairly comfortable living quarters and are by no means as
+dirty or as evil smelling as the ordinary native house. The mines are
+straight shafts dug into the cliffs where the rock is quarried and
+crushed by hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+
+We left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail through an open pine
+and spruce forest along the rim of the Yangtze gorge where the view
+was magnificent. Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand
+Cañon for the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and then immediately
+begins to describe it. Thus it was with us, but no words can picture
+the grandeur of this titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in
+delicate tints of blue and purple; in others, the sides fell away in
+sheer drops of hundreds of feet to the green torrent below rushing on
+to the sea two thousand five hundred miles away.
+
+The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all day and we were left
+far behind, for at each turn a view more beautiful than the last opened
+out before us, and until every color plate and negative in the holders
+had been exposed we worked steadily with the camera.
+
+We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped region which Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti had skirted and reported to be one of vast forests
+and probably rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost bare
+mountain-sides we passed through a parklike spruce forest and reached
+Habala, a long thin village of mud and stone houses scattered up the
+sides of a narrow valley.
+
+Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after ridge of dense
+spruce forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned peak and cut by deep
+ravines, the gloomy depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of
+rocky cliffs--a veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our camping
+place was a grassy lawn as flat and smooth as the putting green of
+a golf course. Just below the tents a streamlet of ice-cold water
+murmured comfortably to itself and a huge dead tree was lying crushed
+and broken for the camp fire.
+
+The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in half an hour and,
+after setting a line of traps, we wandered slowly back through the
+darkness guided by the brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm
+yellow glow over our little table spread for dinner.
+
+We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and after dinner four or
+five picturesque Mosos appeared. They said that there were many serow,
+goral, muntjac and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and
+we could well believe it, for there was never a more "likely looking"
+spot. Although the men did not claim to be professional hunters,
+nevertheless they said that they had good dogs and had killed many
+muntjac and other animals.
+
+They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about two hours late, which
+was doing fairly well for natives. It was a brilliant day just warm
+enough for comfort in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However
+it did not take many hours to demonstrate that the men knew almost
+nothing about hunting and that their dogs were useless. Because of the
+dense cover "still hunting" was out of the question and, after a hard
+climb. We returned to camp to spend the remainder of the afternoon
+developing photographs and preparing small mammals.
+
+Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver mole as well as a
+number of mice, rats, and meadow voles of species identical with those
+taken on the Snow Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze
+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution of even
+the smallest forms and that the region in which we were now working
+would not produce a different fauna. This was an important discovery
+from the standpoint of our distribution records but was also somewhat
+disappointing.
+
+The photographic work already had yielded excellent results. The Paget
+color plates were especially beautiful and the fact that everything was
+developed in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality of
+each negative.
+
+For this work the portable dark room was invaluable. It could be
+quickly erected and suspended from a tree branch or the rafters of a
+temple and offered an absolutely safe place in which to develop or load
+plates. The moving-picture film required special treatment because of
+its size and we usually fastened in the servants' tent the red lining
+which had been made for this purpose in New York. Even then the space
+was so cramped that we were dead tired at the end of a few hours' work.
+
+One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and sees moving-picture
+film which has been obtained in such remote parts of the world does
+not realize the difficulties in its preparation. The water for
+developing almost invariably was dirty and in order to insure even a
+moderately clear film it always had to be strained. For washing the
+negative pailful after pailful had to be carried sometimes from a very
+long distance, and the film exposed for hours to the carelessness or
+curiosity of the natives. In our cramped quarters perhaps a corner of
+the tent would be pushed open admitting a stream of light; the electric
+flash lamp might refuse to work, leaving us in complete darkness to
+finish the developing "by guess and by gosh," or any number of other
+accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we could not develop more
+than three hundred feet in an afternoon and we never breathed freely
+until it finally was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.
+
+We left Habala, on November 28, for a village called Phete where the
+natives had assured us we would find good hunters with dogs. For almost
+the entire distance the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and
+there the view of the great chasm was even more magnificent than that
+we had left. While its sides are not fantastically sculptured and
+the colors are softer than those of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado,
+nevertheless its grandeur is hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring. If
+Yün-nan is ever made accessible by railroads this gorge should become a
+Mecca for tourists, for it is without doubt one of the most remarkable
+natural sights in the world.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three clusters of houses on
+a tableland which juts into a chasm cut by a tributary of the great
+river. One of them was Phete and it seemed that we would reach the
+village in half an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously
+around the hillside, down to the stream and up again that it was an
+hour and a half before we found a camping place on a narrow terrace a
+short distance from the nearest houses.
+
+Next day we could not go to the village to find hunters until
+mid-forenoon because the natives of this region are very late risers
+and often have not yet opened their doors at ten o'clock. This is
+quite contrary to the custom in many other parts of China where the
+inhabitants are about their work in the first light of dawn.
+
+The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and every available
+inch of level ground is under cultivation with corn and a few rice
+paddys near the creek; the latter were a great surprise, for we had not
+expected to find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly
+picturesque but never have we met people of such utter and hopeless
+stupidity as its inhabitants. They were pleasant enough and always
+greeted us with a smile and salutation, but their brains seemed not to
+have kept pace with their bodies and when asked the simplest question
+they would only stare stupidly without the slightest glimmering of
+intelligence.
+
+It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more people to glean
+that there were no hunters in the village where they had lived all
+their lives, but Wu, our interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who
+told us of a hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the answer
+was "Not very far."
+
+"Well, is it ten _li!_"
+
+"I don't know how many _li_."
+
+"Have you ever been there?"
+
+"Yes; it is only a few steps."
+
+"How long will it take to get there?"
+
+"About the time of one meal."
+
+We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience with native
+ideas of distance, and we ate our tiffin before starting out on the
+"few steps." A steep trail led up the valley and after three hours of
+steady riding we reached the hunter's village of three large houses on
+a flat strip of cleared ground in the midst of a dense forest.
+
+The people looked much like those of Phete but were rather anemic
+specimens, and five out of eight had enormous goiters. They were
+exceedingly shy at first, watching us with side glances and through
+cracks in the wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons
+they had ever seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness was due
+to too close intermarriage, for these families had little intercourse
+with the people in Phete who were only "a few steps" away.
+
+As we were leaving they began to eat their supper in the courtyard.
+The principal dish consisted of mixed cornmeal and rice, boiled squash
+and green vegetables. All the women were busy husking corn which was
+hung to dry on great racks about the house. These racks we had noticed
+in every village since leaving Li-chiang and they seemed to be in
+universal use in the north.
+
+The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased one for $4.40
+(Mexican) but there was considerable difficulty in paying for it
+since these people had never seen Chinese money even though living in
+China itself. For currency they used chunks of silver the size of a
+walnut and worth about one dollar (Mexican). The Chinese guide finally
+persuaded the people of the genuineness of our money and we purchased
+a few eggs and a little very delicious wild honey besides the sheep.
+These people as well as those of Phete spoke the Li-chiang dialect but
+with such variation that even our _mafus_ could understand them only
+with the greatest difficulty.
+
+When we returned to camp we found that the coolie who had been engaged
+to carry the motion-picture camera and tripod had left without the
+formality of saying "good-by" or asking for the money which was due
+him. We had had considerable trouble with the camera coolies since
+leaving Li-chiang. The first one carried the camera to the Taku ferry
+with many groans, and there engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place,
+for he thought the load too heavy. It only weighed fifty pounds, and
+in the Fukien Province where men seldom carry less than eighty pounds
+and sometimes as much as one hundred and fifty, it would have been
+considered as only half a burden. In Yün-nan, however, animals do most
+of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at even an ordinary load.
+
+We left Phete in the early morning and camped about five hundred
+feet above the hunter's cabin in a beautiful little meadow. It was
+surrounded with splendid pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up
+from a knoll in the center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen little
+streams over the edge of a deep ravine where a mountain torrent rushed
+through a tangled bamboo jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered
+inches deep with green moss, and altogether it was an ideal spot for
+small mammals. Our traps, however, yielded no new species, although we
+secured dozens of specimens every night.
+
+There were a few families of Lolos about two miles away and these were
+engaged as hunters. They told us that serow and muntjac were abundant
+and that wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several miles
+to the northward. Although the men had a large pack of good dogs they
+were such unsatisfactory hunters that we gave up in disgust after
+three days. They never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the
+morning when the sun had so dried the leaves that the scent was lost
+and the dogs could not follow a trail even if one were found. Moreover,
+the camp was a very uncomfortable one, due to the wind which roared
+through the trees night and day.
+
+We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us at the Taku ferry to
+see if he could get together a pack of dogs. He brought three hounds
+with him which he praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that
+they did not justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were glad to have
+Hotenfa back, for he was one of the most intelligent, faithful, and
+altogether charming natives whom we met in all Yün-nan. He was an
+uncouth savage when he first came to us, but in a very short time he
+had learned our camp ways and was as good a servant as any we had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+
+Since the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved so worthless and the
+traps had yielded no small mammals new to our collection, we decided to
+cross the mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into Tibet.
+
+The head _mafu_ explored the trail and reported that it was impassable
+but, after an examination of some of the worst barriers, we decided
+that they could be cleared away and ordered the caravan to start at
+half past seven in the morning.
+
+Before long we found that the _mafus_ were right. The trail was a mass
+of tangled underbrush and fallen logs and led straight up a precipitous
+mountain through a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary
+to stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier or cut a
+passage through the bamboo thickets, and had it not been for the
+adjustable pack saddles we never could have taken the caravan over the
+trail.
+
+Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals dragged themselves
+to the summit of the mountain, for it was not a pass. In a few hours
+we had come from autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and
+covered with snow. We were at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet
+and far above all timber except the rhododendron forest which spread
+itself out in a low gray mass along the ridges. It was difficult to
+make the slightest exertion in the thin air and a bitterly cold wind
+swept across the peaks so that it was impossible to keep warm even when
+wrapped in our heaviest coats.
+
+The servants and _mafus_ suffered considerably but it was too late
+to go on and there was no alternative but to spend the night on the
+mountain. As soon as the tents were up the men huddled disconsolately
+about the fire, but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller
+went in the opposite direction. We expected to catch some new mammals
+during the night, for there were great numbers of runways on the bare
+hillsides. The ground was frozen so solidly that it was necessary to
+cut into the little _Microtus_ tunnels with a hatchet in order to set
+the traps and we were almost frozen before the work was completed. The
+next morning we had caught twenty specimens of a new white-bellied
+meadow vole and a remarkable shrew with a long curved proboscis.
+
+Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it was bitterly cold
+even in our sleeping bags and the men had sat up about the fire in
+order to keep from freezing. There was little difficulty in getting the
+caravan started in the gray light of early dawn and after descending
+abruptly four thousand feet on a precipitous trail to a Lolo village
+strung out along a beautiful little valley we were again in the
+pleasant warmth of late autumn.
+
+The natives here had never before seen a white person and in a few
+moments our tents were surrounded by a crowd of strange-looking men
+and boys. The chief of the village presented us with an enormous
+rooster and we made him happy by returning two tins of cigarettes. The
+Lolo women, the first we had seen, were especially surprising because
+of their graceful figures and handsome faces. Their flat turbans,
+short jackets, and long skirts with huge flounces gave them a rather
+old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony with the metal neck-bands,
+earrings, and bracelets which they all wore.
+
+The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque group in their
+gray and brown felt capes which they gather about the neck by a draw
+string and, to the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing. We
+collected all the men for their photographs, and although they had not
+the slightest idea what we were about they stood quietly after Hotenfa
+had assured them that the strange-looking instrument would not go off.
+But most interesting of all was their astonishment when half an hour
+later they saw the negative and were able to identify themselves upon
+it.
+
+The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race. They are exceedingly
+independent, and although along the frontier of their own territory in
+S'suchuan they wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly
+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless he is under
+the protection of a chief who acts as a sponsor and passes him along to
+others. Mr. Brooke, an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was
+not properly "chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the French expedition
+lived among them safely for some time and gives them unstinted praise.
+
+Whenever we met tribesmen in Yün-nan who had not seen white persons
+they behaved much like all other natives. They were, of course,
+always greatly astonished to see our caravan descend upon them and
+were invariably fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact everything
+about us, but were generally shy and decidedly less offensive in
+their curiosity than the Chinese of the larger inland towns to whom
+foreigners are by no means unknown. As a matter of fact we have found
+that our white skins, light eyes, and hair are a never failing source
+of interest and envy to almost all Orientals.
+
+[Illustration: Lolos Seeing Their Photographs for the First Time]
+
+Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially among the women,
+and as she wore knickerbockers and a flannel shirt there were times
+when the determination of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest
+discussion. Her long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and
+then the women had decided the question of gender satisfactorily they
+often made timid, and most amusing, advances. One woman said she
+greatly admired her fair complexion and asked how many baths she took
+to keep her skin so white. Another wondered whether it was necessary
+to ever comb her hair and almost everyone wished to feel her clothes
+and shoes. She always would command more attention than anyone else by
+her camera operations, and a group would stand in speechless amazement
+to see her dodge in and out of the portable dark room when she was
+developing photographs or loading plates.
+
+We made arrangements to go with a number of the Lolos to a spot fifteen
+miles away on the Chung-tien road to hunt wapiti (probably _Cervus
+macneilli_) which the natives call _maloo_. Our American wapiti, or
+elk, is a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and is probably
+a relative of the wapiti which is found in Central Asia, China,
+Manchuria and Korea.
+
+At present these deer are abundant in but few places. Throughout the
+Orient, and especially in China, the growing horns when they are soft,
+or in the "velvet," are considered of great medicinal value and,
+during the summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly by
+the natives. In Yün-nan, when we were there, a pair of horns were worth
+$100 (Mexican).
+
+Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with occasional flurries of
+haillike snow, but we did not heed the cold, for the trail led over two
+high ridges and along the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the
+white summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically above the
+surrounding peaks and, in the gray light, the colors were beautiful
+beyond description. To the north we could see heavily wooded mountain
+slopes interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid wapiti country.
+
+Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the Chung-tien road
+just within the edge of a stately, moss-draped forest. That night we
+celebrated with harmless bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks
+which exploded as they filled with steam and echoed among the trees
+like pistol shots. Marco Polo speaks of the same phenomenon which he
+first witnessed in this region over six hundred and thirty years ago.
+
+About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps with a lantern and
+besides several mice (_Apodemus_) found two rare shrews and a new mole
+(_Blarina_). I went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except
+an old wapiti track and a little sign. All during the following day a
+dense fog hung close to the ground so that it was impossible to hunt,
+and, on the night of December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began
+bright and clear but clouded about ten o'clock and became so bitterly
+cold that the Lolos would not hunt. They really suffered considerably
+and that night they all left us to return to their homes. We were
+greatly disappointed, for we had brilliant prospects of good wapiti
+shooting but without either men or dogs and in an unknown country there
+was little possibility of successful still hunting.
+
+The _mafus_ were very much worried and refused to go further north.
+They were certain that we would not be able to cross the high passes
+which lay between us and the Mekong valley far to the westward and
+complained unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food
+for their animals. It was necessary to visit the Mekong River, for
+even though it might not be a good big game region it would give us
+a cross-section, as it were, of the fauna and important data on the
+distribution of small mammals. Therefore we decided to leave for the
+long ride as soon as the weather permitted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+The road near which we were camped was one of the great trade routes
+into Tibet and over it caravans were continually passing laden with
+tea or pork. Many of them had traveled the entire length of Yün-nan to
+S'su-mao on the Tonking frontier where a special kind of tea is grown,
+and were hurrying northward to cross the snow-covered passes which form
+the gateways to the "Forbidden Land."
+
+The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to spend the night near
+our camp. As the horses came up, one by one the loads were lifted off,
+the animals turned loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and
+_tsamba_[5] each man stretched out upon the ground without shelter of
+any kind and heedless of the freezing cold. It is truly the life of
+primitive man and has bred a hardy, restless, independent race, content
+to wander over the boundless steppes and demanding from the outside
+world only to be let alone.
+
+[Footnote 5: _Tsamba_ is parched oats or barley, ground finely.]
+
+They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in their swinging
+walk there is a care-free independence and an atmosphere of the bleak
+Tibetan steppes which are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a
+study for an artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat like a
+Russian blouse thrown carelessly off one shoulder and tied about the
+waist, blue or red trousers, and high boots of felt or skin reaching
+almost to the knees. A long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored
+bits of glass or stones, is half concealed beneath his coat, and he is
+seldom without a gun or a murderous looking spear.
+
+In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket, he carries
+a remarkable assortment of things; a pipe, tobacco, tea, _tsamba_,
+cooking pots, a snuff box and, hanging down in front, a metal charm to
+protect him from bullets or sickness.
+
+The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique and great strength,
+and are frequently more than six feet in height. They have brick-red
+complexions and some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine
+way. Their straight features suggest a strong mixture of other than
+Mongolian stock and they are the direct antithesis of the Chinese in
+every particular. Their strength and virility and the dashing swing
+of their walk are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving,
+effeminate Chinaman whom one sees being carried along the road sprawled
+in a mountain chair.
+
+Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the Tibetans were the most
+difficult. It was almost impossible to bribe them with money or tin
+cans to stand for a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera
+set up beside the trail they would make long detours to avoid passing
+in front of it.
+
+What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by stealth and
+concealed ourselves behind bushes with the camera focused on a certain
+spot upon the road. The instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run
+like a frightened deer and in some mysterious way they seemed to have
+passed the word along that our camp was a spot to be avoided. Sometimes
+a bottle was too great a temptation to be resisted, and one would stand
+timidly like a bird with wings half spread, only to dash away as though
+the devil were after him, when he saw my head disappear beneath the
+focusing hood.
+
+Wu and a _mafu_ who could speak a little Tibetan finally captured one
+picturesque looking fellow. He carefully tucked the tin cans, given
+for advance payment, inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery
+allowed me to place him where I wished. But the instant the motion
+picture camera swung in his direction he dodged aside, and jumped
+behind it. Wu tried to hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved
+it wildly about his head and took to his heels, yelling at the top of
+his lungs. He was well-nigh frightened to death and when he disappeared
+from sight at a curve in the road he was still "going strong" with his
+coat tails flapping like a sail in the wind.
+
+One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture camera unawares.
+There were several women in the party and, as soon as the men realized
+that there was no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping her
+between him and the camera. They were taking no chances with their
+precious selves, for the women could be replaced easily enough if
+necessary.
+
+The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has the greatest
+possible suspicion and dislike for strangers. The Chinese he loathes
+and despises, and foreigners he knows only too well are symptoms of
+missionaries and punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his
+immemorial peace. He is confirmed in his attitude by the Church which
+throughout Tibet has the monopoly of all the gold in the country. And
+the Church utterly declines to believe that any foreigner can come
+so far for any end less foolish than the discovery of gold and the
+infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.
+
+[Illustration: Travelers in the Mekong Valley]
+
+[Illustration: Two Tibetans]
+
+Major Davies, who saw much of the Yün-nan Tibetans, has remarked that
+it is curious how little impression the civilization and customs of the
+Chinese have produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal
+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power of absorbing other
+races, but with the Tibetans exactly the reverse takes place. The
+Chinese become Tibetanized and the children of a Chinaman married to a
+Tibetan woman are usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.
+
+Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan from being absorbed
+is the cold, inhospitable nature of his country. There is little to
+tempt the Chinese to emigrate into Tibet and consequently they never
+are there in sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around them.
+A similar cause has preserved some of the low-lying Shan states from
+absorption, the heat in this case being the reason that the Chinese do
+not settle there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+
+During the night of December 4, there was a heavy fall of snow and in
+the morning we awoke to find ourselves in fairyland. We were living in
+a great white palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs.
+The long, delicate strands of gray moss which draped themselves from
+tree to tree and branch to branch were each one converted into threads
+of crystal, forming a filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.
+
+It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace, for every vista
+through the forest seemed more lovely than the one before, but we knew
+that another fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from
+the Mekong valley. The _mafus_ even refused to try the direct route
+across the mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted on going southward to the
+Shih-ku ferry and up the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.
+
+It was a long trip and we looked forward with no pleasure to eight days
+of hard riding. The difficulty in obtaining hunters since leaving the
+Snow Mountain had made our big game collecting negligible although we
+had traveled through some excellent country. The Mekong valley might
+not be better but it was an unknown quantity and, whether or not it
+yielded specimens, the results from a survey of the mammal distribution
+would be none the less important, and we felt that it must be done;
+otherwise we should have turned our backs on the north and returned to
+Ta-li Fu.
+
+As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan after caravan of
+Tibetans with heavily loaded horses, all bound for that land of mystery
+beyond the snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of the
+red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for a color photograph,
+but usually they only shook their heads stubbornly and hurried past
+with averted faces. We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were
+walking together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow and by giving
+each of them a glass jam tumbler they halted a moment. As soon as the
+photograph had been taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us to
+produce one and was thoroughly disgusted when we showed him that it was
+impossible.
+
+Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river gorge at the upper
+end of which Chung-tien is located and left the forests when we emerged
+on the main road. From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was
+a magnificent view down the cañon to the snow-capped mountains, which
+were beautiful beyond description in their changing colors of purple
+and gold.
+
+Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several hundred horses
+each bearing two whole pigs bent double and tied to the saddles. The
+animals had been denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would
+be distributed among the villages somewhere in the interior of Tibet.
+
+On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned peaks as sharp
+and regular as the teeth of a saw rising above the mouth of the stream
+where it spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into the
+Yangtze. Here the mighty river, flowing proudly southward from its home
+in the wind-blown steppes of the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago
+found the great Snow Mountain range barring its path. Thrust aside, it
+doubled back upon itself along the barrier's base, still restlessly
+seeking a passage through the wall of rock. Far to the north it bit
+hungrily into the mountain's side again, broke through, and swung south
+gathering strength and volume from hundreds of tributaries as it rushed
+onward to the sea.
+
+For two days we rode along the river bank and crossed at the Shih-ku
+ferry. There was none of the difficulty here which we had experienced
+at Taku, for the river is wide and the current slow. It required
+only two hours to transport our entire caravan while at the other
+ferry we had waited a day and a half. Strangely enough, although
+there are dozens of villages along the Yangtze and the valley is
+highly cultivated, we saw no sign of fishing. Moreover, we passed but
+three boats and five or six rafts and it was evident that this great
+waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its mouth influences the
+trade of China so profoundly, is here used but little by the natives.
+
+On the ride down the river we had good sport with the huge cranes
+(probably _Grus nigricollis_) which, in small flocks, were feeding
+along the river fields. The birds stood about five feet high and we
+could see their great black and white bodies and black necks farther
+than a man was visible. It was fairly easy to stalk them to within a
+hundred yards, but even at that distance they offered a rather small
+target, for they were so largely wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were
+never within shotgun range and indeed it would be difficult to kill the
+birds with anything smaller than BB or buckshot unless they were very
+near.
+
+[Illustration: The Gorge of the Yangtze River]
+
+Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage rifle. He stole
+upon five which were feeding in a meadow and fired while two were
+"lined up." One of the huge birds flapped about on the ground for a few
+moments and lay still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and started
+off at full speed across the fields. Two _mafus_ left the caravan,
+yelling with excitement, and ran for nearly half a mile before they
+overtook the bird. Then they were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by
+its long beak which is a really formidable weapon. As food the cranes
+were perfectly delicious when stuffed with chestnut dressing and
+roasted. Each one provided two meals for three of us with enough left
+over for hash and our appetites were by no means birdlike.
+
+Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are not often
+successful, for the birds are very watchful and will not allow a man
+within a hundred yards. Such a distance for primitive guns or crossbows
+might as well be a hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we
+were able to shoot as many as were needed for food.
+
+The birds almost invariably followed the river when flying and fed in
+the rice, barley, and corn fields not far from the water. It was an
+inspiring sight to see a flock of the huge birds run for a few steps
+along the ground and then launch themselves into the air, their black
+and white wings flashing in the sunlight. They formed into orderly
+ranks like a company of soldiers or strung out in a long thin line
+across the sky.
+
+When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable feeding grounds
+they would sometimes whirl and circle above the fields, ascending
+higher and higher in great spirals until they were lost to sight,
+their musical voices coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts
+of happy children.
+
+When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January, cranes were very
+abundant in the fields about the lake. They had arrived in late October
+and would depart in early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often
+saw the birds on sand banks along the Yangtze, but they were usually
+resting or quietly walking about and were not feeding; apparently they
+eat only rice, barley, corn, or other grain.
+
+This species was discovered by the great traveler and naturalist,
+Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found it in the Koko-nor region of
+Tibet, and it was later recorded by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Ts'ang
+in the Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Yün-nan have not
+been preserved in museums and the bird was not known to occur in this
+portion of China.
+
+Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a good many mallard
+ducks (_Anas boscas_) and ruddy sheldrakes (_Casarca casarca_); the
+latter are universally known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in
+Burma and Yün-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name is derived
+from the bird's beautiful buff and rufous color which is somewhat like
+that of the robes worn by the Brahmin priests. In America the name
+"sheldrake" is applied erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers,
+and much confusion has thus arisen, for the two are quite unrelated
+and belong to perfectly distinct groups. The mergansers have narrow,
+hooked, saw-toothed beaks quite unlike those of the sheldrakes, and
+their habits are entirely dissimilar.
+
+The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not bad eating. We
+usually found them feeding in fields not far from the river or in
+flooded rice dykes, and very often sitting in pairs on the sand banks
+near the water. They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is
+peculiarly fascinating to me and, like the honk of the Canada goose,
+awakens memories of sodden, wind-blown marshes, bobbing decoys, and a
+leaden sky shot through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.
+
+Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes, and we had
+good shooting along the river and in ponds and rice fields. We also saw
+a few teal but they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were scarce.
+We shot a few along the road and near some of our camps, but we found
+no place in Yün-nan where one could have even a fair day's shooting
+without the aid of a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea
+where in a walk over the hillsides a dozen or more pheasants can be
+flushed within an hour.
+
+After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze we turned westward
+toward Wei-hsi and camped on a beautiful flat plain beside a
+tree-bordered stream. It was a cold clear night and after dinner and a
+smoke about the fire we all turned in.
+
+Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam of angry
+exclamations and Chinese curses roused the whole camp. In a few moments
+Wu came to our tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered, "Damn
+fool soldiers come try to take our horses; say if _mafu_ no give them
+horses they untie loads. Shall I tell _mafu_ break their heads?" We did
+not entirely understand the situation but it seemed quite proper to
+give the _mafus_ permission to do the head-breaking, and they went at
+it with a will. After a volley of blows, there was a scamper of feet on
+the frozen ground and the soldiers retired considerably the worse for
+wear.
+
+When the battle was over, Wu explained matters more fully. It appeared
+that a large detachment of soldiers had recently passed up this road
+to A-tun-tzu and four or five had remained behind to attend to the
+transport of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity for "graft" the
+soldiers were stopping every caravan which passed and threatening to
+commandeer it unless the _mafus_ gave a sufficient bribe to buy their
+immunity. Our _mafus_, with the protection which foreigners gave them,
+had paid off a few old scores with interest. That they had neglected no
+part of the reckoning was quite evident when next morning two of the
+soldiers came to apologize for their "mistake." One of them had a black
+and swollen eye and the other was nursing a deep cut on his forehead;
+they were exceedingly humble and did not venture into camp until they
+had been assured that we would not again loose our terrible _mafus_
+upon them.
+
+Such extortions are every day occurrences in many parts of China and
+it is little wonder that the military is cordially hated and feared by
+the peasants. The soldiers, taking advantage of their uniform, oppress
+the villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress. If
+a complaint is made a dozen soldiers stand ready to swear that the
+offense was justified or was never committed, and the poor farmer is
+lucky if he escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment.
+It is a disgrace to China that such conditions are allowed to exist,
+and it is to be hoped that ere many years have passed the country will
+awake to a proper recognition of the rights of the individual. Until
+she does there never can be a national spirit of patriotism in China
+and without patriotism the Republic can be one in name only.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+
+On December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a twelve thousand
+foot pass in a beautiful snow-covered meadow, from which we could
+see the glistening peaks of the vast mountain range which forms the
+Mekong-Salween divide. In the afternoon we readied Wei-hsi and camped
+in a grove of splendid pine trees on a hill overlooking the city. The
+place was rather disappointing after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and
+it was difficult to buy rice even though the entire valley was devoted
+to paddy fields, but we did get quantities of delicious persimmons.
+
+Wu told us that seven different languages were spoken in the city, and
+we could well believe it, for we recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and
+Tibetans. This region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso
+tribe which appears not to extend across the Mekong River.
+
+The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and proved to be one of
+the most courteous officials whom we met in Yün-nan. We were sorry to
+learn that he was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our
+visit. Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on salt and fifteen
+hundred rebelled, attacked the city, and captured it after a sharp
+fight. It was reported that they immediately beheaded the mandarin's
+wives and children, and boiled him alive in oil.
+
+[Illustration: A Quiet Curve of the Mekong River]
+
+Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every way we could
+obtain no information concerning either hunting grounds or routes
+of travel. The flying squirrels which we had hoped to find near the
+city were reported to come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong in
+Burma, and Wei-hsi was merely a center of distribution for the skins.
+Moreover, the natives said it would be impossible to obtain squirrels
+at that time of the year, for the mountain passes were so heavily
+covered with snow that neither men nor caravans could cross them.
+
+It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong River in order
+to determine whether there would be a change in fauna, and on Major
+Davies' map a small road was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of
+a day and a half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen and
+snow-covered, brought us in sight of the green waters of the Mekong
+which has carved a gorge for itself in an almost straight line from the
+bleak Tibetan plateaus through Yün-nan and Indo-China to the sea.
+
+Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a deep valley, near a
+small village. Wu said that the natives were Lutzus and I was inclined
+to believe he was right, although Major Davies indicates this region
+to be inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in physical
+appearance and dress were quite distinct from the Lisos whom we met
+later.
+
+They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the chief, accompanied
+by four venerable men, brought a present of rice. I gave him two tins
+of cigarettes and the natives returned to the village wreathed in
+smiles.
+
+The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and quite unlike those
+of the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The women wore a long coat or jacket
+of blue cloth, trousers, and a very full pleated skirt. The men were
+dressed in plum colored coats and trousers.
+
+The natives said that monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_) were often seen
+when the corn was ripe and that even yet they might be found in the
+forest across the river. Heller spent a day hunting them, but found
+none and we obtained only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny
+mouse (_Micromys_) but the remainder of the fauna was essentially the
+same as that of the Yangtze valley and the intervening country.
+
+For three days we traveled down the Mekong River. Although the natives
+said that the trail was good, we discovered when it was too late that
+it was too narrow and difficult to make it practicable for a caravan
+such as ours. It was necessary to continually remove the loads in
+order to lift them around sharp corners or over rocks, and the _mafus_
+sometimes had to cut away great sections of the bank. Usually only
+six or seven miles could be traversed after eight or nine hours of
+exhausting work, and we were glad when we could leave the river.
+
+The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred yards wide in
+this region and, like the Yangtze, the water is very green from the
+Tibetan snows. The prevailing rock is red slate or sandstone instead
+of limestone, as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the
+valley are so precipitous that it seems impossible for a human being
+to walk over them, and yet they are patched with brown corn fields
+from the summit to the water. Considering the small area available for
+cultivation there are a considerable number of inhabitants, who have
+gathered into villages and seldom live in isolated houses as in the
+Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream comes down from the mountain-side
+or can be diverted by irrigating ditches, the ground is beautifully
+terraced for rice paddys, but in other places, corn and peas appear to
+be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such as turnips, squash,
+carrots or potatoes are raised, which is rather remarkable, as they
+are so abundant in all the country between the Mekong and the Yangtze
+rivers. In several places the water was spanned by rope bridges. The
+cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end must necessarily be
+higher than the other, there are always two ropes, one to cross each
+way. The traveler is tied by leather thongs in a sitting position to a
+wooden "runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and shoots across
+the river at tremendous speed.
+
+The valley is hopeless from a zoölogical standpoint. It is too dry
+for small mammals and the mountain slopes are so precipitous, thinly
+forested, and generally undesirable, that, except for gorals, no other
+large game would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting.
+There are no cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of
+mallards which feed in the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese.
+
+On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong valley and began to
+march southeast by east across an unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We
+camped at night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees
+just above a deep moist ravine. In the morning our traps contained
+several rare shrews, five silver moles, a number of interesting mice,
+and a beautiful rufous spiny rat. It was too good a place to leave and
+I sent Hotenfa to inquire from a family of natives if there was big
+game of any sort in the vicinity. He reported that there were goral
+not far away, and at half past eight we rode down the trail for three
+miles when I left my horse at a peasant's house. They told us that the
+goral were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which rose two thousand
+feet above the valley, and for an hour and a half we climbed steadily
+upward.
+
+We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep cañon when Hotenfa
+excitedly whispered, "_gnai-yang_" and held up three fingers. He tried
+to show the animals to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought
+was a goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of rock flew
+into the air while the three gorals disappeared among the trees two
+hundred feet above the spot where I had supposed them to be.
+
+I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started on a run for the
+other side of the gorge. When we arrived, Hotenfa motioned me to swing
+about to the right while he climbed along the face of the rock wall.
+No sooner had he reached the edge of the precipice than I saw him lean
+far out, fire with my three-barrel gun, and frantically wave for me
+to come. I ran to him and, throwing my arms about a projecting shrub,
+looked down. There directly under us stood a huge goral, but just as I
+was about to shoot, the earth gave way beneath my feet and I would have
+fallen squarely on the animal had Hotenfa not seized me by the collar
+and drawn me back to safety.
+
+The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt and stones came
+from before I fired hurriedly, breaking his fore leg at the knee.
+Without the slightest sign of injury the ram disappeared behind a
+corner of the rock. I dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him
+running at full speed across a narrow open ledge toward a thick mass of
+cover on the opposite side of the cañon. I fired just as the animal
+gained the trees and, at the crash of my rifle, the goral plunged
+headlong down the mountain, stone dead.
+
+It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly to the bottom
+of the valley and, slipping and rolling in a cloud of red dust, dropped
+over a precipice. The ram brought up against an unstable boulder five
+hundred feet below us, and it required half an hour's hard work to
+reach the spot.
+
+When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which had been broken
+in the fall slipped through my fingers, and away went the goral on
+another rough and tumble descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge
+nearly eleven hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We
+returned to camp at noon bringing joy with us, for, as my wife had
+remarked the day before, "We will soon have to eat chickens or cans."
+
+Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following day and we left
+on December 23, camping at night on a flat terrace beside a stream at
+the end of a moist ravine. We intended to spend Christmas here for it
+was a beautiful spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration
+was to be on Christmas Eve. The following day dawned bright and clear.
+There had not been a drop of rain for nearly a month and the weather
+was just warm enough for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but
+at night the temperature dropped to about 16°+ or 20°+ Fahr. The camp
+proved to be a good one, giving us two new mammals and, just after
+tiffin, Hotenfa came running in to report that he had discovered seven
+gray monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_) in a cornfield a mile away.
+
+The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but while we were gone
+Yvette had been busy and, just before dinner, she ushered us into our
+tent with great ceremony. It had been most wonderfully transformed.
+At the far end stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny candles and
+surrounded by masses of white cotton, through which shone red holly
+berries. Holly branches from the forest and spruce boughs lined the
+tent and hung in green waves from the ridge pole. At the base of the
+tree gifts which she had purchased in Hongkong in the preceding August
+were laid out.
+
+Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from the Chinese wine
+and orange juice, and we drank to each other and to those at home
+while sitting on the ground and opening our packages. We had purchased
+two Tibetan rugs in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents for
+Yvette. These rugs usually are blue or red, with intricate designs in
+the center, and are well woven and attractive.
+
+To the servants and _mafus_ we gave money and cigarettes. When the
+muleteers were brought to the tent to receive their gifts they
+evidently thought our blazing tree represented an altar, for they
+kneeled down and began to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always
+done before their heathen gods.
+
+Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days previously I had shot
+a pair of mallard ducks and they formed the _pièce de résistance_. The
+dinner consisted of soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly,
+baked squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers,
+coffee and cigarettes.
+
+Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon passed through
+a very dirty Chinese town in a deep valley near some extensive salt
+wells. Red clay dust lay thick over everything and the filth of the
+streets and houses was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a
+mile beyond the village, but were greatly annoyed by the Chinese who
+insisted on swarming into camp. Finally, unable longer to endure their
+insolent stares, I drove them with stones to the top of the hill, where
+they sat in row upon row exactly as in the "bleachers" at an American
+baseball game.
+
+When we left the following day we passed dozens of caravans and groups
+of men and women carrying great disks of salt. Each piece was stamped
+in red with the official mark for salt is a government monopoly and
+only licensed merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover, the
+importation of salt from foreign countries is forbidden. For the
+purposes of administration, China is divided into seven or eight main
+circuits, each of which has its own sources of production and the salt
+obtained in one district may not be sold in another.
+
+In Yün-nan the salt of the province is supplied from three regions. The
+water from the wells is boiled in great cauldrons for several days, and
+the resulting deposit is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed,
+mixed with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains. After
+passing a village of considerable size called Peiping, we began the
+ascent of an exceedingly steep mountain range twelve thousand feet
+high. All the afternoon we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in
+the evening at a pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the way
+to the summit. During the night it snowed heavily and we awoke to find
+ourselves in a transformed world.
+
+Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest white and between
+the branches we could look westward across the valley toward the
+Mekong and the purple mountain wall of the Burma border. There were
+still one thousand feet of climbing between us and the summit of the
+pass. The trail was almost blocked, but by slow work we forced our way
+through the drifts. Some of the mules were already weak from exposure
+and underfeeding, and two of them had to be relieved of their loads;
+they died the next day. Our _mafus_ did not appear to suffer greatly
+although their legs were bare from the knees down and their feet had no
+covering except straw sandals. Indeed when we discovered, on the summit
+of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was burning, they waited only a
+few moments to warm themselves.
+
+We met two other caravans fighting their way up the mountain from the
+other side, and by following the trail which they had broken through
+the drifts we made fairly good time on the descent. There had been no
+snow on the broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon
+and we found that its ponds and fields were alive with ducks, geese,
+and cranes. The birds were wild but we had good shooting when we broke
+camp in the morning and killed enough to last us several days.
+
+On December 31, our weary days of crossing range after range of
+tremendous mountains were ended, and we stood on the last pass looking
+down upon the great Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the
+old city, which lies on the main A-tun-tzu-Ta-li Fu road, are two large
+marshy ponds and, away to the south, is an extensive lake. We camped
+just without the courtyard of a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette
+and I went over to the water which was swarming with ducks and geese.
+
+Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious afternoon
+sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as we neared the pond and
+circled high above our heads, but now and then a straggling mallard
+or "pin tail" would swing across the sky within range; as my gun
+roared out the birds would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs
+or climb higher with frightened quacks if the shot went wild. An hour
+before dark the brahminy ducks began to come in. We could hear their
+melodious plaintive calls long before we could see the birds, and we
+flattened ourselves out in the grass and mud. Soon a thin, black line
+would streak the sky, and as they drew nearer, Yvette would draw such
+seductive notes from a tiny horn of wood and bone that the flock would
+swing and dive toward us in a rush of flashing wings. When we could see
+the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit up and bang away.
+
+Now and then a big white goose would drop into the pond or an ibis flap
+lazily overhead, seeming to realize that it had nothing to fear from
+the prostrate bodies which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of
+the marsh was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled
+in the wild, sweet clamor so dear to the heart of every sportsman. As
+the day began to die, hung about with ducks and geese, we walked slowly
+back across the rice fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It
+was our last camp for the year and, as if to bid us farewell as we
+journeyed toward the tropics, the peaks of the great Snow Mountain
+far to the north, had draped themselves in a gorgeous silver mantle
+and glistened against a sky of lavender and gold like white cathedral
+spires.
+
+On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a beautiful little
+plain beside a spring overhung with giant trees at the head of Erh Hai,
+or Ta-li Fu Lake, which is thirty miles long. The fields and marshes
+were alive with ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a
+glorious day of sport over decoys and on the water before we went on to
+Ta-li Fu.
+
+Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip to the south of
+the province and we took possession of a pretty temple just within the
+north gate of the city. Here we read a great accumulation of mail and
+learned that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered from
+Hongkong had just arrived.
+
+Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager of the Standard
+Oil Company of Yün-nan Fu, their passage through Tonking had been
+facilitated, and he had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu.
+Mr. Page rendered great assistance to the Expedition in numberless
+ways, and to him we owe our personal thanks as well as those of the
+American Museum of Natural History.
+
+All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li Fu but, with the
+aid of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much better personnel for the trip to
+the Burma frontier. The cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was
+an especially fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and competent
+as the other had been lazy and helpless.
+
+Our work in the north had brought us a collection of thirteen hundred
+mammals, as well as several hundred birds, much material for habitat
+groups, and a splendid series of photographic records in Paget color
+plates, black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But what
+was of first importance, we had covered an enormous extent of diverse
+country and learned much about the distribution of the fauna of
+northern Yün-nan. The thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were
+taken in a more or less continuous line across six tremendous mountain
+ranges, and furnish an illuminating cross section of the entire region
+from Ta-li Fu, north to Chung-tien, and west to the Mekong River.
+
+[Illustration: The Temple in which We Camped at Ta-li Fu]
+
+[Illustration: A Crested Muntjac]
+
+It is apparent that in this part of the province, which is all within
+one "life zone" even the smallest mammals are widely spread and that
+the principal factor in determining distribution is the flora. Neither
+the highest mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the Yangtze
+and the Mekong appear to act as effective barriers to migration, and as
+long as the vegetation remains constant, the fauna changes but little.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+
+During our work in Fukien Province and in various parts of Yün-nan we
+came into intimate personal contact with a great many missionaries;
+indeed every traveler in the interior of China will meet them unless
+he purposely avoids doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the
+missionary in his native habitat because, for the most part, he lives
+and works where the tourist does not go.
+
+Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise traveler from
+carrying back with him from the East a very definite impression of the
+missionary, which he has gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs
+where he hears him "damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously
+he adopts the popular attitude just as he enlarges his vocabulary to
+include "pidgin English" and such unfamiliar phrases as "tiffin,"
+"bund" and "cumshaw."
+
+This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but simply a matter of
+fair play. We feel that in justice we ought to present our observations
+upon this subject, which is one of very general interest, as
+impartially as upon any phase of our scientific work. But it should be
+distinctly understood that we are writing _only_ of those persons whom
+we met and lived with, and whose work we had an opportunity to know and
+to see; _we are not attempting generalizations on the accomplishments
+of missionaries in any other part of China_.
+
+There are three charges which we have heard most frequently brought
+against the missionary: that he comes to the East because he can live
+better and more luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages
+in lucrative trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes little
+good, either religious or otherwise. It is said that his converts are
+only "rice Christians," and treaty-port foreigners have often warned us
+in this manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more dishonest
+and unreliable than any others."
+
+It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town will be that
+of the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the mission buildings are
+imposing structures, and are placed upon a hill above and away from the
+rest of the city. Any white person who has traveled in the interior of
+China will remember the airless, lightless, native houses, opening,
+as they all do, on filthy streets and reeking sewers and he will
+understand that in order to exist at all a foreigner must be somewhat
+isolated and live in a clean, well-ventilated house.
+
+Every missionary in China employs servants--many more servants than
+he could afford at home. So does every other foreigner, whatever his
+vocation. There is no such thing in China as the democracy of the West,
+and the missionary's status in the community demands that certain work
+in his house be done by servants; otherwise he and his family would
+be placed on a level with the coolie class and the value of his words
+and deeds be discounted. But the chief reason is that the missionary's
+wife almost always has definite duties to which she could not attend if
+she were not relieved from some of the household cares. She leads in
+work among the women of the community by organizing clubs and "Mutual
+Improvement Societies" and in teaching in the schools or hospitals
+where young men and women are learning English as an asset to medical
+work among their own people. Servants are unbelievably cheap. While we
+were in Foochow a cook received $8.50 (gold) per month, a laundryman
+$1.75 (gold) per month, and other wages were in proportion.
+
+In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two months' vacation.
+Anyone who has lived through a Fukien summer in the interior of the
+province will know why the missionaries are given this vacation. If
+they were not able to leave the deadly heat and filth and disease
+of the native cities for a few weeks every year, there would be no
+missionaries to carry on the work. The business man can surround
+himself with innumerable comforts both in his home and in his office
+which the missionary cannot afford and, during the summer, life is not
+only made possible thereby but even pleasant.
+
+Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the Min River and it is
+by no means the most remote station in the province. Very few travelers
+reach these places during the year and the white inhabitants are almost
+isolated. Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at one time
+she saw only one foreigner in eight months. Miss Cordelia Morgan is
+the sole foreign resident of Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six
+days from Yün-nan Fu. In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife
+and two other women, are fourteen days' ride from the nearest foreign
+settlement. In Li-chiang, Reverend and Mrs. A. Kok and their three
+small children live with two women missionaries. They are twenty-one
+days' travel from a doctor, and for four years previous to our visit
+they had not seen a white woman.
+
+These are some instances of missionaries whom we met in China who have
+voluntarily exiled themselves to remote places where they expect to
+spend their entire lives surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile
+population. Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this life
+because it is easier or more luxurious than that at home?
+
+Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business positions to
+take up medical or evangelistic work in China where their compensation
+is pitifully small--not one-third of the salary they were commanding at
+home. We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging in trade with
+the natives even though in some places there were excellent business
+opportunities.
+
+Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences which
+missionaries bring with them. We saw them in various parts of China
+doing a magnificent wort Dr. Bradley has established a great leper
+hospital at Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the
+latest and most scientific treatment and beginning to look at life
+with a new hope. In Yen-ping, at the time of the rebellion, we saw Dr.
+Trimble working hour after hour over wounded and broken men without a
+thought of rest. In Yün-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was filled with
+patients suffering from almost every known disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw
+Mr. Hanna and his wife dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills
+of patients waiting by the dozen, the fees received being not enough
+to pay for the cost of the medicines. Why is it that every traveling
+foreigner in the interior of China is supposed to be able to cure
+diseases? Certainly an important reason is because of the work done by
+the medical missionaries who have penetrated to the farthest corners of
+the most remote provinces.
+
+Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in many instances the
+real pioneers of western civilization. They bring to the people new
+standards of living, both morally and physically. They open schools
+and emancipate the Chinese children in mind and body. They fight the
+barbarous customs of foot binding and the killing and selling of girl
+babies. Until recent years it was not unusual to meet the village "baby
+peddler" with from two to six tiny infants peddling his "goods" from
+village to village. Not many years ago such a man appeared before the
+mission compound at Ngu-cheng (Fukien) with four babies in his basket.
+Three of these had expired from exposure and the kerosene oil which had
+been poured down their throats to stupefy them and drown their cries.
+The fourth was purchased by the wife of the native preacher for ten
+cents in order to save its life. This child was reared and has since
+graduated from the mission schools with credit. In Foochow a stone
+tablet bearing the following inscription stands beside a stagnant pool:
+"Hereafter the throwing of babies into this pool will be punished by
+law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.
+
+Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna once remarked,
+"Yün-nan Province has broken the heart of more than one missionary."
+The Chinese do not understand their point of view, and it is difficult
+to make them see it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure altruism
+does not enter into his scheme of life. As a rule he has but two
+thoughts, his stomach and his cash bag. It is well-nigh impossible to
+make him realize that the missionary has not come with an ulterior
+motive--if not to engage in trade, perhaps as a spy for his government.
+Others believe that it is because China is so vastly superior to the
+rest of the world that the missionaries wish to live there. Eventually
+the suspicions of the natives become quieted and they accept the
+missionary at some part of his true worth.
+
+At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw Harry Caldwell, Mr.
+Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save the lives of hundreds of people and
+the city from partial destruction because the Chinese officers of the
+opposing forces would trust the missionaries when they would not trust
+each other.
+
+An excellent piece of practical missionary work was done in Fukien
+Province, not long after our visit there. As we have related in Chapter
+III, several large bands of brigands were established in the hills
+about Yuchi. Brigandage began there in the following way. During a
+famine when the people were on the verge of starvation, a wealthy
+farmer, Su Ek by name, decided to do his share in relieving conditions
+by offering for sale a quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He
+approached another man of similar wealth who agreed with him to sell
+his grain at a reasonable price. Su Ek accordingly disposed of his
+rice to the suffering people and, when he had remaining only enough
+to sustain his own family until the following harvest, he sent the
+peasants to the second man who had also agreed to dispose of his grain.
+
+This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price, and the people,
+angered at his treachery, looted his sheds. He immediately went to
+Foochow and reported to the governor that there was a band of brigands
+abroad in Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and that they had
+robbed and plundered his property.
+
+Without warning a company of soldiers swooped down upon the community
+and arrested a number of men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek
+made his escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand chief, and
+was later joined by other farmers who had been similarly persecuted.
+Unable to return to their homes on pain of death they were forced to
+rob in order to live.
+
+Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow upon the promise
+that their lives would be spared if they would induce their band to
+surrender. They met the conditions but the government officials broke
+faith and the men were executed. Similar attempts were made to enter
+into negotiations with the brigands and in 1915 two hundred were
+trapped and beheaded after pardons had been promised them. Naturally
+the robbers refused to trust the government officials again.
+
+The months which elapsed between this act of treachery and the spring
+of 1916, were filled with innumerable outrages. Many townships were
+completely devastated, either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers.
+Little will ever be known of what actually took place under the guise
+of settling brigandage, behind the mountains which separate Yuchi from
+the outer world. It is well that it should not be known.
+
+During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi. Business called
+him outside the city wall and just beyond the west gate he saw the
+bodies of ten persons who had that day been executed. Among these were
+two children, brothers, the sons of a man who was reported to have
+"sold rice to the brigands." The smaller child had wept and pleaded to
+be permitted to kneel beside his older brother further up in the row.
+He was too small to realize what it all meant but he wanted to die
+beside his brother.
+
+In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was partly severed from
+his body and who had been shot through and through by the soldiers. He
+was lying upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of tea
+or for someone to put him out of his misery. The missionary learned
+the man's story. It appeared that years ago a law suit in which his
+father had been concerned had been decided in his favor. In order to
+square the score between the clans, the son of the man who had lost
+the suit had reported that he had seen this man carrying rice to the
+brigands. He had been arrested by the soldiers, partially killed, and
+left to lie in the glaring sun from nine o'clock in the morning until
+dark suffering the agonies of crucifixion. Not one of those who heard
+his moans dared to moisten the parched lips with tea lest he too be
+executed for having administered to a brigand.
+
+The missionary returned to the city that night vowing that he would
+make a recurrence of such a thing impossible or he would leave China.
+He took up the matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way
+and later with the military governor in Foochow. He was well known to
+the brigands by reputation and visited several of the chiefs in their
+strongholds. They declared that they had confidence in him but none in
+the government or its representatives. It was only after assuming full
+responsibility for any treachery that the brigands agreed to discuss
+terms.
+
+Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township, the missionary
+was escorted out to civilization by twenty-five picked men to whom
+the chief had entrusted an important charge. As the group neared
+the township the missionary sent word ahead to the commander of the
+northern soldiers to prepare to receive the brigands.
+
+[Illustration: Seal of a Pardoned Brigand.]
+
+As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit of a hill
+overlooking the city, soldiers could be seen forming into squads
+outside the barracks. Instantly the brigands halted, snapped back the
+bolts of their rifles, and threw in shells. The missionary realized
+that they suspected treachery and turning about he said, "I am the
+guarantee for your lives. If a short is fired kill me first."
+
+[Illustration: The South Gate at Yung-chang]
+
+[Illustration: A Chinese Bride Returning to Her Mother's Home at New
+Year's]
+
+With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied by the brigands he
+marched into the city, where they were received by the officials with
+all the punctilious ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It
+had been a dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a rifle had been
+fired by mistake, and Chinese are always shooting when they themselves
+least expect to, he would have been instantly killed.
+
+This conference, and others which followed, resulted in several hundred
+pardons being distributed to the brigands by the missionary himself.
+The men then returned to their abandoned homes and again took up their
+lives as respectable farmers. Thus the reign of terror in this portion
+of the province was ended through the efforts of one courageous man. It
+is such applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary
+and admire his work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+The last half of the expedition began January 18 when we left Ta-li Fu
+with a caravan of thirty miles for Yung-chang, eight days' travel to
+the south. The _mafus_ although they had promised faithfully to come
+"at daylight" did not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence it
+was necessary to camp at Hsia-kuan at the foot of the lake.
+
+We improved our time there in hunting about for skins and finally
+purchased two fine leopards and a tiger. The latter had been brought
+from the Tonking frontier. There were a number of Tibetans wandering
+about the market place and in the morning a caravan of at least two
+hundred horses followed by twenty or thirty Tibetans, passed into the
+city while it was yet gray dawn. They were bringing tea from P'u-erh
+and S'su-mao in the south of the province and although they had already
+been nearly a month upon their journey there was still many long weeks
+of travel before them ere they reached the wind-blown steppes of their
+native land.
+
+The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful. We crossed
+a succession of dry, thinly forested mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet
+high which near their summits were often clothed with a thick growth
+of rhododendron trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like fire
+balls among the green leaves, peach trees were in full blossom and in
+some spots the dry hills seemed about to break forth in the full glory
+of their spring verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called
+Shia-chai on a picturesque chain suspension bridge of a type which is
+not unusual in the southern and western part of the province. Several
+heavy iron chains are firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite
+sides of the river and the roadway formed by planks laid upon them.
+Although the bridge shakes and swings in a rather alarming manner when
+a caravan is crossing, it is perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.
+
+In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the mountain to the great
+Yung-chang plain, and for two hours trotted over a hard dirt road.
+The plain is eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its
+scattered villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy fields. The
+city itself includes about five thousand houses. It is exceedingly
+picturesque and is remarkable for its long, straight, and fairly clean
+streets which contrast strongly with those of the usual Chinese town.
+At the west, but still within the city walls, is a picturesque wooded
+hill occupied almost exclusively by temples.
+
+We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard of a large and
+exceptionally clean temple just outside the south gate of the city. It
+was the Chinese New Year and Wu told us that for several days at least
+it would be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect the natives
+to do any work whatever. It was a very pleasant place in which to stay
+although we chafed at the enforced delay, but we made good use of our
+time in photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting
+birds and making various excursions.
+
+Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner and at Yung-chang
+we saw many of the customs attending its celebration. It is a time
+of feasting and merry making and no native, if he can possibly avoid
+it, will work on that day. Chinese families almost always live under
+one roof but should any male member be absent at this season the
+circumstances must be exceptional to prevent him from returning to his
+home.
+
+It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's house
+at New Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and for several days after
+leaving the city, we were continually passing young women mounted on
+mules or horses and accompanied by servants returning to their homes.
+New clothes are a leading feature of this season and the dresses of
+the brides and young matrons were usually of the most unexpected hues
+for, according to our conception of color, the Chinese can scarcely
+be counted conspicuous for their good taste. Purple and blue, orange
+and red, pink and lavender clash distressingly, but are worn with
+inordinate pride.
+
+These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the bride's family. Dr.
+Smith says in "Chinese Characteristics":
+
+  When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly business
+  basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of sewing for her
+  husband's family, which the wife's family must help her get through
+  with. She is accompanied on each of these visits by as many of
+  her children as possible, both to have her take care of them and
+  to have them out of the way when she is not at hand to look after
+  them, and most especially to have them fed at the expense of the
+  family of the maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible.
+  In regions where visits of this sort are frequent, and where there
+  are many daughters in a family, their constant raids on the old
+  home are a source of perpetual terror to the whole family, and a
+  serious tax on the common resources.[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: "Chinese Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p. 200.]
+
+Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous part in the New
+Year's celebration. At this time the "Kitchen God," according to
+current superstition, returns to heaven to render an account of the
+household's behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the lips of
+the departing deity with candy in order to "sweeten" his report of any
+evil which he may have witnessed during the year.
+
+Usually all the members of the family gather before the ancestral
+tablets, or should these be lacking as among many of the laboring
+classes, a scroll with a part of the genealogy is displayed and the
+spirits of the departed are appeased and honored by the burning of
+incense and the mumbling of incantations. While strict attention is
+paid to the religious observance to the dead, at New Year's the most
+punctilious ceremony is rendered to the living.
+
+After the family have paid their respects to one another the younger
+male members go from house to house "kowtowing" to the elders who
+are there to receive them. The following days are devoted to visits
+to relatives living in the neighboring towns and villages, and this
+continues, an endless routine, until fourteen days later the Feast of
+the Lanterns puts an end to the "epoch of national leisure."
+
+The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New Year's they turn
+feverishly to this form of amusement which is almost their only one.
+But they also have to think seriously about paying their debts for it
+is absolutely necessary for all classes and conditions of men to meet
+their obligations at the end of the year.
+
+Almost everyone owes money in China. According to the clan system an
+individual having surplus cash is obliged to lend it (though at a
+high rate of interest) to any members of his family in need of help.
+However, a Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely obliged to and
+almost never settles a debt until he has been dunned repeatedly.
+
+The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.
+
+  Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in the task of
+  trying to chase down the men who owe money to him, and compel them
+  to pay up, and at the same time in trying to avoid the persons who
+  are struggling to track him down and corkscrew from him the amount
+  of his indebtedness to them! The dodges and subterfuges to which
+  each is obliged to resort, increase in complexity and number with
+  the advance of the season, until at the close of the month, the
+  national activity is at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured
+  then, it will go over till a new year, and no one knows what will
+  be the status of a claim which has actually contrived to cheat the
+  annual Day of Judgment. In spite of the excellent Chinese habit of
+  making the close of a year a grand clearing-house for all debts,
+  Chinese human nature is too much for Chinese custom, and there are
+  many of these postponed debts which are a grief of mind to many a
+  Chinese creditor.
+
+  The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most sentimental
+  of the human race. New Year mist not be violated by duns for debts,
+  and the debts must be collected New Year though it be. For this
+  reason one sometimes sees an urgent creditor going about early
+  on the first day of the year carrying a lantern looking for his
+  creditor [= debtor]. His artificial light shows that by a social
+  fiction the sun has not yet risen, it is still yesterday and the
+  debt can still be claimed. . . .
+
+  We have but to imagine the application of the principles which we
+  have named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we get new light upon
+  the nature of the Chinese New Year festivities. They are a time of
+  rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing so keen as that of a ruined
+  debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd devices in avoiding the most
+  relentless of his creditors and has thus postponed his ruin for at
+  least another twelve months.
+
+  For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year, the
+  debtor finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters, where
+  he cannot be molested. Even should his creditors meet him on New
+  Year's day, there could be no possibility of mentioning the fact of
+  the previous day's disgraceful flight and concealment, or indeed
+  of alluding to business at all, for this would not be "good form"
+  and to the Chinese "Good Form" (otherwise known as custom), is the
+  chief national divinity.[7]
+
+[Footnote 7: "Village Life in China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907, pp.
+208-209.]
+
+Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited by Chinese and in
+no part of the province did we see foot-binding more in evidence.
+Practically every woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her
+station in life was crippled in this brutal way. The women wear long
+full coats with flaring skirts which hang straight from their shoulders
+to their knees. When the trousers are tightly wrapped about their
+shrunken ankles, they look in a side view exactly like huge umbrellas.
+
+One day we visited a cave thirty _li_ north of the city where we hoped
+to find new bats. A beautiful little temple has been built over the
+entrance to the cavern which does not extend more than forty or fifty
+feet into the rock. But twenty _li_ south of Yung-chang, just beyond
+the village of A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave which is reported
+to extend entirely through the hill. Whether or not this is true we
+can not say for although we explored it in part we did not reach the
+end. The central corridor is about thirty feet wide and at least sixty
+or seventy high. We followed the main gallery for a long distance,
+and turned back at a branch which led off at a sharp angle. We were
+not equipped with sufficient candles to pursue the exploration more
+extensively and did not have time to visit it again. The cave contained
+some beautiful stalactites of considerable size, but the limestone was
+a dull lead color. We found only one bat and these animals appear not
+to have used it extensively since there was little sign upon the floor.
+
+At Yung-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first time in Yün-nan but
+found them to be in universal use farther to the south and west. The
+huge brutes are as docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest
+native child but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the
+better part of valor where they are concerned.
+
+Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the rice fields but
+Chinese cows are used as burden bearers in this part of the province.
+Such caravans travel much more slowly than do mule trains although the
+animals are not loaded as heavily. Two or three of the leading cows
+usually carry upon their backs large bells hung in wooden frameworks
+and the music is by no means unmelodious when heard at a distance.
+Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveler, refers to Yung-chang as
+"Vochang." His account of a battle which was fought in its vicinity in
+the year 1272 between the King of Burma and Bengal and one of Kublai
+Khan's generals is so interesting that I am quoting it below:
+
+  When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal], in India, who
+  was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory,
+  and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars had arrived at Vochang
+  [Yung-chang] he took the resolution of advancing immediately
+  to attack it, in order that by its destruction the grand khan
+  should be deterred from again attempting to station a force upon
+  the borders of his dominions. For this purpose he assembled a
+  very large army, including a multitude of elephants (an animal
+  with which his country abounds), upon whose backs were placed
+  battlements or castles, of wood, capable of containing to the
+  number of twelve or sixteen in each. With these, and a numerous
+  army of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang, where the
+  grand khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance from it,
+  intended to give his troops a few days of rest.
+
+  As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great a force,
+  was known to Nestardin, who commanded the troops of the grand khan,
+  although a brave and able officer, he felt much alarmed, not having
+  under his orders more than twelve thousand men (veterans, indeed,
+  and valiant soldiers); whereas the enemy had sixty thousand,
+  besides the elephants armed as has been described. He did not,
+  however, betray any sign of apprehension, but descending into the
+  plain of Vochang, took a position in which his flank was covered by
+  a thick wood of large trees, whither, in case of a furious charge
+  by the elephants, which his troops might not be able to sustain,
+  they could retire, and from thence, in security, annoy them with
+  their arrows....
+
+  Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended
+  into the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his
+  ground at the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a
+  disposition of his force, placing the elephants in the front, and
+  the cavalry and infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear,
+  but leaving between them a considerable interval. Here he took
+  his own station, and proceeded to animate his men and encourage
+  them to fight valiantly, assuring them of victory, as well from
+  the superiority of their numbers, being four to one, as from their
+  formidable body of armed elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had
+  never before been engaged with such combatants, could by no means
+  resist. Then giving orders for sounding a prodigious number of
+  warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his whole army towards
+  that of the Tartars, which remained firm, making no movement, but
+  suffering them to approach their entrenchments.
+
+  They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness to
+  engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses, unused to the
+  sight of such huge animals, with their castles, were terrified, and
+  by wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor could their riders by any
+  exertions restrain them, whilst the king, with the whole of his
+  forces, was every moment gaining ground. As soon as the prudent
+  commander perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his
+  presence of mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his
+  men to dismount and their horses to be taken into the wood, where
+  they were fastened to the trees.
+
+  When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced on foot
+  towards the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge
+  of arrows; whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed
+  in the castles, and the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in
+  return with great activity; but their arrows did not make the same
+  impression as those of the Tartars, whose bows were drawn with
+  a stronger arm. So incessant were the discharges of the latter,
+  and all their weapons (according to the instructions of their
+  commander) being directed against the elephants, these were soon
+  covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving way, fell back upon their
+  own people in the rear, who were thereby thrown into confusion. It
+  soon became impossible for their drivers to manage them, either
+  by force or address. Smarting under the pain of their wounds,
+  and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they were no
+  longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in
+  all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they
+  rushed into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The
+  consequence of this was, that from the closeness of the branches
+  of large trees, they broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or
+  castles that were upon their backs, and involved in the destruction
+  those who sat upon them.
+
+  Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired fresh
+  courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and
+  regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several
+  divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. On
+  the part of the king's troops there was no want of valor, and he
+  himself went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and
+  not to be alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants.
+  But the Tartars by their consummate skill in archery, were too
+  powerful for them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their
+  not being provided with such armor as was worn by the former.
+
+  The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped
+  their swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other.
+  Then in an instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs
+  dismembered, and multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and
+  dying; with such effusion of blood as was dreadful to behold. So
+  great also was the clangor of arms, and such the shoutings and the
+  shrieks, that the noise seemed to ascend to the skies. The king of
+  Mien, acting as became a valiant chief, was present wherever the
+  greatest danger appeared, animating his soldiers, and beseeching
+  them to maintain their ground with resolution. He ordered fresh
+  squadrons from the reserve to advance to the support of those that
+  were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was impossible any
+  longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the impetuosity of
+  the Tartars, the greater part of his troops being either killed or
+  wounded, and all the field covered with the carcasses of men and
+  horses, whilst those who survived were beginning to give way, he
+  also found himself compelled to take to flight with the wreck of
+  his army, numbers of whom were afterwards slain in the pursuit....
+
+  The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the
+  enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled
+  for shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found
+  that the men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in
+  cutting down trees and barricading the passages, with the intent
+  of defending themselves. But their ramparts were soon demolished
+  by the Tartars, who slew many of them, and with the assistance of
+  the persons accustomed to the management of the elephants, they
+  possessed themselves of these to the number of two hundred or more.
+  From the period of this battle the grand khan has always chosen
+  to employ elephants in his armies, which before that time he had
+  not done. The consequences of the victory were, that he acquired
+  possession of the whole of the territories of the king of Bangala
+  and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions.[8]
+
+[Footnote 8: "The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian." Everyman's
+Library. J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 255-256.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+
+We left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday, January 28. Our stay there
+would have been exceedingly pleasant under ordinary conditions but it
+was impossible not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the caravan.
+Traveling southward for two days over bare brown mountain-sides, their
+monotony unrelieved except by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we
+descended abruptly into the great subtropical valley at Shih-tien.
+
+Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in a succession of
+rice paddys and fields of sugar cane interspersed with patches of
+graceful bamboo, their summits drooping like enormous clusters of
+ostrich plumes; the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the
+surrounding hills is delightful. However, we were disappointed in the
+shooting for, although it appeared to be an ideal place for ducks and
+other water birds, we killed only five teal, and the great ponds were
+almost devoid of bird life. Even herons, so abundant in the north,
+were conspicuous by their absence and we saw no sheldrakes, geese, or
+mallards.
+
+At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard on the outskirts
+of the town, and with Wu I returned to the village to inquire about
+shooting places. We seated ourselves in the first open tea house and
+within ten minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the room,
+overflowed through the door and windows, and formed a mass of pushing,
+crowding bodies which completely blocked the street outside. It was
+a simple way of getting all the village together and Wu questioned
+everyone who looked intelligent.
+
+We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang, five days'
+travel south, and we returned to the temple just in time to receive a
+visit from the resident mandarin. He was a good-looking, intellectual
+man, with charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen
+whom we met in China.
+
+During his visit, and until dinner was over and we had retired to our
+tents, hundreds of men, women and children crowded into the temple
+yard to gaze curiously at us. After the gates had been closed they
+climbed the walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows. Their
+curiosity was insatiable but not unfriendly and nowhere throughout
+our expedition did we find such extraordinary interest in our affairs
+as was manifested by the people in this immediate region. They were
+largely Chinese and most of them must have met foreigners before, yet
+their curiosity was much greater than that of any natives whom we knew
+were seeing white persons for the first time.
+
+Just before camping the next day we passed through a large village
+where we were given a most flattering reception. We had stopped to do
+some shooting and were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The
+_mafus_ must have announced our coming, for the populace was out _en
+masse_ to greet us and lined the streets three deep. It was a veritable
+triumphal entry and crowds of men and children followed us for half
+a mile outside the town, running beside our horses and staring with
+saucer-like eyes.
+
+[Illustration: A Chinese Patriarch]
+
+[Illustration: Young China]
+
+On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high mountain and wound
+down a sharp descent for about 4,000 feet into a valley only 2,800 feet
+above sea level. We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a
+biting wind and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and coats over
+flannel shirts. After going down about 1,000 feet we tied our coats to
+the saddle pockets, on the second thousand stripped off the sweaters,
+and for the remainder of the descent rode with sleeves rolled up and
+shirts open at the throat. We had come from mid-winter into summer in
+two hours and the change was most startling. It was as though we had
+suddenly ridden into an artificially heated building like the rooms for
+tropical plants at botanical gardens.
+
+Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river where we had a
+splendid view of the wide valley which was like the bottom of a well
+with high mountains rising abruptly on all sides. It was a place of
+strange contrasts. The bushes and trees were in full green foliage but
+the grass and paddy fields were dry and brown as in mid-winter. The
+thick trees at the base of the hills were literally alive with doves
+but there were few mammal runways and our traps yielded no results.
+That night a muntjac, the first we had heard, barked hoarsely behind
+the tents.
+
+The _yamen_ "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien delivered his
+official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo) which lies farther down the
+valley. The magistrate, who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon
+after with ten or twelve men and we discovered that there was but one
+man in the village who spoke Chinese.
+
+The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to have the
+responsibility of our safety thrust upon him and consequently assured
+us that there were neither game nor hunters in this village. Although
+his anxiety to be rid of us was apparent, he was probably telling the
+truth, for the valley is so highly cultivated (rice), and the cover on
+the mountain-sides so limited, that it is doubtful if much game remains.
+
+In the morning the entire valley was filled with a dense white fog but
+we climbed out of it almost immediately, and by noon were back again
+in winter on the summits of the ridges. The country through which we
+passed _en route_ to Gen-kang was similar to that which had oppressed
+us during the preceding week--cultivated valleys between high barren
+mountains relieved here and there by scattered groves of planted fir
+trees. It was a region utterly hopeless from a naturalist's standpoint
+and when we arrived at a large town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh
+discouraged.
+
+During almost a month of travel we had been guided by native
+information which without exception had proved worthless. It
+seemed useless to rely upon it further, and yet there was no other
+alternative, for none of the foreigners whom we had met in Yün-nan knew
+anything about this part of the province. We were certain to reach a
+tropical region farther south and the fact that there were a few sambur
+skins for sale in the market offered slight encouragement. These were
+said to come from a village called Meng-ting, "a little more far," to
+the tune of four or five days' travel, over on the Burma frontier.
+
+With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of the weather, we left
+in a pouring rain on February 6, to slip and splash southward through
+veritable rivers of mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the
+second day the country suddenly changed. The trail led through a wide
+grassy valley, bordered by heavily forested hills, into a deep ravine.
+Along the banks of a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the
+moss-covered logs and dense vegetation made ideal conditions for small
+mammalian life.
+
+We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky gateway. At the
+right a green-clothed mountain rose out of a tangle of luxuriant
+vegetation; to the left wave after wave of magnificent forested ridges
+lost themselves in the low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful
+valley filled with stately trees which spread into a thick green canopy
+overhead.
+
+We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the forest. While the
+tents were being pitched, I set a line of traps along the base of the
+opposite mountain and found a "runway" under almost every log. About
+eight o'clock I ran my traps and, with the aid of a lantern, stumbled
+about in the bushes and high grass, over logs and into holes. When I
+emptied my pockets there were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles,
+representing seven species and _all new to our collection_. Heller
+brought in eight specimens and added two new species. We forthwith
+decided to stay right where we were until this "gold mine" had been
+exhausted.
+
+In the morning our traps were full of mammals and sixty-two were laid
+out on the table ready for skinning. The length, tail, hind foot,
+and ear of each specimen was first carefully measured in millimeters
+and recorded in the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing
+our serial number; then an incision was made in the belly, the skin
+stripped off, poisoned with arsenic, stuffed with cotton, and sewed up.
+The animal was then pinned in position by the feet, nose, and tail in a
+shallow wooden tray which fitted in the collecting trunk.
+
+The specimens were put in the sun on every bright day until they were
+thoroughly dry and could be wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight
+trunks or boxes. We have found that the regulation U. S. Army officer's
+fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It measures thirty inches
+long by thirteen deep and sixteen inches wide and will remain quite
+dry in an ordinary rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand
+in water. The skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons of some, are
+numbered like the skin, strung upon a wire, and dried in the sun. Also
+individuals of every species are injected and preserved in formalin for
+future anatomical study.
+
+Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As soon as the skin has
+been removed and cleaned of flesh and fat, salt is rubbed into every
+part of it and the hide rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the
+water which has been extracted by the salt poured off, and the skin
+hung over a rope or a tree branch to dry. If it is not too hot and the
+air is dry, the skin may be kept in the shade to good advantage, but
+under ordinary field conditions it should be placed in the sun. Before
+it becomes too hard, the hide is rolled or folded into a convenient
+package hair side in, tied into shape and allowed to become "bone dry."
+In this condition it will keep indefinitely but requires constant
+watching, for the salt absorbs moisture from the air and alternate
+wetting and drying is fatal.
+
+We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin both large and small
+animals and they became quite expert. They required constant watching,
+however, and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or I
+examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.
+
+On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the village of Mu-cheng
+ten _li_ distant. The men assured us that there were sambur, serow, and
+muntjac in the neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no dogs
+and were armed with crossbows, antiquated guns, and bows and arrows,
+but they showed us the skins of two sambur in proof of their ability to
+secure game.
+
+Like most of the other natives, with the exception of the Mosos on the
+Snow Mountain, these men had no definite plan in hunting. The first day
+I went out with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill not
+far from camp. Without giving me an opportunity to reach a position in
+front of them, they began to work up the hill, and I had a fleeting
+glimpse of a sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the
+summit.
+
+Two days later while I was out with ten other men who had a fairly good
+pack of dogs, the first party succeeded in killing a female sambur. The
+animal weighed at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our
+camp and we purchased the skin for ten _rupees_. South of Gen-kang the
+money of the region, like all of Yün-nan for some distance from the
+Burma frontier, is the Indian _rupee_ which equals thirty-three cents
+American gold in that part of the province adjoining Tonking, French
+Indo-China money is current.
+
+My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this camp, which we
+called "Good Hope."
+
+  The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough for
+  comfort and the nights are clear and cold. How we do sleep! It
+  seems hardly an hour from the time we go to bed until we hear Wu
+  rousing the servants, and the crackle of the camp-fire outside the
+  tent. We half dress in our sleeping bags and with chattering teeth
+  dash for the fire to lace our high boots in its comfortable warmth.
+
+  After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I inspect
+  the traps. The ground is white with frost and the trees and bushes
+  are dressed in silver. Every trap holds an individual interest and
+  we follow the line through the forest, resetting some, and finding
+  new mammals in others. Yvette has conquered her feminine repugnance
+  far enough to remove shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the
+  spring and dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never
+  touches them.
+
+  We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with the men,
+  the lady of the camp works at her photography. I return in the late
+  afternoon and after tea we wander through the woods together. It
+  is the most delightful part of the day when the sun goes down and
+  the shadows lengthen. We sit on a log in a small clearing where we
+  can watch the upper branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of
+  a great colony of red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus erythræus_
+  subsp.) and after a few moments of silence we see a flash of brown
+  along a branch, my gun roars out, and there is a thud upon the
+  ground.
+
+  Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died away
+  in the forest the gun bangs again. We have already shot a dozen
+  squirrels from this tree and yet more are there. Sometimes a tiny,
+  striped chipmunk (_Tamiops macclellandi_ subsp.) will appear on the
+  lower branches, searching the bark for grubs, and after he falls we
+  have a long hunt to find him in the brown leaves. When it is too
+  dark to see the squirrels, we wander slowly back to camp and eat a
+  dinner of delicious broiled deer steak in front of the fire; over
+  the coffee we smoke and talk of the day's hunting until it is time
+  to "run the traps."
+
+  Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a gun we
+  pick our way among the trees until we strike the trail along which
+  the traps are set. On the soft ground our feet are noiseless and,
+  extinguishing the lanterns, we sit on a log to listen to the night
+  sounds. The woods are full of life. Almost beside us there is a
+  patter of tiny feet and a scurry among the dry leaves; a muntjac
+  barks hoarsely on the opposite hillside, and a fox yelps behind us
+  in the forest. Suddenly there is a sharp snap, a muffled squeal,
+  and a trap a few yards away has done its work. Even in the tree
+  tops the night life is active. Dead twigs drop to the ground with
+  an unnatural noise, and soft-winged owls show black against the sky
+  as they flit across an opening in the branches.
+
+  We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into a cuplike
+  hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already half of them
+  are full. In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by the tail as he
+  ran across the trap; another holds a veritable treasure, and at
+  my exclamation of delight Yvette runs up excitedly. It is a rare
+  Insectivore of the genus _Hylomys_ and possibly a species new to
+  science. We examine it beside the lantern, wrap it carefully in
+  paper, and drop it into a pocket by itself.
+
+  The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log. The trap
+  is gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over every inch of
+  ground. Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet away and stifles
+  a scream for in it, caught by the neck and still alive, is a huge
+  rat nearly two feet long; it too is a species which may prove new.
+
+  When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail to the
+  edge of the forest and into the clearing where the tents glow in
+  the darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is delightfully
+  warmed by the charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably on the
+  beds, we write our daily records or read Dickens for half an hour.
+  It is with a feeling of great contentment that we slip down into
+  the sleeping bags and blow out the candles leaving the tent filled
+  with the soft glow of the moonlight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES
+
+
+During the eight days in which we remained at the "Good Hope" camp,
+two hundred specimens comprising twenty-one species were added to our
+collection. Although the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was
+quite unlike that of any region in which we had previously collected,
+and that undoubtedly was responsible for the complete change of fauna.
+We were on the very edge of the tropical belt which stretches along
+the Tonking and Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west of the
+province.
+
+It was already mid-February and if we were to work in the
+fever-stricken valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high time we were on
+the way southward. The information which we had obtained near Gen-kang
+had been supplemented by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to go
+to Meng-ting as soon as possible.
+
+The first march was long and uneventful but at its end, from the summit
+of a high ridge, we could see a wide valley which we reached in the
+early morning of the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly
+left us on a jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly down a steep
+ravine to lose itself in a veritable forest of tree ferns and sword
+grass. The slanting rays of the sun drew long golden paths into the
+mysterious depths of the mist-filled valley. To the right a giant
+sentinel peak of granite rose gaunt and naked from out the enveloping
+sea of green which swelled away to the left in huge ascending billows.
+
+We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of the bell on the
+leading mule announced the approach of the caravan and then we
+picked our way slowly down the steep trail between walls of tangled
+vegetation. In an hour we were breathing the moist warm air of the
+tropics and riding across a wide valley as level as a floor. The long
+stretches of rank grass, far higher than our heads, were broken by
+groves of feathery bamboos, banana palms, and splendid trees interlaced
+with tangled vines.
+
+Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled into the grass.
+The bamboo houses, sheltered by trees and bushes, were roofed in the
+shape of an overturned boat with thatch and the single street was wide
+and clean. Could this really be China? Verily, it was a different China
+from that we had seen before! It might be Burma, India, Java, but never
+China!
+
+Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning. A real Priscilla,
+somewhat strange in dress to be sure and with a mouth streaked with
+betel nut, but Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside
+her stood John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers, hitched far up
+over one leg to show the intricate tattoo designs beneath, a short
+coat, and a white turban completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun
+almost as ancient in design as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla
+kept her eyes upon the spinning wheel, but John's gaze could by no
+stretch of imagination be called ardent even before we appeared around
+a corner of the house and the pretty picture resolved into its rightful
+components--a surprised, but not unlovely Shan girl and a well-built,
+yellow-skinned native who stared with wide brown eyes And open mouth at
+what must have seemed to him the fancy of a disordered brain.
+
+[Illustration: A Shan Village]
+
+[Illustration: A Shan Woman Spinning]
+
+For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and quiet, where
+every day was exactly like the day before, had suddenly ridden two
+big men with white skins and blue eyes, and a little one with lots of
+hair beneath a broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little
+one had jumped from the horse and pointed a black box with a shiny
+front at him and his Priscilla. At once, but without loss of dignity,
+Priscilla vanished into the house, but John Alden stood his ground, for
+a beautiful new tin can had been thrust into his hand and before he had
+really discovered what it was the little person had smiled at him and
+turned her attention to the charming street of his village. There the
+great water buffaloes lazily chewed their cuds standing guard over the
+tiny brown-skinned natives who played trustingly with the calves almost
+beneath their feet.
+
+Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had ever seen, and
+regretfully we rode away across the plain between the walls of waving
+grass toward the Nam-ting River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single
+log, and tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs were
+soon across the muddy stream and the mules were made to swim to the
+other bank. Shortly after leaving the ferry we emerged from the vast
+stretches of rank grass on to the open rice paddys which stretched
+away in a gently undulating plain from the river to the mountains.
+Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese, but three great flocks of
+cranes (probably _Grus communis_) rose from the fields and wheeled in
+ever-widening spirals above our heads until they were lost in the blue
+depths of the sky.
+
+Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a few wisps of smoke
+curling above its summit, but not until we were well-nigh there did
+we realize that its beautiful trees sheltered the thatched roofs of
+Meng-ting. But this was only the "'residential section" of the village
+and below the knoll on the opposite side of a shallow stream lay the
+shops and markets.
+
+We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of jungle separated us from
+the nearest house. As soon as the tents were up I announced our coming
+to the mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock. Wu and I
+found the _yamen_ to be a large well-built house, delightfully cool
+and exhibiting several foreign articles which evinced its proximity to
+Burma.
+
+We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who shortly introduced
+the mandarin--a young Shan not more than twenty years old who only
+recently had succeeded his late father as chief of the village. The boy
+was dressed in an exceedingly long frock coat, rather green and frayed
+about the elbows, which in combination with his otherwise typical
+native dress gave him a most extraordinary appearance.
+
+We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who did all the talking
+was the "power behind the throne." He accepted my gift of a package of
+tea with great pleasure, but the information about hunting localities
+for which we asked was not forthcoming. He first said that he knew of a
+place where there were tiger and leopard, but that he did not dare to
+reveal it to us for we might be killed by the wild animals and he would
+be responsible for our deaths; bringing to his attention the fact
+that tigers had never been recorded from the Meng-ting region did not
+impress him in the slightest.
+
+It did tend to send him off on another track, however, and he
+next remarked that if he sent us to a place where the hunting was
+disappointing we probably would report him to the district mandarin.
+Assurances to the contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that
+he wished only to get us out of his district and thus relieve himself
+of the responsibility of our safety. During the conversation, which
+lasted more than an hour, the young Shan was not consulted and did not
+speak a word; he sat stolidly in his chair, hardly winking, and except
+for the constant supply of cigarettes which passed between his fingers
+there was no evidence that he even breathed.
+
+The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman that he would
+make inquiries concerning hunting grounds and communicate with us in
+the morning. We returned to camp and half an hour later a party of
+natives arrived from the _yamen_ bearing about one hundred pounds of
+rice, a sack of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three chickens, and a great
+bundle of fire wood. These were deposited in front of our tent as gifts
+from the mandarin.
+
+We were at a loss to account for such generosity until Wu explained
+that whenever a high official visited a village it was customary for
+the mandarin to supply his entire party with food during their stay. It
+would be quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however,
+for the supplies were levied from the inhabitants of the town. We kept
+the eggs and chickens, giving the _yamen_ "runners" considerably more
+than their value in money, and they gratefully returned with the rice
+and potatoes.
+
+On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan Buddhist monastery,
+bamboo walled and thatched with straw, and at sunset and daybreak a
+musical chant of childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled
+valley. All day long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the mud
+walls about the temple like a flock of birds peering at us with bright
+round eyes. They were wild as hawks, these little priests and, although
+they sometimes left the shelter of their temple walls, they never
+ventured below the bushy hedge about our rice field.
+
+In the village we saw them often, wandering about the streets or
+sitting in yellow groups beneath the giant trees which threw a welcome
+shade over almost every house. They were not all children, and finely
+built youths or men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits of lemon
+peel, passed to and fro to the temple on the hill.
+
+There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the village with
+male children is required to send at least one boy to live a part of
+his life under the tutelage of the Church. He must remain three years,
+and longer, if he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and
+their clothing is not an important item of expenditure as it consists
+merely of a straw hat and a yellow robe. They lead a lazy, worthless
+life, and from their sojourn in religious circles they learn only
+indolence and idleness.
+
+The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the weekly market was held,
+and when Wu and I crossed the little stream to the business part of the
+village, we found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque crowd
+of natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It was a group flashing
+with color, and every individual a study for an artist. There were
+blue-clad Chinese, Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white,
+and Burmans dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned
+Lisos, flat-faced Palaungs, Was, and Kachins in black and red strung
+about with beads or shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of
+those who did not carry a spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked looking
+daggers peeped from beneath their sashes. Every man carried a weapon
+ready for instant use.
+
+Nine tribes were present in the market that day and almost as many
+languages were being spoken. It was a veritable Babel and half the
+trading was done by signs. The narrow street was choked with goods
+of every kind spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails,
+knives, swords, hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats, crossbows,
+arrows, pottery, tea, opium, and scores of other articles for food or
+household use.
+
+Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing new goods or
+packing up their purchases; under open, thatched pavilions were silent
+groups of men gambling with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses"
+white-faced natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling "pills" of
+opium and oblivious to the constant stream of passers-by.
+
+It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic mass of life
+and color, where Chinese from civilized Canton drank, and gambled,
+and smoked with wild natives from the hills or from the depths of
+fever-stricken jungles.
+
+After one glimpse of the picture in the market I dashed back to camp
+to bring the "Lady of the Camera." On the way I met her, hot and
+breathless, half coaxing, half driving three bewildered young priests
+resplendent in yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying vainly
+to photograph a priest and had discovered these splendid fellows when
+all her color plates had been exposed. She might have succeeded in
+bringing them to camp had I not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage
+and rushed away with averted faces.
+
+When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried back to the market
+followed by two coolies with the cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work
+alone I set up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less than a
+minute the narrow space in front of us was packed with a seething mass
+of natives. It was impossible to take a "street scene" for the "street"
+had suddenly disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused the
+camera on the irregular line of heads and swung it back and forth
+registering a variety of facial expressions which it would be hard to
+duplicate. For some time it was impossible to bribe the natives to
+stand even for a moment, but after one or two had conquered their fear
+and been liberally rewarded, there was a rush for places. Wu asked
+several of the natives who could speak Chinese if they knew what we
+were doing but they all shook their heads. None of them had ever seen a
+camera or a photograph.
+
+The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all the tribes as well
+as the most difficult to photograph. Yvette was not able to get them
+at all, and I could do so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two
+or three squatting near their baskets on the ground I moved slowly
+up behind them keeping in the center of the crowd. After the "movie
+camera" was in position Wu suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and
+before the women realized what was happening they were registered on
+twenty-five or thirty feet of film.
+
+[Illustration: A Kachin Woman in the Market at Meng-ting]
+
+[Illustration: One of Our Shan Hunters with Two Yellow Gibbons]
+
+One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much, suddenly became
+belligerent when I pointed the camera in his direction, and rushed at
+me with a drawn knife. I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he
+went down in a heap. He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine, but it
+took all of the fight out of him for he received no sympathy from the
+spectators.
+
+Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera operations and a less
+determined person would have given up in despair. The natives were so
+shy and suspicious that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to
+stand for a second and it was only after three hours of aggravating
+work in the stifling heat and dust that she at last succeeded in
+exposing all her plates. Her patience and determination were really
+wonderful and I am quite sure that I should not have obtained half her
+results.
+
+The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals. They were
+short, and strongly built, with a mop of coarse hair cut straight all
+around, and thick lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of
+a short black jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and ornamented
+with strings of beads and pieces of brass or silver. This tribe forms
+the largest part of the population in northern Burma and also extends
+into Assam. Yün-nan is fortunate in having comparatively few of them
+along its western frontier for they are an uncivilized and quarrelsome
+race and frequently give the British government considerable trouble.
+
+There were only a few Burmans in the market although the border is
+hardly a dozen miles to the west, but the girls were especially
+attractive. Their bright pretty faces seemed always ready to break into
+a smile and their graceful figures draped in brilliant sarongs were in
+delightful contrast to the other, not over-dean, natives.
+
+The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which added to their
+distinction. The lips of virtually every other woman and man were
+stained from the red juice, which is in universal use throughout India,
+the Malay Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Yün-nan we first
+noted it at the "Good Hope" camp, and the Shans are generally addicted
+to the practice.
+
+The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely Shan, but during the
+winter a good many Cantonese Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The
+drug is smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative trade
+is carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five cents (Mexican) an
+ounce in Burma and sold for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Yün-nan
+Fu and for ten dollars in Shanghai.
+
+Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The drug is cooked
+over an alcohol lamp and when the "pill" is properly prepared it is
+placed in the tiny bowl of the pipe, held against the flame and the
+smoke inhaled. The process is a rather complicated one and during it
+the natives always recline. No visible effect is produced even after
+smoking several pipefuls, but the deathly paleness and expressionless
+eye marks the inveterate opium user.
+
+There can be no doubt that the Chinese government has been, and is,
+genuinely anxious to suppress the use of opium and it has succeeded to
+a remarkable degree. We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in
+Yün-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a guard of soldiers,
+on inspection trips. Indeed, while we were in Meng-ting the district
+mandarin arrived. We were sitting in our tents when the melodious
+notes of deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They were like
+the chimes of far away cathedral bells sounding nearer and louder, but
+losing none of the sweetness. Soon a long line of soldiers appeared
+and passed the camp bearing in their midst a covered chair. The
+mandarin established himself in a spacious temple on the opposite side
+of the village, where I visited him the following day and explained
+the difficulty we had had at the Meng-ting _yamen_. He aided us so
+effectually that all opposition to our plans ended and we obtained a
+guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting River, three miles
+from the Burma border.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+
+Every morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled with a thick white
+mist and when we broke camp at daylight each mule was swallowed up in
+the fog as soon as it left the rice field. We followed the sound of
+the leader's bell, but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan
+visible. For thirty U the valley is broad and flat as at Meng-ting and
+filled with a luxuriant growth of rank grass, but it narrows suddenly
+where the river has carved its way through a range of hills.
+
+The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through a dense, tropical
+jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved bananas, and giant trees
+laced and interlaced with thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a
+living wall of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel.
+We followed the trail all day, sometimes picking our way among the
+rocks high above the river or padding along in the soft earth almost
+at the water's edge. At night we camped in a little clearing where
+some adventurous native had fought the jungle and been defeated; his
+bamboo hut was in ruins and the fields were overgrown with a tangle of
+throttling vegetation.
+
+We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road were fascinating.
+Brilliant green parrots screamed in the tree tops and tiny sun-birds
+dressed in garments of red and gold and purple, flashed across the
+trail like living jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a huge
+hornbill flapping heavily over the river, every beat of his stiff wing
+feathers sounding like the motor of an aëroplane. Bamboo partridges
+called from the bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the
+air.
+
+At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed two thatched
+huts in a little clearing beside the trail and the guide remarked
+that our camping place was not far away. We reached it shortly and
+were delighted. Two enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a
+cool, dark shade above a sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned
+rice field. From a patch of ground as level as a floor, where our
+tents were pitched, we could look across the brown rice dykes to the
+enclosing walls of jungle and up to the green mountain beyond. A
+half mile farther down the trail, but hidden away in the jungle, lay
+a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the guide said we
+should be able to find hunters.
+
+As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with a bag of steel
+traps to set them on the tiny trails which wound through the jungle in
+every direction. Selecting a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in
+the center, covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body of
+a bird or a chunk of meat by a wire over the pan about three feet from
+the ground. A light branch was fastened to the chain as a "drag." When
+the trap is pulled this invariably catches in the grass or vines and,
+while holding the animal firmly, still gives enough "spring" to prevent
+its freeing itself.
+
+Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest of wits between
+the trapper and the animal with the odds by no means in favor of the
+former. The trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings
+may be unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands may linger about the
+bait, or there may be numberless other possibilities to frighten the
+suspicious animal.
+
+In the evening our guide brought a strange individual whom he
+introduced as the best hunter in the village. He was a tall Mohammedan
+Chinese who dressed like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He
+seemed to be afflicted with mental and physical inertia, for when he
+spoke it was in slow drawl hardly louder than a whisper, and every
+movement of his body was correspondingly deliberate. We immediately
+named him the "Dying Rabbit" but discovered very shortly that he really
+had boundless energy and was an excellent hunter.
+
+The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for beaters and we drove a
+patch of jungle above camp but without success. There were many sambur
+tracks in the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to
+be difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the open places
+were so few and small that a sambur had every chance to break through
+without giving a shot.
+
+Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying Rabbit" was armed with
+a .45-caliber bolt action rifle into which he had managed to fit a .808
+shell and several of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875. The
+guns had all been brought from Burma and most were without ammunition,
+but each man had an assortment of different cartridges and used
+whichever he could force into his rifle.
+
+[Illustration: Our Camp on the Nam-ting River]
+
+[Illustration: The Shan Village at Nam-ka]
+
+The men worked splendidly under the direction of the "Dying Rabbit."
+On the second day they put up a sambur which ran within a hundred feet
+of us but was absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned
+to camp we found that a civet (_Viverra_) had walked past our tent and
+begun to eat the scraps about the cook box, regardless of the shouts of
+the _mafus_ and servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun.
+After considerable difficulty they persuaded him that there really was
+some cause for their excitement and he shot the animal. It was probably
+ill, for its flesh was dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent
+condition.
+
+Civets belong to the family _Viverridæ_ and are found only in Asia and
+Africa. Although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly
+related to them and their claws are only partly retractile. They are
+very beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with black, a ringed
+tail, and a black and white striped pointed head. A scent gland near
+the base of the tail secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although
+penetrating, is not particularly disagreeable. The animals move about
+chiefly in the early morning and evening and at night and prey upon
+birds, eggs, small mammals, fish, and frogs. One which we caught and
+photographed had a curious habit of raising the hair on the middle of
+its back from the neck to the tail whenever it was angry or frightened.
+
+Although there were no houses within half a mile of camp we were
+surprised on our first night to hear cocks crowing in the jungle. The
+note was like that of the ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended
+somewhat more abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer and
+all his harem in a deserted rice field, and he flew toward the jungle
+in a flash of red and gold.
+
+I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left of "sixes" and
+found that they were jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) in full plumage. The
+cock was a splendid bird. The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over
+his back and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was hardly
+more beautiful than the black of his underparts and green-glossed
+tail. Picture to yourself a "black-breasted red" gamecock and you have
+him in all his glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more
+pheasant-like in his general bearing. The female was a trim little
+bird with a lilac sheen to her brown feathers and looked much like a
+well-kept game bantam hen.
+
+The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard hens and
+roosters which were probably first domesticated in Burma and adjacent
+countries long before the dawn of authentic history. According to
+tradition the Chinese received their poultry from the West about 1400
+B.C. and they are figured in Babylonian cylinders between the sixth
+and seventh centuries B.C.; although they were probably introduced in
+Greece through Persia there is no direct evidence as to when and how
+they reached Europe.
+
+The black-breasted jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) inhabit northern
+India, Burma, Indo-Chinese countries, the Malay Peninsula, and the
+Philippine Islands; a related species, _G. lafayetti_, is found in
+Ceylon; another, _G. sonnerati_, in southern India, and a fourth, _G.
+varius_, in Java.
+
+We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even where they were
+seldom hunted. During the heat of the day they remain in thick cover,
+but in cloudy weather and in the early morning and evening they come
+out into clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River we could
+usually put up a few birds on the edge of the deserted rice fields
+which stretched up into the jungle, but they were never far away from
+the edge of the forest.
+
+We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but usually a cock had
+with him six or eight hens. It was interesting to watch such a flock
+feeding in the open. The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone
+like a piece of gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and
+industriously ran about among his trim little hens, rounding up the
+stragglers and directing his harem with a few low-toned "clucks"
+whenever he found some unusually tempting food.
+
+It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually would send
+the flock whirring into the jungle while they were well beyond shotgun
+range. When flushed from the open the birds nearly always would alight
+in the first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying deeper
+into the jungle. We caught several hens in our steel traps, and one
+morning at the edge of a swamp I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with
+a "right and left" as they flushed together.
+
+We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of the mating season
+for the jungle fowl. It is said that they brood from January to April
+according to locality, laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs
+under a bamboo clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves have
+been scratched together for a nest. The hen announces the laying of
+an egg by means of a proud cackle, and the chicks themselves have the
+characteristic "peep, peep, peep" of the domestic birds. After the
+breeding season the beautiful red and gold neck hackles of the male
+sometimes are molted and replaced by short blackish feathers.
+
+There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the cocks are
+polygamous, but our observations tend to show that they are. We never
+saw more than one male in a flock and in only one or two instances
+were the birds in pairs. The cocks are inveterate fighters like the
+domestic birds and their long curved spurs are exceedingly effective
+weapons.
+
+We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting River camp
+and on the second afternoon it contained a splendid polecat. This
+animal is a member of the family Mustelidæ which includes mink, otter,
+weasels, skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep yellow
+throat, and long tail is really very handsome. Polecats inhabit the
+Northern Hemisphere and are closely allied to the ferret which so often
+is domesticated and used in hunting rats and rabbits. We found them
+to be abundant in the low valleys along the Burma border and often
+saw them during the day running across a jungle path or on the lower
+branches of a tree. The polecat is a blood-thirsty little beast and
+kills everything that comes in its way for the pure love of killing,
+even when its appetite has been satisfied.
+
+On the third morning we found two civets in the traps. The cook told
+me that some animal had stolen a chicken from one of his boxes during
+the night and we set a trap only a few yards from our tent on a trail
+leading into the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook
+boxes were not bothered again.
+
+Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was a delightful part of
+our camp life. It was like opening a Christmas package as we walked up
+the trails, for each one held interesting possibilities and the mammals
+of the region were so varied that surprises were always in store for
+us. Besides civets and polecats, we caught mongooses, palm civets, and
+other carnivores. The small traps yielded a new _Hylomys_, several new
+rats, and an interesting shrew.
+
+We saw a few huge squirrels (_Ratufa gigantea_) and shot one. It was
+thirty-six inches long, coal black above and yellow below. The animals
+were very shy and as they climbed about in the highest trees they were
+by no means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting group
+confined to India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Dutch
+East Indies, and Borneo.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+
+Our most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was hunting monkeys. Every
+morning we heard querulous notes which sounded much like the squealing
+of very young puppies and which were followed by long, siren wails;
+when the shrill notes had reached their highest pitch they would sink
+into low mellow tones exceedingly musical.
+
+The calls usually started shortly after daylight and continued until
+about nine o'clock, or later if the day was dark or rainy. They would
+be answered from different parts of the jungle and often sounded from
+half a dozen places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the
+cries were made by _hod-zu_ (monkeys) and several times we started in
+pursuit, but they always ceased long before we had found a way through
+the jungle to the spot from which they came. At last we succeeded in
+locating the animals.
+
+We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a trail which led up
+a valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly the puppy-like squealing began,
+followed by a low tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but
+the trees were empty. We stole silently along the trail for a hundred
+yards and turned into a dry creek bed which led up the bottom of the
+forested ravine. With infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement,
+we slipped along, scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill sitting
+on a dead branch caught sight of us and flapped heavily away emitting
+horrid squawks. A flock of parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied
+squirrel followed persistently scolding at the top of its voice, but
+the monkeys continued to call.
+
+The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood motionless beside
+a tree. For an instant the countless jungle sounds were hushed in a
+breathless stillness; then, low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which
+swelled into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all the
+forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again and again it
+floated over the tree tops and we listened strangely moved, for it was
+like the music of an exquisite contralto voice. At last it ceased but,
+ere the echoes had reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an
+unlovely siren screech.
+
+The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and tense. The trees
+stretched upward full one hundred and fifty feet, their tops spread out
+in a leafy roof. Long ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a
+luxuriant growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant trunks in a
+swaying mass of living green. Far above the taller trees a gaunt gray
+monarch of the forest towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost
+branches we could just discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from which
+proceeded discordant squeals.
+
+It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all in camp. I
+fired a charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey and as the gun roared out
+the tree tops suddenly sprang into life. They were filled with running,
+leaping, hairy forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to
+branch; not a dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow, brown, and gray.
+
+The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and threw itself full
+twenty feet to a horizontal limb, below and to the right. I fired again
+and he stopped, ran a few steps forward and swung to the underside
+of the branch. At the third charge he hung suspended by one arm and
+dropped heavily to the ground stone dead.
+
+We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up the hill where the
+branches were still swaying as the monkeys traveled through the tree
+tops. They had a long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every
+step our clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our hands were
+torn, and our faces scratched and bleeding. In ten minutes they had
+disappeared and we turned about to find the dead animal. Suddenly
+Yvette saw a splash of leaves in the top of a tree below us and a big
+brown monkey swung out on a pendent vine. I fired instantly and the
+animal hung suspended, whirled slowly around and dropped to the ground.
+Before I had reloaded my gun it gathered itself together and dashed off
+through the woods on three legs faster than a man could run. The animal
+had been hiding on a branch and when we passed had tried to steal away
+undiscovered.
+
+We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the creek bed and sat down
+to examine it. It was evidently a gibbon (_Hylobates_), for its long
+arms, round head, and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every
+species with which I was familiar the male was black. This one was
+yellow and we knew it to be a prize. That there were two other species
+in the herd was certain for we had seen both brown and gray monkeys
+as they dashed away among the trees, but the gibbons were far more
+interesting than the others.
+
+[Illustration: The Head of a Gibbon Killed on the Nam-ting River]
+
+[Illustration: A Civet]
+
+Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and teeth of all
+the anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group which also includes the
+gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan. They are apparently an earlier
+offshoot of the anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the
+giant apes and man are probably a later branch. Gibbons are essentially
+Oriental being found in India, Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the
+Islands of Hainan, Sulu, Sumatra, and Java.
+
+For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River camp we devoted
+ourselves to hunting monkeys and soon discovered that the three species
+we had first seen were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon,
+another a brown baboon (_Macacus_), and the third a huge gray ape with
+a long tail (_Pygathrix_) known as the "langur." On the first day all
+three species were together feeding upon some large green beans and
+this happened once again, but usually they were in separate herds.
+
+The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although the same troop could
+usually be found in the valley where we had first discovered them, they
+chose hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them because
+of the thorny jungle. Usually when they called, it was from the upper
+branches of a dead tree where they could not only scan every inch
+of the ground below, but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun.
+Sometimes we climbed upward almost on our hands and knees, grasping
+vines and creepers, drawing ourselves up by tree trunks, crawling under
+thorny shrubs and bushes, slipping, falling, scrambling through the
+indescribable tangle. We went forward only when the calls were echoing
+through the jungle, and stood motionless as the wailing ceased. But in
+spite of all our care they would see or hear us. Then in sudden silence
+there would be a tremor of the branches, splash after splash of leaves,
+and the herd would swing away through the trackless tree tops.
+
+The gibbons are well named _Hylobates_ or "tree-walkers" for they
+are entirely arboreal and, although awkward and almost helpless on
+the ground, once their long thin hands touch a branch they become
+transformed as by a miracle.
+
+They launch themselves into space, catch a limb twenty feet away,
+swing for an instant, and hurl themselves to another. It is possible
+for them to travel through the trees faster than a man can run even on
+open ground, and when one examines their limbs the reason is apparent.
+The fore arms are so exceedingly long that the tips of the fingers can
+touch the ground when the animal stands erect, and the slender hands
+are longer than the feet.
+
+The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and would never drop
+until stone dead. Once I shot an old male with my 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher
+rifle at about one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone
+clear through his body, he hung for several minutes before he dropped
+into a tangle of vines.
+
+It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work our way through
+the jungle to the spot where the animal had fallen, and we had been
+searching for nearly half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that
+a monkey was running along a branch above our heads. I fired with the
+shotgun at a mass of moving leaves and killed a second gibbon which had
+been hiding in the thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would
+sometimes disappear as completely as though they had vanished in the
+air. After being fooled several times we learned to conceal ourselves
+in the bushes where we could watch the trees, and sooner or later the
+monkeys would try to steal away.
+
+The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild as the gibbons and
+were found in larger herds. Some of the langurs were carrying babies
+which clung to their mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to
+impede them in the slightest on their leaps through the tree tops.
+
+The young of this species are bright orange-red and strangely unlike
+the gray adults. As they grow older the red hair is gradually replaced
+by gray, but the tail is the last part of the body to change. Heller
+captured one of the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to camp in his
+coat pocket. The little fellow was only a few days old, and of course,
+absolutely helpless.
+
+When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer little wizened face
+and blue eyes visible it had a startling resemblance to a human baby
+until its long tail would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the
+illusion. It lived only four days in spite of constant care.
+
+There are fifty-five species of langurs (_Pygathrix_) all of which are
+confined to the Orient. In some parts of India the animals are sacred
+and climb about the houses or wander in the streets of villages quite
+without fear. At times they do so much damage to crops that the natives
+who do not dare to kill the animals themselves implore foreigners to
+do so. The langurs are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan
+mountains range far up into the snow and enjoy the cold weather. In the
+market at Li-chiang we saw several skins of these animals which had
+been brought down by the Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was
+used by the Chinese for rugs and coats.
+
+The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River camp, like all
+others of the genus _Pygathrix_, was interesting because of the long
+hairs of the head which form a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never
+heard the animals utter sounds, but it is said that the common Indian
+langur, _Pygathrix entellus_, gives a loud whoop as it runs through the
+tree tops. Often when a tiger is prowling about the jungle the Indian
+langurs will follow the beast, keeping in the branches just above its
+head and scolding loudly.
+
+The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting was a close
+relative of the species (_Macacus rhesus_) which one sees parading
+solemnly about the streets of Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian
+cities. In Agra, the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey Temple
+is visited by every tourist. A large herd of macaques lives in the
+grounds and at a few chuckling calls from the native attendants will
+come trooping over the walls for the food which is kept on sale at the
+gate. These animals are surprisingly tame and make most amusing pets.
+
+On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water hole in the midst
+of a dense jungle where the mud was trodden hard by sambur, muntjac,
+wild boar, and other animals. We decided to spend a night watching
+beside it, but the "Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the day time
+lost his courage as the sunlight waned. Very doubtfully he consented to
+go.
+
+Although the trip netted us no tangible results it was an experience of
+which we often think. We started just at dusk and installed ourselves
+in the bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an hour the
+forest was enveloped in the velvety blackness of the tropic night. Not
+a star nor a gleam of light was visible and I could not see my hand
+before my face.
+
+We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the breath of the jungle,
+which although without definite sound, was vibrant with life. Now and
+then a muntjac barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag thrilled
+us like an electric shock. Once a wild boar grunted on the opposite
+bank of the river, the sound coming to us clear and sharp through the
+stillness although the animal was far away.
+
+Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the leaves and a small
+animal ran across my wife's lap, leaping frantically down the hill as
+it felt her move. For five hours we sat there absolutely motionless.
+Although no animals came to the water hole we were silent with a great
+happiness as we groped our way back to camp, for we had been close
+to the heart of the jungle and were thrilled with the mystery of the
+night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+
+We saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not only was there
+a village half a mile beyond our camp, but natives were passing
+continually along the trail on their way to and from the Burma
+frontier. The village was named Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when we
+arrived, but the natives were cordial and agreed to hunt with us; when
+the head man returned, however, he was most unfriendly. He forbade the
+villagers from coming to our camp and arguments were of no avail. It
+soon became evident that only force could change his attitude, and one
+morning, with all our servants and _mafus_, we visited his house. He
+was informed that unless he ceased his opposition and ordered his men
+to assist us in hunting we would take him to Meng-ting for trial before
+the mandarin. He grudgingly complied and we had no further trouble.
+
+We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and honest people but
+abnormally lazy. During our three weeks' stay not a single trap was
+stolen, although the natives prized them highly, and often brought to
+us those in which animals had been caught. Shans were continually about
+our camp where boxes were left unlocked, but not an article of our
+equipment was missed.
+
+[Illustration: A Shan Girl]
+
+[Illustration: A Shan Boy]
+
+The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot poles and built an
+open porch in front of the door, while the dwellings at Meng-ting and
+farther up the valley were all placed upon the ground. The thatched
+roofs overhung several feet and the sides of the houses were open so
+that the free passage of air kept them delightfully cool. Moreover,
+they were surprisingly clean, for the floors were of split bamboo, and
+the inmates, if they wore sandals, left them at the door. In the center
+of the single room, on a large flat stone, a small fire always burned,
+but much of the cooking was done on the porch where a tiny pavilion had
+been erected over the hearth.
+
+The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support." The extensive
+rice paddys indicated that in the past there had been considerable
+cultivation but the fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers
+purchased all their vegetables from the Mohammedan hunter and two other
+Chinese who lived a mile up the trail, or from passing caravans whom
+they sometimes entertained. In all probability they lived upon the sale
+of smuggled opium for they were only a few miles from the Burma border.
+
+Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily tattooed. Usually
+the right leg alone, but sometimes both, were completely covered
+from the hip to the knee with intricate designs in black or red. The
+ornamentations often extended entirely around the body over the abdomen
+and waist, but less frequently on the breast and arms.
+
+All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations and
+usually fastened their wide trousers in such a way as to display them
+to the best advantage. We often could persuade a man to pose before the
+camera by admiring his tattoo marks and it was most amusing to watch
+his childlike pleasure.
+
+The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions, and it is
+probable that at one time it inhabited a large part of China south
+of the Yangtze River; indeed, there is reason to believe that
+the Cantonese Chinamen are chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial
+resemblance between the two races certainly is remarkable.
+
+Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory in Yün-nan before
+its conquest by the Mongol emperors of China in the thirteenth century
+A. D., and at one time actually subdued Burma and established a
+dynasty of their own, at present the only independent kingdom of the
+race is that of Siam. By far the greatest number of Shans live in
+semi-independent states tributary to Burma, China, and Siam, and in
+Yün-nan inhabit almost all of the southern valleys below an altitude of
+4,000 feet.
+
+The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such an extent of
+fertile land is because the low plains are considered unhealthy and the
+Chinese cannot, or will not, live there. Whether or not the malarial
+fever of the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be proved, but
+the Chinese believe it to be so and the result is the same. Where the
+Shans are numerous enough to have a chief of their own they live in a
+semi-independent state, for although their head man is subordinate to
+the district Chinese official, the latter seldom interferes with the
+internal affairs of the tribe.
+
+The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct Mongolian
+type of features and rather fair complexions. Their dress varies
+decidedly with the region, but the men of the southern part of the
+province on the Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so
+baggy that they are almost skirtlike, a white jacket, and a large
+white or pink turban surmounted by a huge straw hat. The women dress in
+a white jacket and skirt of either striped or dark blue cloth; their
+turbans are of similar material and may be worn in a high cylinder, a
+low oval, or many other shapes according to the particular part of the
+province in which they live.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+_Y. B. A._
+
+
+The camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one and we left it on March
+7, with much regret. Its resources seemed to be almost exhausted and
+the Mohammedan hunter assured us that at a village called Ma-li-ling
+we would find excellent shooting. We asked him the distance and he
+replied, "About a long bamboo joint away." It required three days to
+get there!
+
+Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do not know but we
+eventually found it to be a tiny village built into the side of a hill
+in an absolutely barren country where there was not a vestige of cover.
+Our journey there was not uneventful. We left Nam-ka with high hopes
+which were somewhat dampened after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the
+spot where our caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.
+
+With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a good trail which led
+through dense jungle where there was not a clearing or a sign of life.
+In the afternoon we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west
+and ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and emerged into an
+absolutely treeless valley between high barren hills. We knew that the
+Burma frontier could not be far away, and in a few moments we passed
+a large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the other side
+the hills were covered with bright green stalks and here and there a
+field glistened with white poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we
+were on the direct road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he said
+was in Burma. On our map it was marked well over the border in Chinese
+territory and we were greatly puzzled.
+
+About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were silhouetted against
+the sky on a tiny knoll in the midst of a grove of beautiful trees,
+and we camped at the edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid
+mud, but we were told that it was the only water supply of the village
+and its cattle. As though to prove the statement a dozen buffalos
+ambled slowly down the hill, and stood half submerged in the brown
+liquid, placidly chewing their cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women
+with buckets in their hands were constantly arriving at the pond for
+their evening supply of water. We had no filter and it was nauseating
+to think of drinking the filthy liquid but there was no alternative and
+after repeated boiling and several strainings we settled it with alum
+and disguised its taste in tea and soup.
+
+After dinner we questioned the few natives who spoke Chinese, but we
+became only more and more confused. They knew of no such place as
+Ma-li-ling and our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they
+were familiar with the trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther west in
+Burma and, moreover, they said that two hundred foreign soldiers were
+stationed there. We were quite certain that they must be native Indian
+troops but thought that a white officer might perhaps be in command.
+
+We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible political
+difficulties since we had no permits to shoot in Burma, but there
+seemed to be no alternative, for we were hopelessly bewildered by the
+mythical Ma-li-ling. We eventually discovered that there were two
+villages by that name--one in Burma, and the other in China, where it
+was correctly placed on the map which we were using.
+
+While we were discussing the matter a tremendous altercation arose
+between the Chinese _mafus_ and the servants. For some time Roy did not
+interfere, supposing it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance
+at last became unbearable. Calling Wu we learned that because we had
+been so careful to avoid English territory the _mafus_ had conceived
+the idea that for some reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners.
+Since we had inadvertently crossed into Burma it appeared to them that
+it would be an opportune time to extort an increase of wages. They
+announced, therefore, that unless extra money was given them at once
+they would untie the loads and leave us.
+
+They were hardly prepared for what followed, however. Taking his
+Mannlicher rifle, Roy called the _mafus_ together and told them that if
+any man touched a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if
+they made the slightest resistance the gun would be turned on them. A
+_mafus'_ mules represent all his property and they did not relish the
+turn affairs had taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads
+guarded during the night. In the morning the _mafus_ were exceedingly
+surprised when they learned that we were going to Ma-li-pa and their
+change of front was laughable; they were as humble and anxious to
+please as they had been belligerent the night before.
+
+The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills through which we
+had passed on the previous afternoon. There was only one village,
+but it was surrounded by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a
+rather difficult matter for a native living in China near the border
+to understand why he should not be allowed to produce the lucrative
+opium while only a few yards away, over an imaginary line, it can be
+planted without restriction. Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better
+than on level ground. The plants begin to blossom in late February
+and the petals, when about to fall, are collected for the purpose of
+making "leaves" with which to cover the balls of opium. The seed pods
+which are left after the petals drop off are scarified vertically, at
+intervals of two or three days, by means of a sharp cutting instrument.
+The operation is usually performed about four o'clock in the afternoon,
+and the opium, in the form of dried juice, is collected the next
+morning. When China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of opium and the
+growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were from twenty-five
+to thirty millions of smokers in the Empire.
+
+We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon and found it
+to be a straggling village built on two sides of a deep ravine, with
+a mixed population of Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly
+market day and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of Indian soldiers in
+khaki were standing about, and I called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of
+them speak English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with cap in
+hand, and said, "Yes, Madame, I speak English."
+
+One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our own language
+from a native in this out-of-the-way spot I He was the "compounder,"
+or medical assistant, and told us that the hundred native troops were
+in charge of a white officer whose house was on the opposite side of
+the river gorge. He guided us to a temple and, while the mules were
+being unloaded, in walked a tall, handsome young British officer who
+introduced himself as Captain Clive. He was almost speechless with
+surprise at seeing me, for he had not spoken a sentence in English or
+seen a white person since his arrival at this lonely post five months
+before.
+
+He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin and we accepted
+gladly. On the way he gave us our first news of the outside world, for
+we had been beyond communication of any sort for months, and we learned
+that the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Germany.
+
+Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo house with a broad
+verandah and thatched with straw. It was delightfully cool and dark
+after the glare of the yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect
+order. The care which Britishers take to keep from "letting down"
+while guarding the frontiers of their vast empire is proverbial, and
+Captain Clive was a splendid example of the Indian officer. He was as
+clean-shaved and well-groomed as though he had been expecting us for
+days and the tiffin to which we sat down was as dainty and well served
+as it could have been in the midst of civilization.
+
+The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of our young officer who
+had been temporarily detached from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis,
+and sent on border duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers
+were in active service in East Africa, and he had tried to resign
+several times, but the Indian government would not release him. When
+we reached Rangoon some months later we were glad to learn that he had
+rejoined his regiment and was at the front. Ma-li-pa was a recently
+established "winter station" and in May would be abandoned when the
+troop returned to Lashio, ten days' journey away. Comfortable barracks,
+cook houses, and a hospital had been erected beside a large space which
+had been cleaned of turf for a parade ground.
+
+Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph with Lashio, at the
+end of the railroad, and received a _résumé_ of world news two or
+three times a week. With mirrors during the day and lanterns at night
+messages were flashed from one mountain top to another and, under
+favorable conditions, reached Lashio in seven or eight hours.
+
+We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks in an open
+field, for there was no available shade. Although Captain Clive was
+perfectly satisfied with our passports and credentials he could not
+let us proceed until he had communicated with the Indian government by
+heliograph. The border was being guarded very closely to prevent German
+sympathizers from crossing into Burma from China and inciting the
+native tribes to rebellion.
+
+In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among the Kachins in
+the Myitkyina district on the upper waters of the Irawadi River had
+been incited by a foreigner, I believe, and Clive had assisted in
+suppressing it. The Indian government was taking no further chances
+and had given strict orders to arrest and hold anyone, other than a
+native, who crossed the border from China.
+
+Very fortunately H. B. M. Consul-General Goffe at Yün-nan Fu had
+communicated with the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma concerning our
+Expedition and we consequently expected no trouble, but Captain
+Clive could not let us proceed until he had orders to do so from the
+Superintendent of the Northern Shan States. Through a delayed message
+this permission did not reach him for five days and in the meantime
+we made the most of the limited collecting resources which Ma-li-pa
+afforded.
+
+Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma. He rose at six
+o'clock and after coffee and rolls had drill for two hours. At half
+past ten a heavy meal took the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea,
+with sandwiches and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at
+eight. His company was composed of several different native tribes,
+and each religious caste had its own cook and water carrier, for a
+man of one caste could not prepare meals for men of another. It is an
+extraordinary system but one which appears to operate perfectly well
+under the adaptable English government. Certainly one of the great
+elements in the success of the British as colonizers is their respect
+for native customs and superstitions!
+
+The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised to hear all
+commands given in English although none of the men could understand
+that language. This is done to enable British and Indian troops to
+maneuver together. Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to his
+officers. In the evening the men played football on the parade
+ground and it seemed as though we had suddenly been transported into
+civilization on the magic carpet of the Arabian Nights.
+
+Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned about nine
+o'clock. Conditions were not favorable for small mammals and although
+we could undoubtedly have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats we
+did not set a line of steel traps for we expected to leave at any time.
+Our attention was mostly devoted to bird collecting and we obtained
+about two hundred interesting specimens.
+
+We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain Clive and he dined
+with us in the evening. He had brought with him from Lashio a large
+quantity of supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done at
+home. Although the days were very warm, the nights were cold and a camp
+fire was most acceptable.
+
+Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese authorities and,
+while we were there, a very old mandarin, blind and infirm, called
+to present his compliments. He had been an ardent sportsman and was
+especially interested in our guns; had we been willing to accept the
+commission he would have paid us the money then and there to purchase
+for him a Savage .250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old
+gentleman always had been very loyal to the British and had received
+several decorations for his services.
+
+A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman crawled into camp
+with his throat terribly cut. He had been attacked by brigands only a
+few miles over the border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The
+company "compounder" took him in charge and, when Clive asked him about
+the patient, his evasive answers were most amusing; like all Orientals
+he would not commit himself to any definite statement because he might
+"lose face" if his opinion proved to be wrong.
+
+Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman will die?"
+Looking very judicial the native replied, "Sir, he _may_ die, and yet,
+he may live." "But," said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?"
+"Yes," was the answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That was all the
+satisfaction he was able to get.
+
+Clive told us of another native who formerly had been in his company.
+He had been transferred and one day the Captain met him in Rangoon.
+When asked if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical, "Sir, it
+is good, but not _s-o-o_ good!"
+
+On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a heliograph from
+Rangoon announced that "The Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the
+American Museum of Natural History is especially commended to His
+Majesty's Indian Government and permission is hereby granted to carry
+on its work in Burma wherever it may desire." This was only one of the
+many courtesies which we received from the British.
+
+The morning following the receipt of the heliogram we broke camp at
+daylight. When the last mule of the caravan had disappeared over the
+brown hills toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode away. If
+we are ever again made "prisoners of war" we hope our captor will be as
+delightful a gentleman as Captain Clive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+
+From Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the Salween River. The
+country through which we passed was a succession of dry treeless hills,
+brown and barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of the third
+day we reached the Salween at a ferry a few miles from the village of
+Changlung where the river begins its great bend to the eastward and
+sweeps across the border from China into Burma.
+
+The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself through the mountains
+and the sides are so precipitous that the trail doubles back upon
+itself a dozen times before it reaches the river 3,500 feet below.
+The upper half of the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees, but
+in the lower part the grass is long and rank and a thin dry jungle
+straggles along the water's edge. The Salween at this point is about
+two hundred yards wide, but narrows to half that distance below the
+ferry and flows in a series of rapids between rocky shores.
+
+The valley is devoid of human life except for three boatmen who tend
+the ferry, but the deserted rice fields along a narrow shelf showed
+evidence of former cultivation. On the slopes far up the side of the
+cañon is a Miao village, a tribe which we had not seen before. Probably
+the valley is too unhealthy for any natives to live close to the
+water's edge and, even at the time of our visit in early March, the
+heated air was laden with malaria.
+
+The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with opium, and assured
+us that there were no mammals near the river. They admitted that they
+sometimes heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched on
+a steep sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird catlike call of a
+peacock echoed up the valley. It was answered by another farther down
+the river, and the report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth
+a wild "pe-haun," "pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a dozen places.
+
+The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles lashed together
+with vines and creepers. It floated just above the surface and was
+half submerged when loaded. The natives used a most extraordinary
+contrivance in place of oars. It consisted of a piece of tightly woven
+bamboo matting three feet long and two feet wide at right angles to
+which was fastened a six-foot handle. With these the men nonchalantly
+raked the water toward them from the bow and stem when they had poled
+the raft well into the current. The invested capital was not extensive,
+for when the ferry or "propellers" needed repairs a few hours' work in
+the jungle sufficed to build an entirely new outfit.
+
+All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the river from our
+camp where the jungle was thickest. On the first morning my wife and
+I floated down the river on the raft for half a mile and landed to
+stalk a peacock which had called frequently from a rocky point near
+the water's edge. We picked our way through the jungle with the utmost
+caution but the wary old cock either saw or heard us before we were
+within range, and I caught just a glimpse of a brilliant green neck
+as he disappeared into the bushes. A second bird called on a point a
+half mile farther on, but it refused to come into the open and as we
+started to stalk it in the jungle we heard a patter of feet among the
+dry leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw the bird sail over the
+tree tops and alight on the summit of a bush-clad hill.
+
+This was the only peacock which we were ever able to flush when it had
+already gained cover. Usually the birds depend entirely upon their
+ability to hide or run through the bushes. After several attempts we
+learned that it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully. The
+jungle was so crisp and parched that the dry leaves crackled at every
+step and even small birds made a loud noise while scratching on the
+ground.
+
+The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for them at the river
+when they came to drink in the early morning and evening. Between
+two rocky points where we had first seen the birds there was a long
+curved beach of fine white sand. One morning Heller waited on the point
+nearest camp while my wife and I posted ourselves under a bush farther
+down the river. We had been sitting quietly for half an hour when we
+heard a scratching in the jungle. Thinking it was a peacock feeding we
+turned our backs to the water and sat motionless peering beneath the
+bushes. Meanwhile, Heller witnessed an interesting little drama enacted
+behind us.
+
+An old male peacock with a splendid train stole around the point
+close to the water, jumped to a high stone within thirty yards of us
+and stood for a full minute craning its beautiful green neck to get
+a better view as we kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of
+his presence. After he had satisfied his curiosity he hopped off the
+observation pinnacle and, with his body flattened close to the ground,
+slipped quietly away. It was an excellent example of the stalker being
+stalked and had Heller not witnessed the scene we should never have
+known how the clever old bird had fooled us.
+
+The following morning we got a peahen at the same place. Heller had
+concealed himself in the bushes on one side of the point while I
+watched the other. Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out
+of the jungle on set wings and alighted at the water's edge. She saw
+Heller almost instantly, although he was completely covered by the
+vines, and started to fly, but he dropped her with a broken wing.
+Recovering herself, she darted around the rocky point only to meet a
+charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was a beautiful bird with a delicate
+crown of slender feathers, a yellow and blue face patch and a green
+neck and back, but her plumes were short and inconspicuous when
+compared with those of the male.
+
+Probably these birds had never before been hunted but they were
+exceedingly shy and difficult to kill. Although they called more or
+less during the entire day and we could locate them exactly, they were
+so far back in the jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made a
+stalk impossible. We tried to drive them but were unsuccessful, for
+the birds would never flush unless they happened to be in the open and
+cut off from cover. Apparently realizing that their brilliant plumage
+made them conspicuous objects, the birds relied entirely upon an actual
+screen of bushes and their wonderful sight and hearing to protect
+themselves from enemies.
+
+They usually came to the river to drink very early in the morning and
+just before dusk in the afternoon, but on cloudy days they might appear
+at almost any hour. If undisturbed they would remain near the water's
+edge for a considerable time or strut about the sand beach just at the
+edge of the jungle. At the sound of a gun or any other loud sharp noise
+the peacocks would answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as
+the domesticated birds will do.
+
+The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is poison and our
+servants were horrified when they learned that we intended to eat it.
+They fully expected that we would not survive the night and, even when
+they saw we had experienced no ill effects, they could not be persuaded
+to touch any of it themselves. An old peacock is too tough to eat, but
+the younger birds are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and
+roasted they are almost the equal of turkey.
+
+The species which we killed on the Salween River is the green peafowl
+(_Pavo munticus_) which inhabits Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay
+Peninsula. Its neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the
+common Indian peacock (_Pavo cristatus_), and it is said that it is the
+most beautiful bird of the world.
+
+The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are dropped about
+August and the birds assume more simple barred plumes, but the molt is
+very irregular; usually the full plumage is resumed in March or even
+earlier. The train is, of course, an ornament to attract the female
+and, when a cock is strutting about with spread plumes, he sometimes
+makes a most peculiar rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.
+
+The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush in the
+dense jungle, are dull brownish white and nearly three inches long. The
+chicks are sometimes domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it
+is said they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The birds are
+omnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles, flower buds, young
+shoots, and grain.
+
+The common peafowl (_Pavo cristatus_) is a native of India, Ceylon, and
+Assam. It is held sacred by some religious castes and we saw dozens of
+the birds wandering about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra,
+and Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable pets because they
+often attack infirm persons and children and kill young poultry.
+
+In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so abundant and easily
+killed that they do not furnish even passable sport, but in other
+places they are as wild and difficult to shoot as we found them to be
+on the Salween River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen
+that wherever peafowls are common, there tiger will be found.
+
+A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen abruptly in
+domestication is the so-called "japanned" or black-shouldered peacock
+named _Pavo nigripennis_ by Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is
+intermediate between _P. munticus_ and _P. cristatus_ and apparently
+"breeds true" but never has been found in a wild state. Albino
+specimens are by no means unusual and are a feature of many zoölogical
+gardens.
+
+Peacocks have been under domestication for many centuries and are
+mentioned in the Bible as having been imported into Palestine by
+Solomon; although the bird is referred to in mythology, the Greeks
+probably had but little knowledge of it until after the conquests of
+Alexander.
+
+In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from our camp on the
+Salween River I put up a silver pheasant (_Euplocamus nycthemerus_),
+one of the earliest known and most beautiful species of the family
+Phasianidæ. Its white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black,
+extends like a wedding veil over the head, back and tail, in striking
+contrast to the blue-black underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs.
+
+This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon the heart and back
+badges of the official dresses of civil mandarins to denote the rank
+of the wearer, and is found only in southern and western China. It is
+by no means abundant in the parts of Yün-nan which we visited and,
+moreover, lives in such dense jungle that it is difficult to find. The
+natives sometimes snare the birds and offer them for sale alive.
+
+We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween River, but were not
+successful in killing any. They were probably the Indian baboon
+(_Macacus rhesus_) and, for animals which had not been hunted, were
+most extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and sometimes came
+down to the water to skip and dance along the sand and play among the
+rocks. The monkeys invariably appeared on the opposite side of the
+river from us and by the time we hunted up the boatmen and got the
+clumsy raft to the other shore the baboons had disappeared in the tall
+grass or were merrily running through the trees up the mountain-side.
+
+The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping ground for
+either small or large mammals, but the birds were interesting and we
+secured a good many species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were
+abundant and pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks along the
+river and only two cormorants.
+
+Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay, for it is a long
+way from the main road and the climb out of the gorge is too formidable
+to be undertaken if the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where
+the valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped at the river the
+heat was most uncomfortable during the middle of the day and was but
+little mitigated by the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer
+the valley at this point must be a veritable furnace and doubtless
+reeks with fever. We slept under nets at night and in the early
+evening, while we were watching for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very
+troublesome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+
+It is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley. We left on March 24
+and all day crawled up the steep sides on a trail which doubled back
+and forth upon itself like an endless letter S. From our camp at night
+the river was just visible as a thin green line several thousand feet
+below, and for the first time in days, we needed a charcoal fire in our
+tents.
+
+We were _en route_ to Lung-ling, a town of considerable size, where
+there was a possibility that mail might be awaiting us in care of the
+mandarin. Although ordinarily a three days' journey, it was more than
+four days before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack of malaria
+shortly after leaving the Salween River and we had to travel half
+stages.
+
+When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude of 6,000 feet,
+we arrived at a Chinese town. Its dark evil-smelling houses, jammed
+together in a crowded mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged
+children and foot-bound women, were in unpleasant contrast to the
+charming little Shan villages which we had seen in the low country. The
+inhabitants themselves appeared to no better advantage when compared
+with their Shan neighbors, for their stares and insolent curiosity were
+almost unbearable.
+
+The region between the Salween River at Changlung and Lung-ling is as
+uninteresting to the zoölogist as it could possibly be, for the hills
+are dry and bare and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical
+Chinese town except that the streets are wide and it is not as dirty
+as usual. The mandarin was a jolly rotund little fellow who simulated
+great sympathy when he informed me that he had received no mail for
+us. We had left directions to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang
+and in the event that he did not find our camp to proceed to Lung-ling
+with the mail. We learned some weeks later that the runner had been
+frightened by brigands and had turned back long before he reached
+Meng-ting.
+
+We had heard from our _mafus_ and other natives that black monkeys were
+to be found on a mountain pass not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu,
+on the main Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain that they
+would prove to be gibbons, we decided to make that our next hunting
+camp. It was three stages from Lung-ling and, toward evening of the
+second day, we again descended to the Salween River.
+
+The valley at this point is several miles wide and is so dry that the
+few shrubs and bushes seem to be parched and barely able to live.
+At the upper end a picturesque village is set among extensive rice
+fields. Although a few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly
+Shans who are in a transitory state and are gradually adopting Chinese
+customs. The houses are joined to each other in the Chinese way and are
+built of mud, thatched with straw. In shape as well as in composition
+they are quite unlike the dwellings of the southern Shans. The women
+wore cylindrical turbans, about eighteen inches high, which at a
+distance looked like silk hats, and the men were dressed in narrow
+trousers and jackets of Chinese blue. I believe that some of the Shan
+women also had bound feet but of this I cannot be certain.
+
+We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree at the far end of
+the village street, and a short time after the tents were up we had a
+visit from the Shan magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow
+wearing foreign dress and quite _au courant_ with foreign ways. He even
+owned a breech-loading shotgun, and, before we left, sent to ask for
+shells. He presented us with the usual chickens and I returned several
+tins of cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman and directed us
+to a place on the mountain above the village where he said monkeys were
+abundant.
+
+We left early in the morning with a guide and, after a hard climb,
+arrived at a little village near the forest to which the magistrate had
+directed us. Not only did the natives assure us that they had never
+seen monkeys but we discovered for ourselves that the only water was
+more than a mile away, and that camping there was out of the question.
+
+The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu. It is a tiny village
+built into the mountain-side with hardly fifty yards of level ground
+about it, but commanding a magnificent view over the Salween valley.
+Although we reached there at half past two in the afternoon the _mafus_
+insisted on camping because they swore that there was no water within
+fifty _li_ up the mountain. Very unwillingly I consented to camp
+and the next morning found, as usual, that the _mafus_ had lied for
+there was a splendid camping place with good water not two hours from
+Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for the Chinese have no scruples
+about honesty in such small matters, and the head _mafu_ blandly
+admitted that he knew there was a camping place farther on but that he
+was tired and wanted to stop early.
+
+As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted with a ringing
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the forest five hundred feet below us;
+they were the calls of gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike
+those of the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once and, after
+considerable prospecting, chose a flat place beside the road. It was
+by no means ideal but had the advantage of giving us an opportunity
+to hunt from either side of the ridge which for its entire length was
+scarcely two hundred feet in width. The sides fell away for thousands
+of feet in steep forest-clad slopes and, as far as our eyes could
+reach, wave after wave of mountains rolled outward in a great sea of
+green.
+
+Our camp would have been delightful except for the wind which swept
+across the pass night and day in an unceasing gale. My wife and I set
+a line of traps along a trail which led down the north side of the
+ridge, while Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced with
+the forest. The trees were immense spreading giants with interlaced
+branches that formed a solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft
+moss carpet underneath. Every trunk was clothed in a smothering mass
+of vines and ferns and parasitic plants and, from the lower branches,
+thousands of ropelike creepers swayed back and forth with every breath
+of wind. Below, the forest was fairly open save for occasional patches
+of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so close and dense that even
+at noon there was hardly more than a somber twilight beneath the trees.
+
+Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale which howled
+up the valley from the south and swept across the ridge in a torrent
+of wind. The huge trees around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed
+about to be torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of branches and the roar
+of the wind it was impossible to hear each other speak and sleep was
+out of the question. We lay in our bags expecting every second to have
+the covering torn from above our heads, but the tough cloth held, and
+at midnight the gale began to lull. In the morning the sun was out in
+a cloudless sky but the wind never ceased entirely on the pass even
+though there was a breathless calm among the trees a few hundred feet
+below.
+
+My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our line of traps about
+nine o'clock in the morning when the forest suddenly resounded with
+the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off
+at first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At the first
+note we seized our guns and dashed down the mountain-side, slipping,
+stumbling, and falling. The animals were in the giant forest about
+five hundred feet below the summit of the ridge and as we neared them
+we moved cautiously from tree to tree, going forward only when they
+called. It was one of the most exciting stalks I have ever made, for
+the wild, ringing howls seemed always close above our heads.
+
+We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black monkey leaped
+out of a tree top just as I stepped from behind a bush, and he saw me
+instantly. For a full half minute he hung suspended by one arm, his
+round head thrust forward staring intently; then launching himself
+into the air as though shot from a catapult he caught a branch twenty
+feet away, swung to another, and literally flew through the tree tops.
+Without a sound save the swish of the branches and splash after splash
+in the leaves, the entire herd followed him down the hill. It was out
+of range for the shotgun and my wife was ten feet behind me with the
+rifle, but had I had it in my hand I doubt if I could have hit one of
+those flying balls of fur.
+
+We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but two days later
+we redeemed ourselves and brought in the first new gibbons. We were
+sitting on a bed of fragrant pine needles watching for a squirrel
+which had been chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when
+suddenly the wild call of the monkeys echoed up the mountain-side.
+
+They were far away to the left, and we ran toward them, stumbling and
+slipping on the moss-covered rocks and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa,"
+"hu-wa" sounding louder every moment. They seemed almost under us at
+times and we would stand motionless and silent only to hear the howls
+die away in the distance. At last we located them on the precipitous
+side of a deep gorge filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and
+thorny plants. It was an impossible place to cross, and we sat down,
+irresolute and discouraged. In a few moments a chorus of howls broke
+out and we saw the big black apes swinging along through the trees,
+two hundred yards away. Finally they stopped and began to feed. They
+were small marks at that distance but I rested my little Mannlicher on
+a stump and began to shoot while Yvette watched them with the glasses.
+One big fellow swung out on a branch and hung with one arm while he
+picked a cluster of leaves with the other. Yvette saw my first shot
+cut a twig above his head but he did not move, and at the roar of the
+second he dropped heavily into the vines below. A brown female ran
+along the branch a few seconds later and peered down into the jungle
+where the first monkey had fallen. I covered her carefully with the
+ivory head of the front sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched
+headlong off the tree.
+
+For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of leaves and three
+huge black males leaped into full view from the summit of a tall tree.
+They were silhouetted against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick
+succession registering two clean misses. The bullets must have whizzed
+too close for comfort and they faded instantly into the forest like
+three black shadows.
+
+For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense foliage hoping to
+catch a glimpse of a swaying branch. Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling
+in the low tree beneath which we were sitting and seized me violently
+by the arm, screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above us. Quick,
+quick, he's going!"
+
+I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not twenty feet away
+hung a huge brown monkey half the size of a man. Almost in a daze I
+fired with the shotgun. The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long
+arm and a pair of eyes blazing like living coals, stared into mine.
+I fired again point blank as the huge mouth, baring four ugly fangs,
+opened and emitted a blood-curdling howl. The monkey slowly swung back
+again, its arm relaxed and the animal fell at my feet, stone dead.
+
+It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance we had chosen, from
+all the trees in the forest, to sit under the very one in which the
+gibbon had been hiding and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.
+
+While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of the gorge, I climbed
+down into the jungle to try and make my way up the opposite side where
+the other monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the rocks were
+covered with a thin layer of earth which supported a dense growth of
+vegetation. If I tried to let myself down a steep slope by clinging to
+a thick fern it would almost invariably strip away with a long layer of
+dirt and send me headlong.
+
+After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine where a mountain
+torrent leaped and foamed over the rocks and dropped in a beautiful
+cascade to a pool fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite
+side was more difficult than the descent and twice I had to return
+after finding the way impassable.
+
+A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated me from the
+spot where the gibbons had fallen. I skirted the rock face and had
+laboriously worked my way around and above it when a vine to which I
+had been clinging stripped off and I began to slide. Faster and faster
+I went, dragging a mass of ferns and creepers with me, for everything I
+grasped gave way.
+
+I thought it was the end of things for me because I was hardly ten feet
+above the precipice which fell away to the jagged rocks of the stream
+bed in a drop of seventy feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my
+life. Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me flattened
+out against the cliff. But even then I was far from safe, as I realized
+when I tried to twist about to reach a rope of creepers which swung
+outward from a bush above my head.
+
+[Illustration: A Suspension Bridge]
+
+[Illustration: Mrs. Andrews Feeding One of Our Bear Cubs]
+
+How I managed to crawl back to safety among the trees I can remember
+only vaguely. I finally got down to the bottom of the cañon, but felt
+weak and sick and it was half an hour before I could climb up to the
+place where my wife was waiting. She was already badly frightened
+for she had not seen me since I left her an hour before and, when I
+answered her call, she was about to follow into the jungle where I had
+disappeared. We left the two monkeys to be recovered from above and
+went slowly back to camp.
+
+The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of the Nam-ting River.
+They represent a well-known species called the "hoolock" (_Hylobates
+hoolock_) which is also found in Burma.
+
+The males, both old and young, are coal black with a fringe of white
+hairs about the face, and the females are light brown. Their note is
+totally unlike the Nam-ting River gibbons and, instead of sitting
+quietly in the top of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the
+jungle for an hour or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes
+as they swing through the branches and are silent during the remainder
+of the day. They called most frequently on bright mornings and we
+seldom heard them during cloudy weather.
+
+Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every
+day, but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. Like the
+gibbons of the Nam-ting River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree
+tops at almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things
+which I have ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw
+themselves from one tree to another with unerring precision.
+
+On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three months and our
+share amounted to 105 letters besides a great quantity of magazines.
+Wu had ridden to Teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired
+mail, had a basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Renter's
+cablegrams which were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer and Abertsen,
+gentlemen in the employ of the Chinese Customs, who had cared for our
+mail. Mr. Abertsen also sent a note telling us of a good hunting ground
+near Teng-yueh.
+
+We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers
+and, through them, began to get in touch with the world again. It is
+strange how little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond
+its reach and has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. And it
+is just as strange how essential it all seems immediately one is again
+within reach of such adjuncts of civilization.
+
+On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water fell in
+torrents, and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant
+that we could barely hear each other shout. Because of the long dry
+spell our camp had not been made with reference to weather and during
+the night I waked to find that we were in the middle of a pond with
+fifteen inches of water in the tent. Shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras
+were soaked, and the surface of the water was only an inch below the
+bottoms of our cots. This was the beginning of a ten days' rain after
+which we had six weeks of as delightful weather as one could wish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+
+After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village
+called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The
+ride along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed
+through grove after grove of rhododendrons in full blossom. The trees
+were sometimes thirty feet in height and the red flowers glowed like
+clusters of living coals among their dark green leaves. In the northern
+part of Yün-nan the rhododendrons grow above other timber line on
+mountains where it is too high even for spruces.
+
+It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu. I had another
+attack of the Salween malaria and for five or six days could do little
+work. Heller, however, made good use of his time and killed a beautiful
+horned pheasant, Temminck's tragopan (_Ceriornis temmincki_), besides
+half a dozen langurs of the same species as those we had collected on
+the Nam-ting River. He also was fortunate in shooting one of the huge
+flying squirrels (_Petaurista yunnanensis_) which we had hoped to get
+at Wei-hsi. He saw the animal in the upper branches of a dead tree on
+the first evening we were in Tai-ping-pu but was not able to get a
+shot. The next night he watched the same spot and killed the squirrel
+with a charge of "fours." It measured forty-two and one-quarter inches
+from the nose to the end of the tail and was a rich mahogany red
+grizzled with whitish above; the underparts were cream white. As in
+all flying squirrels, the four legs were connected by a sheet of skin
+called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body. This acts as
+a parachute and enables the animal to sail from tree to tree for, of
+course, it cannot fly like a bat As these huge squirrels are strictly
+nocturnal, they are not often seen even by the natives. We were told by
+the Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building huge fires in the woods
+they could attract the animals and shoot them with their crossbows.
+
+A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel from a native and
+kept it for several days in the hope that it might become tame. The
+animal was exceedingly savage and would grind its teeth angrily and
+spring at anyone who approached its basket. It could not be tempted
+to eat or drink and, as it was a valuable specimen, we eventually
+chloroformed it.
+
+Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half dozen families
+of Lisos were living, and we hired the men to hunt for us. They were
+good-natured fellows, as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and
+worked well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck which had been
+killed with their crossbows and poisoned darts. The arrows were about
+twelve inches long, made of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular
+piece of the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels were
+sharpened to a needle point, but the hunting darts were tipped with
+steel or iron. The poison they extracted from a plant, which I never
+saw, and it was said that it takes effect very rapidly.
+
+The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot in the side with
+a single arrow and they assured us that only the flesh immediately
+surrounding the wound had been spoiled for food. These natives like
+the Mosos, Lolos, and others carried their darts in a quiver made from
+the leg skin of a black bear, and none of the men wished to sell their
+weapons; I finally did obtain a crossbow and quiver for six dollars
+(Mexican).
+
+Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the Lisos guided my wife
+and me to a large cave where they said there was a colony of bats. The
+cavern was an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult
+and dangerous place in the side of a cliff just above a swift mountain
+stream. We strung our gill net across the entrance and then sent one of
+the natives inside to stir up the animals while we caught them as they
+flew out. In less than half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown bats,
+but our fingers were cut and bleeding from the vicious bites of their
+needle-like teeth. They all represented a widely distributed species
+which we had already obtained at Yün-nan Fu.
+
+From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu asking him
+to forward to Teng-yueh the specimens which we had left in his care,
+and the day following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing
+our cases passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves, were about ready
+to leave and two days later at ten o'clock in the morning we stood on
+a precipitous mountain summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh
+plain which lay before us like a relief map. It is as flat as a plain
+well can be and, except where a dozen or more villages cluster on bits
+of dry land, the valley is one vast watery rice field. Far in the
+distance, outside the gray city walls, we could see two temple-like
+buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds, and Wu told us they
+were the houses of the Customs officials.
+
+Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting" or second-class
+Chinese city, is one of the most important places in the province, for
+it stands as the door to India. All the trade of Burma and Yün-nan
+flows back and forth through the gates of Teng-yueh, over the great
+caravan road to Bhamo on the upper Irawadi.
+
+An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs, which are
+administered by the British government as security for the Boxer
+indemnity, is situated in this city, and we were looking forward with
+the greatest interest to meeting its white population. At the time of
+our visit the foreigners included Messrs. H. G. Fletcher and Ralph C.
+Grierson, respectively Acting Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner
+of Customs; Messrs. W. R. Palmer and Abertsen, also of the Customs;
+Mr. Eastes, H. B. M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian Medical Officer, and
+Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the China Inland Mission; Mr. Eastes,
+accompanied by the resident mandarin, was absent on a three months'
+opium inspection tour so that we did not meet him.
+
+We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and camped in a temple outside
+the city walls. Immediately after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson
+and went with him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and
+Palmer were living. We found there a Scotch botanist, Mr. Forrest, an
+old traveler in Yün-nan who was _en route_ to A-tun-tzu on a three-year
+plant-hunting expedition for an English commercial firm. We had heard
+much of Forrest from Messrs. Kok and Hanna and were especially glad
+to meet him because of his wide knowledge of the northwestern part
+of the province. Mr. Forrest was interested chiefly in primroses
+and rhododendrons, I believe, and in former years obtained a rather
+remarkable collection of these plants.
+
+From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United States had declared
+war on Germany. It had been announced only a week before, and the
+information had reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost
+immediately. It came as welcome news to us Americans who had been
+vainly endeavoring to justify to ourselves and others our country's
+lethargy in the face of Teuton insolence, and made us feel that once
+again we could acknowledge our nationality with the pride we used to
+feel.
+
+On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his guests and to move
+our caravan and belongings to his beautiful home. We were charmed
+with it and our host. The house was built with upturned, temple-like
+gables, and from his cool verandah we could look across an exquisite
+flower-filled garden to the blue mountains from which we had had our
+first view of Teng-yueh the day before. The interior of the dwelling
+was as attractive as its surroundings, and the beautifully served meals
+were as varied and dainty as one could have had in the midst of a great
+city.
+
+Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their sport with them.
+Just beyond the city walls an excellent golf course had been laid out
+with Chinese graves as bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court
+behind the Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent polo
+ponies, besides three trained pointer dogs, and riding and shooting
+over the beautiful hills gave him an almost ideal life. We found that
+Mr. Fletcher had a really remarkable selection of records and an
+excellent Victrola. After dinner, as we listened to the music, we had
+only to close our eyes and float back to New York and the Metropolitan
+Opera House on the divine harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or
+Caruso's matchless voice. But none of us wished to be there in body for
+more than a fleeting visit at least, and the music already brought with
+it a lingering sadness because our days in the free, wild mountains of
+China were drawing to a close.
+
+During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we dried and packed all
+our specimens in tin-lined boxes which were purchased from the agent
+of the British American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were just
+the right size to carry on muleback and, after the birds and mammals
+had been wrapped in cotton and sprinkled with naphthalene, the
+cases were soldered and made air tight. The most essential thing in
+sending specimens of any kind through a moist, tropical climate such
+as India is to have them perfectly dry before the boxes are sealed;
+otherwise they will arrive at their destination covered with mildew and
+absolutely ruined.
+
+On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased from a native two
+bear cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_) about a week old. Each was coal black
+except for a V-shaped white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When
+they first came to us they were too young to eat and we fed them
+diluted condensed milk from a spoon.
+
+The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the story of their
+amusing ways as they grew older is a book in itself. After a month one
+of the cubs died, leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only
+lived and flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.
+
+He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the Irawadi River to
+Rangoon, and across the Bay of Bengal to Calcutta. He then visited
+many cities in India, and at Bombay boarded the P. & O. S. S. _Namur_
+for Hongkong and became the pet of the ship. From China we took him
+to Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver, and finally to our home
+at Lawrence Park, Bronxville, New York. After an adventurous career
+as a house pet, when his exploits had made him famous and ourselves
+disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully sent him to the National
+Zoölogical Park, Washington, D. C, where he is living happily at the
+present time. He was the most delightful little pet we have ever owned
+and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his early life is
+perpetuated in motion pictures and we can see him still as he came to
+us the first week. He might well have been the model for the original
+"Teddy Bear" for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears and
+sparkling little eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+
+A few months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen had discovered a
+splendid hunting ground near the village of Hui-yao, about eighty _li_
+from Teng-yueh. He had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while
+passing through the village, the natives told him that a large herd of
+_gnai-yang_ or "wild goats" lived on the side of a hill through which a
+branch of the Shweli River had cut a deep gorge.
+
+Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the accuracy of the
+report he spent two days hunting and with his shotgun killed two
+gorals; moreover, he saw twenty-five others. We examined the two skins
+and realized at once that they represented a different species from
+those of the Snow Mountain. Therefore, when we left Teng-yueh our first
+camp was at Hui-yao.
+
+Heller and I started with four natives shortly after daylight. We
+crossed a tumble-down wooden bridge over the river at a narrow cañon
+where the sides were straight walls of rock, and followed down the
+gorge for about two miles. On the way Heller, who was in front, saw two
+muntjac standing in the grass on an open hillside, and shot the leader.
+The deer pitched headlong but got to its feet in a few moments and
+struggled off into the thick cover at the edge of the meadow. It had
+disappeared before Heller reached the clearing but he saw the second
+deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock. Although his bullet passed
+through both lungs the animal ran a quarter of a mile, and he finally
+discovered her several hours later in the bushes beside the river.
+
+In a short time we reached an open hillside which rose six or seven
+hundred feet above the river in a steep slope; the opposite side was
+a sheer wall of rock bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We
+separated at this point. Heller, with two natives, keeping near the
+river, while I climbed up the hill to work along the cliffs half way to
+the summit.
+
+In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort and, looking up, saw
+three gorals standing on a ledge seventy-five yards above him. He fired
+twice but missed and the animals disappeared around a corner of the
+hill. A few hundred yards farther on he saw a single old ram but his
+two shots apparently had no effect.
+
+Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far from the summit
+for a mile or more without seeing an animal. Fresh tracks were
+everywhere and well-cut trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks
+and grass. I had reached an impassable precipice and was returning
+across a steep slope when seven gorals jumped out of the grass where
+they had been lying asleep. I was in a thick grove of pine trees and
+fired twice in quick succession as the animals appeared through the
+branches, but missed both times.
+
+I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then nearly two hundred
+yards away. One big ram had left the herd and was trotting along
+broadside on. I aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as
+his head appeared in the peep sight. He turned a beautiful somersault
+and rolled over and over down the hill, finally disappearing in the
+bushes at the edge of the water.
+
+The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds later I saw a small
+one slowly skirting the rocks on the very summit of the hill. The first
+shot kicked the dirt beside him, but the second broke his leg and he
+ran behind a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher on the trunk
+of a tree, covering the edge of the rock with the ivory head of the
+front sight and waited. I was perfectly sure that the goral would try
+to steal out, and in two or three minutes his head appeared. I fired
+instantly, boring him through both shoulders, and he rolled over and
+over stone dead lodging against a rock not fifty yards from where we
+stood.
+
+The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling at the top of
+their lungs, ran up the hill like goats to bring the animal down to
+me. It was a young male in full summer coat, and with horns about two
+inches long. Our pleasure was somewhat dampened, however, when we went
+to recover the first goral for we found that when it had landed in the
+grass at the edge of the river it had either rolled or crawled into the
+water. We searched along the bank for half a mile but without success
+and returned to Hui-yao just in time for tiffin.
+
+In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little grove on the
+opposite side of the river behind the hunting grounds. Heller, instead
+of going over with the caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge
+in the pine forest where he could look across the river to the hill
+on which we had hunted in the morning. With his field glasses he
+discovered five gorals in an open meadow, and opened fire. It was
+long shooting but the animals did not know which way to run, and he
+killed three of the herd before they disappeared. Our first day had,
+therefore, netted us one deer and four gorals which was better than at
+any other camp we had had in China.
+
+We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao would prove to be a
+wonderful hunting ground, and the two weeks we spent there justified
+all our hopes. At other places the cover was so dense or the country so
+rough that it was necessary to depend entirely upon dogs and untrained
+natives, but here the animals were on open hillsides where they could
+be still hunted with success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn
+something about the habits of the animals for we could watch them
+with glasses from the opposite side of the river when they were quite
+unconscious of our presence.
+
+There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that we did not bring in
+one or more gorals and even after we had obtained an unrivaled series,
+dozens were left. Shooting the animals from across the river was rather
+an unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very effective method of
+collecting the particular specimens we needed for the Museum series.
+The distance was so great that the gorals were unable to tell from
+where the bullets were coming and almost any number of shots might be
+had before the animals made for cover. It became simply a case of long
+range target shooting at seldom less than three hundred yards.
+
+Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter, however, and
+was as good sport as I have ever had. The rocks and open meadow slopes
+were so precipitous that there was very real danger every moment, for
+one misstep would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to the bottom
+where he would inevitably be killed.
+
+The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the sheerest cliffs or
+to hide in the rank grass, and it took close work to find them. I used
+most frequently to ride from camp to the river, send back the horse by
+a _mafu_, and work along the face of the rock wall with my two native
+boys. Their eyesight was wonderful and they often discovered gorals
+lying among the rocks when I had missed them entirely with my powerful
+prism binoculars. Their eyes had never been dimmed by study and I
+suppose were as keen as those of primitive man who possibly hunted
+gorals or their relatives thousands of years ago over these same hills.
+
+There were many glorious hunts and it would be wearisome were I to
+describe them all, but one afternoon stands out in my memory above the
+others. It was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away from
+camp, across the rice fields and up the grassy valley to the long sweep
+of open meadow on the rim of the river gorge.
+
+Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter, and I crawled
+carefully to a jutting point of rocks and lay face down to inspect the
+cliffs above and to the left. With my glasses I scanned every inch of
+the gray wall, but could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi
+I saw him gazing intently at the rock which I had just examined, and in
+a moment he whispered excitedly "_gnai-yang_." By putting both hands
+to the side of his head he indicated that the animal was lying down,
+and although he pointed with my rifle, it was full five minutes before
+I could discover the goral flat upon his belly against the cliff, with
+head stretched out, and fore legs doubled beneath his body. He was
+sound asleep in the sun and looked as though he might remain forever.
+
+[Illustration: A Sambur Killed at Wa-tien]
+
+[Illustration: The Head of a Muntjac]
+
+By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up above and circle
+around the cliff to a ragged promontory which jutted into space within
+a hundred yards of the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour
+before we peered cautiously between two rocks opposite the ledge where
+the goral had been asleep. The animal was gone. We looked at each other
+in blank amazement and then began a survey of the ground below.
+
+Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the ram feeding in an
+open meadow and we began at once to make our way down the face of the
+cliff. It was dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety
+and worked cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the goral had been
+standing. Again we crawled like snakes among the rocks and again an
+empty slope of waving grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared,
+and even Achi could not discover a sign of life upon the meadow.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and looked around.
+Instantly there was a rattle of stones and a huge goral leaped out of
+the grass thirty yards away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle
+and shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the animal.
+Swearing softly at my carelessness, I threw in another shell, selected
+a spot in front of the ram, and fired. The splendid animal sank in its
+tracks without a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.
+
+I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized me by the arm,
+whispering "_gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang, na, na, na, na_" and
+pointing to the cliffs two hundred yards above us. I looked up just in
+time to see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit of
+the ridge. An instant later he appeared again and stopped broadside on
+with his noble head thrown up, silhouetted against the sky. It was
+a perfect target and, resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the
+animal with the white bead and centered it in the rear sight. As I
+touched the hair trigger and the roar of the high-power shell crashed
+back from the face of the cliff, the animal leaped with legs straight
+out, whirling over and over down the meadow and bringing up against a
+boulder not twenty yards from the first goral.
+
+That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk I would not have
+changed my lot with any man on earth. The breathless excitement of
+the stalk and the wild thrill of exultation at the clean kill of two
+splendid rams were still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley
+and across the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette ran to the
+edge of the grove, her hands filled with wet photographic negatives.
+"How many?" she called. "Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many
+for you?" "Fourteen color plates," she sung back happily, "and all
+good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+
+We had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during our first week in
+camp. He rode out on Thursday afternoon and remained until Sunday,
+bringing us mail, war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with
+goral meat for all the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the afternoon of his
+visit I had killed three monkeys which represented a different species
+from any we had obtained before. They were the Indian baboon (_Macacus
+rhesus_) and were probably like those of the Salween River at Changlung.
+
+I found two great troupes of the monkeys running along the opposite
+river bank. The first herd was climbing up the almost perpendicular
+rock walls, swinging on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing
+in the tufts of grass. I could not approach nearer than one hundred
+and fifty yards and did some very bad shooting at the little beasts,
+but a running monkey at that distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and
+it requires a much better shot than I am to register more hits than
+misses. I did kill two, but both dropped into the river and promptly
+sank, so that I gave it up.
+
+Less than a half mile farther on another and larger troupe appeared
+among the boulders just at the water's edge. Profiting by my
+experience, I kept out of sight among the bushes and watched the
+animals play about until one hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an
+instant. I got six in this way, but we were able to recover only three
+of them from the water.
+
+Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the doe which he killed
+on the first day. One of the largest bucks had a pair of beautiful
+antlers three and one half inches long from the burr to the tip. The
+skin-covered projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the
+summits of which the antlers grow, measured two and one-half inches
+from the skull to the burrs. Evidently the muntjac are somewhat
+irregular in shedding for, although they were all in full summer
+pelage, two already had lost their antlers while the other had not.
+I can think of no more delicious meat than the flesh of these little
+deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by the English sportsmen of
+India as they are by the foreigners of China.
+
+I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was fortunate in killing
+a splendid coal-black serow which represents a subspecies new to
+science; although the natives said that serow were known to occur in
+the thick jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen
+for years. Heller and I had gone to this part of the gorge to hunt for
+a troupe of monkeys which he had located on the previous day. We had
+separated. Heller keeping close to the water while I skirted the cliffs
+near the summit not far from the road which led through the pine forest.
+
+I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when suddenly with a
+snort a large animal dashed out of a thicket below and to the left. I
+caught a glimpse of a great coal-black body and a pair of short curved
+horns as the beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized that
+it was a serow. A few seconds later it reappeared, running directly
+away from me along the upper edge of the gorge. I fired and the animal
+dropped, gave a convulsive twist, rolled over, and plunged into the
+cañon.
+
+As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited yells from below,
+and it was evident that some natives near the water had seen it fall.
+I had slight hope that they might have rescued it from the river, but
+my heart was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying to find a place
+where it was possible to descend. A wood cutter whom we discovered a
+short distance away guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed
+impossible for a human being to walk along it, and in proof I slid
+the last half of the way to the rocks at the river's edge, narrowly
+escaping a broken neck.
+
+When we reached the stream it was only to find a flat wall against
+which the water surged in a mass of white foam, separating us from
+the place where the serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock
+but in two steps the water was above my waist. It was evident that we
+would have to swim, and I began to undress, inviting Achi and the wood
+cutter to follow; the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few
+clothes with considerable hesitation.
+
+It was a swim of only about forty feet around the face of the cliff but
+the current was strong and it was no easy matter to fight my way to the
+other side. After I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood
+cutter to follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently the current
+was more than he had bargained for and a look of fear crossed his face,
+but he went manfully at it.
+
+He had almost reached the rock on which I was standing with
+outstretched hand when his strength seemed suddenly to go and he cried
+out in terror. I jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one
+hand and letting my legs float out behind. The wood cutter just managed
+to reach my big toe, to which he clung as if it had in reality been
+the straw of the drowning man and I dragged him up stream until, to my
+intense relief, he could grasp the rocks.
+
+We picked our way among the boulders for a few yards and suddenly
+came upon the serow lying partly in the water. I felt like dancing
+with delight but the sharp rocks were not conducive to any such
+demonstrations and I merely yelled to Achi who understood from the
+tone, if not from my words, that the animal was safe.
+
+The men who had shouted when the animal fell over the cliff were only
+fifty feet away, but they too were separated from it by a wall of rock
+and surging water. They said that there was an easier way up the cliff
+than the one by which we had descended, and prepared a line of tough
+vines, one end of which they let down to us. We made it fast to the
+serow and I kept a second vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the
+animal as they dragged it to the other shore. It was landed safely and
+the wood cutter was hauled over by the same means.
+
+I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered that Achi had
+disappeared, taking my garments and those of the wood cutter with him.
+He evidently intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in the
+rather awkward predicament of making our way through the thick brush
+with only the proverbial smile and minus even the necktie.
+
+The men fastened together the serow's four legs, slipped a pole beneath
+them and toiled up the steep slope preceded by a naked brown figure
+and followed by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with
+vines and creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing through them with
+no bodily protection was far from comfortable.
+
+When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge I was dismayed
+to find that Achi was not there with my clothes. The wood cutter did
+not appear to be greatly worried and indicated that we would find him
+farther up the road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every second to
+meet some person, and sure enough, a Chinese woman suddenly appeared
+over a little hill. I dived into the tall ferns beside the road,
+burrowing like a rabbit, and from the frightened way in which she
+hurried past, she must have thought she had seen one of her ancestral
+spirits stalking abroad. We eventually found the boy, and, decently
+dressed, I faced the world again with confidence and happiness.
+
+On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the cliffs across the river.
+It was high up and fully three hundred and fifty yards away but, of
+course, quite unconscious of our presence. My first two shots struck
+close beside the animal, but at the third it rolled over and over down
+the hill, lodging among the rocks just above the river.
+
+Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half the village acted as
+an escort to the serow, an animal which few had ever seen. It was a
+female, and probably weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The
+mane was short and black and strikingly unlike the long white manes
+of the Snow Mountain serows; the horns were almost smooth. Getting
+this specimen was one of the lucky chances which sometimes come to
+a sportsman, for one might hunt for weeks in the same place without
+ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is exceedingly dense and the
+cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk except in a few spots.
+The animal had been feeding on the new grass just at the edge of the
+heavy cover and probably had been sleeping under a bush when she was
+disturbed.
+
+Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good collection of reptiles
+and lizards at Hui-yao, but in all other parts of the province which
+we visited they were exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in
+a place where there were so few reptiles and batrachians. We obtained
+only one species of poisonous snake here. It was a small green viper
+which we sometimes saw coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the
+grass. Several species of nonpoisonous snakes were more common but were
+nowhere really abundant.
+
+We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for a village called
+Wa-tien where there was a report of sambur. None of us had any real
+hope of finding the huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but
+we camped in the early afternoon on an open hilltop five miles from
+Wa-tien where the natives assured us the animals often came to eat the
+young rice during the night.
+
+We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters, but awoke to find a
+dense fog blanketing the valley and mountains. It was not until half
+past nine that the gray mist yielded to the sun and left the hills
+clear enough for us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly behind
+the camp and skirted the edge of a heavily forested ravine which the
+men wished to drive.
+
+Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed to a sharp ridge
+above and beyond him. In less than half an hour the dogs began to yelp
+in an uncertain way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to the
+ground, and a few seconds later Heller fired twice in quick succession.
+Two sambur had skirted the edge of the wood less than one hundred yards
+away, but he had missed with both shots.
+
+The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense underbrush. In a
+few moments the dogs began to yelp again and, while Heller remained
+on the hillside to watch the open fields, I followed the hounds along
+the creek bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 260-800 rifle
+sounded five times in quick succession just above our heads, and we
+climbed hurriedly out of the gorge.
+
+Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur running along the
+edge of a bean field but the animal showed no sign of being hit. We
+easily picked up the trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found
+several drops of blood, showing that at least one bullet had found its
+mark. The blood soon ceased and we began to wonder if the sambur had
+not been merely scratched.
+
+Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine, a branch of the
+one out of which it had first been driven, and while he watched the
+upper side I worked my way to the bottom to look for tracks. A few
+moments later the natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and
+Heller called out that they had found the deer, which was lying stone
+dead half way down the side of the gorge in a mass of thick ferns.
+The sambur had been hit only once but the powerful Savage bullet had
+crashed through the shoulder into the lungs; it was quite sufficient
+to do the work even on such a huge animal and the deer had run less
+than one hundred yards from the place where it had been shot.
+
+It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair of antlers which
+measured twenty-seven inches in length. The deer was about the size
+of an American wapiti, or elk, and must have weighed at least seven
+hundred pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese
+hunters were wild with excitement, but especially so when we began
+to eviscerate the animal, for they wished to save the blood which is
+considered of great medicinal value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo
+joints, and every receptacle which they could find after each man had
+drunk all he could possibly force down his throat and had eaten the
+huge clots which choked the thorax.
+
+When the sambur was brought to camp a regular orgy was held by our
+servants, _mafus_, and dozens of villagers who gathered to buy, beg,
+or steal some of the blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his
+perquisite, carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a basin. The
+liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum, and in fact every part
+of the viscera was saved Because the antlers were hard they were not
+considered of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we should
+have had to guard them closely; then they would have been worth about
+one hundred dollars (Mexican).
+
+We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that it would not be
+difficult to get sambur, and indeed, Heller did see another in the
+afternoon but failed to kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of
+the hunters died suddenly during the night and all the men went off
+with their dogs to the burial feast which lasted several days, and we
+were not able to find any other good hounds.
+
+[Illustration: A Mountain Chair]
+
+[Illustration: The Waterfall at Teng-yueh]
+
+There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity of our camp but
+they fed entirely during the night and spent the day in such thick
+cover that it was impossible to drive them out except with good beaters
+or dogs. We hunted faithfully every morning and afternoon but did not
+get another shot and, after a week, moved camp to the base of a great
+mountain range six miles away near a Liso village.
+
+The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain range is the
+same on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu and reaches a height of 11,000
+feet near Wa-tien. It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests
+must shelter a good deal of game.
+
+The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded ridges rising out
+of open cultivated valleys, which often run into the jungle-filled
+ravines in which the sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this
+particular region and not in the neighboring country is a mystery
+unless it is the proximity of the great forested mountain range. But in
+similar places only a few miles away, where there is an abundance of
+cover, the natives said the animals had never been seen, and neither
+were they known on the opposite side of the mountain range where the
+Teng-yueh-Ta-li Fu road crosses the Salween valley.
+
+On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three or four days
+hunting monkeys before we returned to Teng-yueh to pack our specimens
+and end the field work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I
+became separated from the caravan but as we had one of our servants for
+a guide we were not uneasy.
+
+The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang (which we had
+changed to "Leaping Frog" because he never did leap for any cause
+whatever), and before long he had us hopelessly lost.
+
+It would appear easy enough to ask the way from the natives, but the
+Chinese are so suspicious that they often will intentionally misdirect
+a stranger. They do not know what business the inquirer may have in
+the village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on general
+principles, they send him off in the wrong direction.
+
+Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer of whom we
+inquired the way directed us to a road at nearly right angles to the
+one we should have taken, and it was late in the afternoon before we
+finally found the caravan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+
+It was of paramount importance to pack our specimens before the
+beginning of the summer rains. They might be expected to break in full
+violence any day after June 1, and when they really began it would be
+impossible to get our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually all caravan travel
+ceases during the wet season. Therefore our second stay at Hui-yao was
+short and we returned to Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field
+work of the Expedition exactly a year from the time it began with our
+trip up the Min River to Yen-ping in Fukien Province.
+
+Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become his guests and
+no place ever seemed more delightful, after our hot and dusty ride,
+than his beautiful garden and cool, shady verandah where a dainty
+tea was served. Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the
+specimens were packed and the boxes sealed it was necessary to wrap
+them in waterproof covers; moreover, the equipment had to be sorted and
+sold or discarded, a caravan engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of
+motion-picture film developed. This was done in the spacious dark room
+connected with Mr. Grierson's house which offered a welcome change from
+the cramped quarters of the tent which we had used for so many months.
+
+Much of the success of our motion film lay in the fact that it was
+developed within a short time after exposure, for had we attempted
+to bring or send it to Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for
+doing such work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic
+changes. Although cinematograph photography requires an elaborate and
+expensive outfit and is a source of endless work, nevertheless, the
+value of an actual moving record of the life of such remote regions is
+worth all the trouble it entails.
+
+The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently satisfactory
+and were among the most interesting results of the expedition. The
+stereoscopic effects and the faithful reproduction of the delicate
+atmospheric shading in the photographs are remarkable. Although
+the plates had been subjected to a variety of climatic conditions
+and temperatures by the time the last ones were exposed in Burma,
+a year and a half after their manufacture, they showed no signs of
+deterioration even when the ordinary negatives which we brought with us
+from America had been ruined. The other photographs, some of which are
+reproduced in this book, speak for themselves.
+
+The entire collections of the Expedition were packed in forty-one cases
+and included the following specimens:
+
+   2,100 mammals
+     800 birds
+     200 reptiles and batrachians
+     200 skeletons and formalin preparations for
+           anatomical study
+     150 Paget natural color plates
+     500 photographic negatives
+  10,000 feet of motion-picture film.
+
+Since the Expedition was organized primarily for the study of the
+mammalian fauna and its distribution, our efforts were directed
+very largely toward this branch of science, and other specimens were
+gathered only when conditions were especially favorable. I believe that
+the mammal collection is the most extensive ever taken from China by a
+single continuous expedition, and a large percentage undoubtedly will
+prove to represent species new to science. Our tents were pitched in
+108 different spots from 15,000 feet to 1,400 feet above sea level,
+and because of this range in altitudes, the fauna represented by our
+specimens is remarkably varied. Moreover, during our nine months in
+Yün-nan we spent 115 days in the saddle, riding 2,000 miles on horse or
+mule back, largely over small roads or trails in little known parts of
+the province.
+
+In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably and the leisure hours
+were made delightful by golf, tennis, riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson
+was a charming host who placed himself, as well as his house and
+servants, at our disposal, utter strangers though we were, and we shall
+never forget his welcome.
+
+We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because of the rain which
+was expected every day, and the coolies made us very comfortable upon
+our sleeping bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and covered
+with a strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the regulation Chinese
+"mountain schooner," at which we had so often laughed, but they proved
+to be infinitely more desirable than riding in the rain.
+
+With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh on June 1,
+behind a caravan of thirty mules for the eight-day journey to Bhamo
+on the outskirts of civilization. Our chair-coolies were miserable
+specimens of humanity. They were from S'suchuan Province and were all
+unmarried which alone is almost a crime in China. Every cent of money,
+earned by the hardest sort of work, they spent in drinking, gambling,
+and smoking opium. As Wu tersely put it "they make how much--spend how
+much!"
+
+About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously in the
+midst of a filthy village and disappear into some dark den in spite of
+our remonstrances. We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out
+of our chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we would see them
+huddled on a "kang" over tiny yellow flames sucking at their pipes.
+At tiffin each one would stretch out under a tree with a stone for a
+pillow and his broad straw hat propped up to screen him from the wind.
+With infinite care he would extract a few black grains from a dirty
+box, mix them with a little water, and cook them over an alcohol lamp
+until the opium bubbled and was almost ready to drop. Then placing it
+lovingly in the bowl of his pipe he would hold it against the flame and
+draw in long breaths of the sickly-sweet smoke. The men could work all
+day without food, but opium was a prime necessity.
+
+It was almost impossible to start them in the morning and it became
+my regular duty to make the rounds of the filthy holes in which they
+slept, seize them by the collars and drag them into the street. Force
+made the only appeal to their deadened senses and we were heartily sick
+of them before we reached Bhamo.
+
+The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five thousand feet to
+almost sea level. Because of the fever the valleys are largely
+inhabited by "Chinese Shans" who differ in dress and customs from the
+Southern Shans of the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were tattooed and
+the women all wore the enormous cylindrical turban which we had seen
+once before in the Salween Valley.
+
+[Illustration: Map I: The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition]
+
+At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Yün-nan border into Burma. It
+is a beautiful spot where a foaming mountain torrent rushes out of the
+jungle in a series of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living
+wall of green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron bridge from
+which a fine wide road of crushed stone leads all the way to Bhamo.
+
+What a difference between the country we were leaving and the one we
+were about to enter! It is the "deadly parallel" of the old East and
+the new West. On the one side is China with her flooded roads and
+bridges of rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a nation
+still living in the Middle Ages, fighting progress, shackled by the
+iron doctrines of Confucius to the long dead past. Across the river is
+English Burma, with eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare
+of her people, her iron bridges and macadam roads representing the very
+essence of modern thought and progress.
+
+With paternal care of her officials the British government has provided
+_dâk_ (mail) bungalows at the end of each day's journey which are open
+to every foreign traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on
+piles. Each one has a spacious living room, with a large teakwood table
+and inviting lounge chairs. In a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery,
+china, and glass, all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are
+provided with adjoining baths and a covered passageway connects the
+kitchen with the house. All is ready for the tired traveler, and a
+boy can be hired for a trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such
+comforts can only be appreciated when one has journeyed for months in a
+country where they do not exist.
+
+Our last night on the road was spent at a _dâk_ bungalow near a village
+only a few miles from Bhamo. We were seated at the window, when, with
+a rattle of wheels, the first cart we had seen in nine months passed
+by. That cart brought to us more forcibly than any other thing a
+realization that the Expedition was ended and that we were standing on
+the threshold of civilization.
+
+As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were wet with unshed tears,
+and a lump had risen in my throat. Not all the pleasures of the city,
+the love of friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild,
+free life of the year gone by. Silently we left the house and walked
+across the sunlit road into a grove of graceful, drooping palms; a
+white pagoda gleamed between the trees, and the pungent odor of wood
+smoke filled the air.
+
+The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy East; the East
+which, like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves a mystic spell about the
+wanderer whom she has loved and taken to her heart, while yet he feels
+it not. And when he would cast her off and return to his own again she
+knows full well that her subtle charm will bring him back once more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of low, cool houses,
+wide lawns and tree-decked streets built on the bank of the muddy
+Irawadi River. Only a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and
+palatial steamers run to Mandalay and Rangoon. We called upon Mr.
+Farmer, the Deputy Commissioner, who offered the hospitality of the
+"Circuit House" and in the evening took us with him to the Club.
+
+[Illustration: Map II: Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan]
+
+A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed women, and
+officers in uniform strolled about or sipped iced drinks beside the
+tennis court. We felt strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more
+strange to them for we were newly come from a far country which they
+saw only as a mystic, unknown land.
+
+On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile journey to
+Rangoon, exactly nine months after we had ridden away from Yün-nan
+Fu toward the Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need not
+be related here. When we reached civilization we expected that our
+transport difficulties were ended; instead they had only begun. India
+was well-nigh isolated from the Pacific and to expose our valuable
+collection to the attacks of German pirates in the Mediterranean and
+Atlantic was not to be considered even though it necessitated traveling
+two thirds around the world to reach America safely.
+
+We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with all our baggage to
+Bombay, and after a seemingly endless wait eventually succeeded in
+arriving at Hongkong by way of Singapore. There we separated from our
+faithful Wu and sent him to his home in Foochow. It was hard to say
+"good-by" to Wu, for his efficient service, his enthusiastic interest
+in the work of the Expedition, and, above all, his willingness to do
+whatever needed to be done, had won our gratitude and affection. We
+ourselves went northward to Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver,
+and overland to New York, arriving on October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen
+months from the time we left. We were never separated from our
+collections for, had we left them, I doubt if they would ever have
+reached America. It was difficult enough to gather them in the field,
+but infinitely more so to guide the forty-one cases through the tangled
+shipping net of a war-mad world.
+
+They reached New York without the loss of a single specimen and are
+now being prepared in the American Museum of Natural History for the
+study which will place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zoölogical
+Expedition before the public.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The story of our travels is at an end. Once more we are indefinable
+units in a vast work-a-day world, bound by the iron chains of
+convention to the customs of civilized men and things. The glorious
+days in our beloved East are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems
+not far away, for the miles of land and water can be traversed in a
+thought. Again we stand before our tent with the fragrant breath of the
+pines about us, watching the glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain turn
+purple and gold in the setting sun; again, we feel the mystic spell of
+the jungle, or hear the low, sweet tones of a gibbon's call. We have
+only to shut our eyes to bring back a picture of the bleak barriers of
+the Forbidden Land or the sunlit streets of a Burma village. Thank God,
+we saw it all together and such blessed memories can never die.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Abercrombie & Fitch Co., 76
+  Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of, 290, 294;
+    discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao, 298;
+    killed two gorals, 298
+  Africa, 4
+  Akeley, Carl E., 4, 76
+  Alaska, 4
+  Allen, Dr. J. A., x
+  American flags, 43
+  American Legation, Peking, xi
+  American Museum Journal, ix
+  American Museum of Natural History, 2, 5, 77, 200;
+    trustees of, specimens being prepared at, 321
+  Americans, 11
+  Ammunition, loss of, 79
+  Amoy, 16
+  _Anas boscas_ (Mallard ducks), 186
+  Anglo-Chinese College, 4
+  Animal life, lack of, 89
+  Annamits, 78
+  Antlers, 306, 312
+  Ape, gray (_Pygathrix_), 255
+  _Apodemus_ (white-footed mouse), 122, 176
+  Asia, x
+  _Asia_ Magazine, quoted from, 152
+  Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition, 2;
+    members of, 8
+  Assam, 241
+  Assistants, 4
+  A-tun-tzu, 198, 294
+
+  Babies, killing and selling of, 206
+  Baboon, brown (_Macacus_), 255
+  Baboon, Indian (_Macacus rhesus_), 279
+  Bamboo chickens, 26
+  Bandits, attack of, 95
+  Bankhardt, Mr., 82, 40, 42, 207
+  Bat apartment house, 80
+  Bat cave, description of, 29;
+    experience of girl in, 81
+  Bats, method of killing, 80
+  Batrachians, 310
+  Bear cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_), purchased at Teng-yueh, 296
+  Bedding, 93
+  Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to, xi
+  Bering Strait, 1
+  Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L., x
+  Betel nut, 241, 242
+  Bhamo, 294, 315, 317, 319;
+    railroad from, 81;
+    road to, 318;
+    description of, 320
+  Big Ravine, description of, 26;
+    temples near, 26
+  Birds, game, 90
+  _Blarina_, 176
+  Boat, Chinese, eye on, 15
+  Bode, Mr., 99
+  Bohea Hills, 64
+  Bound feet, 34
+  Bowdoin, George, x
+  Bradley, Dr., 78;
+    established leper hospital at Paik-hoi, 205
+  Brahmin priests, 186
+  Brahminy docks, 186;
+    habits of, 187
+  Bridge, suspension, description of, 218
+  Bridges, rope, 199
+  Brigand, seal of a pardoned, 210
+  Brigandage, 207, 208, 211
+  Brigands, 86;
+    beheading of, 41;
+    infest Yün-nan, 88;
+    description of, 96
+  British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong, 97, 100
+  British East Africa, 4
+  Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos, 174
+  Buffaloes, 265;
+    water, 218
+  Bui-tao, 60, 61
+  Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of, x
+  Burial, expenses of, 89
+  Burma, 8, 91, 191;
+    border of, 197, 241;
+    girls of, 242, 248, 248;
+    mammals caught near, 250;
+    frontier of, 264, 265, 294, 316;
+    boundary of, 319
+  Burmans, 289, 241
+
+  Calcutta, 297, 321
+  Caldwell, Rev. Harry R., xi, 8, 17, 20, 21, 22, 28, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29;
+    letter from, 82;
+    house of, 86;
+    stationed at Futsing, 44;
+    tiger hunting, method of, 45, 46, 55, 56, 61, 64, 141;
+    obtains serows at Yen-ping, 142;
+    purchases serow skins in Fukien, 148, 152, 154, 207
+  California, 8
+  _Callosciurus erythræus_, 89, 280
+  Camera equipment, 75
+  Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of, xi
+  Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock, 262
+  _Capricornulus crispus_, 140
+  _Capricornis sumatrensis_, 141
+  _Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochætes_, 29, 141
+  _Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, 141
+  Caravan, robbing of, 96; buying of, 104; renting of, 104
+  Caravan ponies, 104
+  Caravans, distance traveled by, 158, 197
+  Cary, F. W., Commissioner of Customs, 4, 77
+  _Casarca casarca_ (ruddy sheldrake), 186
+  Caverns, 162
+  Central Asia, 1
+  Central Asian plateau, 1
+  _Cervus macneilli_, 175
+  Chair-coolies, 317
+  Chairs, description of, 92, 517
+  Chang, Dr., 294
+  Chang-hu-fan, 20; night at, 21
+  Changlung, 273;
+    ferry at, 274, 281
+  Chien-chuan, 198
+  Chi-li, 7
+  China, 1, 2;
+    aboriginal inhabitants of, 3;
+    press, 13;
+    inland mission, 78, 101
+  Chinaman, Cantonese, 242
+  Chinese, Republic, xi, 2;
+    army of, 7;
+    face saving, 11;
+    Foreign Office, 11;
+    screaming, habit of, 15;
+    lack of sympathy of, 19;
+    not affected by sun, 22;
+    love of companionship, 22;
+    bride of, 69;
+    wedding of, 72;
+    dress of, 72;
+    Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with, 82;
+    education of, 88;
+    villages, description of, 90;
+    etiquette of, 102, 158, 190;
+    New Year, 212, 213, 214;
+    collecting debts of, 216
+  Chipmunk (_Tamiops macclellandi_), 230
+  Chi-yuen-kang, 26, 27, 29
+  Chou Chou, 99
+  Christians, native, persecution of, 21
+  Christianity, lesson in, 39
+  Christmas, 195;
+    celebration of, 196
+  Chu-hsuing Fu, 94, 204
+  Chung-tien, 172, 175, 176, 183, 201
+  Civet (_Viverra_), 246, 247
+  Clive, Captain, 268, 270, 378
+  Clothing, 75
+  Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M., x
+  Collecting case, 228
+  Color plates, 240
+  Confucius, rules of, 67
+  Cook, difficulty in obtaining, 17;
+    description of, 105
+  Coolies, 54
+  Cormorants, 280
+  Corn, 91
+  Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese, 218
+  Cranes, 184; habits of, 185, 199, 236
+  Crossbows, 229
+  Cui-kau, 18;
+    description of, 80
+
+  Da-Da, 45, 54
+  Daing-nei, 54, 66
+  _Dâk_ (mail) bungalows, 319
+  Da-Ming, 33
+  Darjeeling, 144
+  Davies, Major H. R., ix, 93;
+    quoted, 137, 138, 139, 191
+  Dead, burying of, 151
+  Deer, 246, 301, 312, 313
+  Deer, barking, 63
+  Denby, Hon. Charles, 9
+  Dennet, Tyler, quoted, 152
+  D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition, 174
+  D'Orleans, Prince Henri, 186
+  Dog, red, death of, 135
+  Dogs, description of, 115;
+   for food, 115
+  Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China, 93
+  Duai Uong, 51
+  Ducks, 90, 198;
+    brahminy, shooting off 199
+  Dupontès, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition, 80
+
+  Eastes, Mr., Consul, 294
+  Education, foreign, 71
+  _Elaphodus_, 182
+  Elephants, 219, 222
+  Elk, 1
+  Ellsworth, Lincoln, x
+  Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of, 294
+  Empress Dowager, 70;
+    issued edict prohibiting opium growing, 91
+  Equipment, purchase of, 4
+  Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake, 199
+  Etiquette, 102
+  Europe, 1
+  European war, 8
+  Evans, H. G., xi;
+    assistance of, 100, 106, 186, 200, 298
+  Expedition, announcement of, 5;
+    applicants for positions on, 5;
+    results of, 316
+  Expeditions, preliminary, 2
+  Eye on Chinese boat, 15
+
+  Farmer, Mr., 320
+  Fauna, mammalian, 316
+  _Felis temmincki_, 108
+  _Felis uncia_, 108
+  Ferry, 160
+  Fletcher, H. G., 294, 295
+  Flying squirrel, 108, 191
+  Foochow, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16;
+    foreign residents of, 17;
+    streets of, 17, 23, 24, 85, 40;
+    mail from, 48;
+    schools for native girls at, 67;
+    woman's college at, 67, 206, 207, 209, 321
+  Food box, 74
+  Foot binding, origin of, 69;
+    method of, 70;
+    Natural Foot Society of, 70;
+    agitation against, 71
+  Forbidden City, 12
+  Ford, James B., x
+  Foreign Office, 97
+  Forest conservation, lack of, 88
+  Formosa, 11
+  Forrest, Mr., 294
+  Fossil animals, 108;
+    beds, 108
+  Francolins, 26
+  French Consul, 78
+  Frick, Childs, x
+  Frick, Henry C, x
+  Fukien Province, China, 8, 6, 10;
+    deforestation of, 24;
+    mammals of, 25, 26, 28, 29;
+    climate and temperature of, 68;
+    collecting in summer at, 68;
+    birds of, 64;
+    herpetology of, 64;
+    trapping for small mammals at, 64;
+    zoölogical study of, 64;
+    language of, 65;
+    travel in, 65;
+    servants in, 65;
+    serows hunted in, 148, 204;
+    missionary work in, 207
+  Funeral customs, 151, 158
+  Futsing, 43;
+    blue tiger hunting at, 54
+
+  Galapagos Islands, 4
+  _Gallus gallus_, 247
+  _Gallus lafayetti_, 248
+  _Gallus sonnerati_, 248
+  _Gallus varius_, 248
+  Gamblers, 215
+  Geese, 90, 198
+  Gen-kang, 224, 226, 229, 288
+  Gibbon (_Hylobates_), 258;
+    description of, 254, 255, 281, 284;
+    hunting of, 285
+  Goffe, Consul-General at Yün-nan Fu, 270
+  Goitre, prevalence of, 92
+  Gorals, 25, 76;
+    first hunt for, 120;
+    ceremonies at death of, 121, 123;
+    collecting for groups, 126;
+    color of, 126;
+    invisibility of, 128;
+    description of, 144;
+    horns of, 144;
+    distribution of, 144;
+    hunting of, 144, 194;
+    fighting of, 145;
+    habits of, 146;
+    feet of, 146, 194;
+    hunting of, at Hui-yao, 302, 309
+  Great Invisible, 44
+  Grierson, Ralph C, xi, 294, 295, 305, 317
+  _Grus communis_, 236
+  _Grus nigricollis_, 184
+
+  Habala, 164; hunting at, 165, 167
+  Haendel-Mazzetti, Baron, 113, 123, 126, 164
+  Hainan, description of, 77;
+    fauna of, 77
+  Haiphong, 77;
+    arrival at, 78, 79
+  Hanna, Rev. William J., xi, 79, 89, 101, 106, 201, 204, 205, 206, 294
+  Hanoi, description of, x, 79
+  _Harper's Magazine_, ix
+  Hartford, Mabel, 22, 23, 204
+  Heller, Edmund, 3, 4, 10, 61, 75, 79, 85, 94, 104, 105, 115, 116, 122,
+    123, 134, 135, 136, 146, 150, 161, 162, 173, 185, 195, 196, 227, 229,
+    247, 275, 276, 284, 291, 298, 299, 300, 306, 311, 312
+  Himalaya Mountains, 1
+  Hoi-hau, 77
+  Homes, 69
+  Ho-mu-shu, 281;
+    monkeys found near, 282, 283, 289, 291, 318
+  Hongkong, purchase of supplies at, 74, 200, 297, 321
+  Hoolock (_Hylobates hoolock_), 289
+  Hornbill, 245, 252
+  Horses, size of, 85, 104
+  Hospital attendants, 38
+  Hotenfa, 129, 130, 181, 182, 134, 185, 161, 171, 174, 193, 194, 195
+  Hsia-kuan, description of, 99, 108, 212
+  Hui-yao, 142, 145, 298, 300, 301, 306;
+    reptiles and lizards found at, 310, 313, 315
+  Hunan, 85, 86
+  Hung-Hsien, 11
+  Hunters, 114
+  Hutchins, Commander Thomas, 10
+  Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at, 28
+  _Hylobates_, 254, 289
+  _Hylomys_, 281, 251
+  _Hystrix_, 116
+
+  India, 1, 57, 321
+  Inns, 98
+  Irawadi River, 81, 269, 297, 320
+
+  Japan, 5, 8
+  Japanese newspaper reporters, 6
+  Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman, x
+  Jungle fowl, 247, 248;
+    habits of, 248, 280.
+
+  Kachins, 289, 269;
+    women, appearance of, 241
+  Katha, 320
+  Kellogg, C. R., xi, 11, 15, 17, 48, 61, 66
+  Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A., xi;
+    Pentecostal missionary, 108;
+    assistance of, 112, 204, 294
+  Koko-nor, 186
+  Koo, Wellington, 9
+  Korea, 6;
+    pheasants found in, 187
+  Kraemer, M., xi
+  Kucheng, 28
+  Kwang-si, 9
+  Kwei-chau Province, 8, 9, 137
+
+  Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong, 77
+  Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by, 144
+  Languages and dialects, number of, 138;
+    reason for, 188, 139
+  Langur, 255
+  Langurs (_Pygathrix_), 257, 258
+  Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad, 81
+  Lapwings, 199
+  Las, 239
+  Lashio, 269
+  Legge, Prof. J., quoted, 68
+  Leopards, 25, 64
+  Leper hospital, 78
+  _Li_, length of, 84
+  Li-chiang, 96;
+    animal life on route to, 107;
+    arrival at, 107;
+    camp in, 108;
+    collecting in, 109;
+    mammals of, 109;
+    important fur market at, 110;
+    inhabitants of, 117;
+    return to, 150, 155, 157, 190, 196, 254, 257
+  Li-Hung Chang, 7
+  Ling-suik, monastery of, 61;
+    description of, 62;
+    priests at, 62;
+    collecting at, 63
+  Lisos, 191, 289, 292
+  Livingstone, H. W., xi, 19
+  Loads, weight of, 54
+  Lolos, 8, 184, 186;
+    depredations of, 137;
+    independence of, 188, 170;
+    dress of, 178;
+    capes worn by, 174, 188, 190
+  London Zoölogical Society's Garden, 141
+  Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at, 57
+  Lucas, Dr. F. A., acknowledgement to, x
+  Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Hsia-kuan, 99
+  Lung-ling, 281, 282, 294
+  Lung-tao, 45, 54, 60, 63
+  Lutzus, 191, 292
+
+  McMurray, J. V. A., xi
+  _Macacus rhesus_, 258, 279, 305
+  _Mafus_, description of, 87
+  Mail, 290
+  Malaria, 274, 991
+  Malay Peninsula, 57
+  Ma-li-ling, 264, 266
+  Ma-li-pa, 265;
+    poppy fields at, 267, 269, 270, 272, 273
+  Mallard ducks, 186, 199
+  Mammals, small, importance of, 110;
+    preparing of, 227
+  Man, primitive, migrations of, 1
+  Man-eater, killing of, 49
+  Mandalay, 320
+  Mandarins, relations with, 102, 243
+  Ma-po-lo, low valley at, 225;
+    game at, 226;
+    fog in, 226
+  Marco Polo, 104
+  Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), 23
+  Meadow vole (_Microtus_), 118, 122
+  Mekong, 191, 197
+  Mekong river, description of, 192, 193, 201, 292
+  Mekong-Salween divide, 190
+  Mekong valley, 177, 182;
+    vegetables in, 193;
+    zoölogy of, 193
+  Meng-ting, 226, 233;
+    description of, 236;
+    mandarin of, 236;
+    Buddhist monastery at, 238;
+    market at, 238;
+    Cantonese visit and buy opium at, 242;
+    fog at, 244;
+    valley at, 244;
+    birds at, 244
+  Mergansers, 186
+  Methodist mission, 24
+  Mexico, 4
+  Miao village, 273
+  Mice, 176
+  _Micromys_, 192
+  _Microtus_, meadow vole, 118, 122, 173
+  Min River, 15;
+    life on, 19, 88, 204
+  Mission hospital, 36;
+    China Inland, 101
+  Missionaries, 35, 40, 59, 67, 202;
+    servants of, 203;
+    natives trading with, 205;
+    civilizing influence of, 206
+  Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan, 246
+  Mohammedan hunter, 261, 264
+  Mohammedan war, 101
+  Mole, 176
+  Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to, xi
+  Money, carrying of, 97;
+    transmitting of, 97
+  Monkey, 192, 195
+  Monkey temple, 258
+  Moose, 1
+  Morgan, Cordelia, 94, 95, 204
+  Mosos, 110;
+    description of, 111, 155, 165;
+    capes worn by, 174, 190, 229
+  Motion pictures, 76;
+    developing of, 315
+  Mountain goat, 1
+  "Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from, 147
+  Mouse (_Micromys_), 192
+  Moving picture film, 166
+  Mu-cheng, 229, 238
+  Muntjac, description of, 28, 132, 225, 258, 292
+  Museum authorities, 9
+  Mustelidæ, 250
+  Myitkyina district, 269
+
+  _Næmorhedus griseus_, 144
+  Nam-ka, Shans at, 260;
+    description of, 260;
+    camp at, 264
+  Nam-ting River, ferry at, 235, 243;
+    camping at, 244, 245;
+    hunters at, 246;
+    camp on, 249;
+    polecat trapped at, 250;
+    monkeys, hunting at, 252;
+    hornbill, seen at, 253;
+    monkeys found at, 258;
+    Shans seen at, 260;
+    caravan crossed, 264, 284, 289, 291, 318
+  _Namur_, S. S., 297
+  Natives, 91;
+    inaccuracy of, 158
+  New York, return to, 321
+  Ngu-cheng, 205
+  Non-Chinese tribes, 3
+  North America, 1
+  Northern soldiers, 35, 42
+  Northern troops, 40
+
+  Opium, 91;
+    growing of, 91;
+    inspection of, 91;
+    scandal, 91;
+    smuggling of, 91, 267;
+    smoking of, 318
+  Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted, 146, 147
+
+  Pack saddle, description of, 85
+  Pack, weight of, 85
+  Page, Howard, 82, 84, 200
+  Paget color plates, 166, 200, 316
+  Pagoda Anchorage, 15, 66
+  Paik-hoi, 78;
+    leper hospital at, 205
+  Palaungs, 239
+  Palmer, Mr., 290, 294
+  Pandas, coats of, 103
+  Pangolin, scales of, 103
+  Parrots, 244
+  Partridges, bamboo, 245
+  Passports, 11
+  _Pavo cristatus_, 277
+  _Pavo munticus_, 277
+  Peacock, black-shouldered, 279
+  Peacock, hunting of, 274;
+    habits of, 277;
+    eggs of, 277;
+    domestication of, 278
+  Peacock, Indian, 277
+  Peafowl, killed on Salween River, 277;
+    flesh of, 277
+  Peking, 6, 7, 11, 12, 82, 209
+  _Petaurista yunnanensis_, 103
+  Phasianidæ, 279
+  Pheasants, shooting of, 90;
+    Lady Amherst's, 150;
+    silver, 279;
+    horned, 291
+  Phete, 167; country about, 168;
+    natives of, 168, 170
+  Photographic work, 166
+  Photographs in natural colors, 4
+  Photography, cinematograph, 316
+  Pigeons, 280
+  Pigs, killing of, 22;
+    wild, 25, 64;
+    treatment of, 90, 188
+  Pin-toil, 199
+  Pleistocene, 1
+  Pocock, Mr., 141
+  Polecat, 250
+  Polo, Marco, 176;
+    quoted, 219
+  Poppy blossoms, 265
+  Poppy fields, 91
+  Porcupine, description of, 115
+  Portable dark room, 166
+  Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel, 186
+  P'u-erh, 212
+  _Pygathrix_ (monkeys), 192, 195, 258
+
+  Railroad, Hanoi to Yün-nan, 80;
+    description of, 81
+  Rain, last of the season, 185, 290, 315, 317
+  Rainey, Paul J., 4
+  Rangoon, 269, 272, 279, 320, 321
+  _Ratufa gigantea_, 251
+  Rebellion of 1918, 8
+  Reinsch, Hon. Paul, xi, 10, 11
+  Republic, 16
+  Rhododendrons, 291
+  Rice, 168
+  Rice fields, 89
+  Rifle, Mannlicher, 75, 256, 266, 300;
+    Savage, 75, 271;
+    Winchester, 60, 75
+  Riot in Shanghai, 152
+  Roads, descriptions of, 87
+  Rocky Mountain sheep, 1
+  Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore, 4
+  _Rupicapra_, 140
+  Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of, 140
+
+  Salt, preparation of, 196, 197
+  Salween River, 278, 278;
+    heat of, 280, 282, 288, 305
+  Sambur, 226, 229;
+    hunting of, 311;
+    blood of, 312
+  Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General, 12
+  Sampans, first night in, 20
+  San Francisco, 5
+  Scandinavian steamer, 11
+  Schools for native girls, 67
+  Sclater, Mr., 278
+  Screaming, Chinese habit of, 15
+  Sedan chairs, 16
+  Serows, 25;
+    hunt for, 27;
+    habits of, 29, 64;
+    hunting for, 184;
+    description of, 185;
+    color variation of, 186;
+    Japanese, 140;
+    difference from gorals, 140;
+    horns of, 141;
+    relationship of, 141;
+    appearance of, 141;
+    killed on Snow Mountain, 142;
+    obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping, 142;
+    distribution of, 142;
+    habits of, 148;
+    weight of, 148, 305;
+    hunting of at Hoi-yao, 306, 307, 308, 309
+  Servants, wages of, 204
+  Shanghai, 11, 12;
+    riot in, 152, 316
+  Shans, 8, 225, 288, 242, 282;
+    description of village of, 284, 245;
+    houses of, 260;
+    heavily tattooed, 261;
+    tribes of, 262;
+    description of, 262, 288, 318
+  Sheldrakes, 186
+  Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by, x
+  Shia-chai, 218
+  Shih-tien, 223;
+    bird life at, 223;
+    natives, curiosity of, 224, 225
+  Shih-ku ferry, 182, 184
+  Shoverling, Daly & Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by, 4
+  Shrew, 178, 251
+  Shweli River, 145
+  Singapore, 321
+  Slave raiding, 189
+  Smith, Arthur H., quoted, 158, 214, 215
+  Snow Mountain, camp at, 112;
+    traveling to, 112;
+    description of hunters at, 114;
+    mammalogy of, 116;
+    camp on slopes of, 118;
+    mammals collected at, 127;
+    serows killed on, 142, 166, 176, 182, 184
+  Soldiers, guard of, 97;
+    guns of, 97;
+    expense of, 97;
+    use of, 97;
+    treatment by natives of, 98;
+    fight with, 187;
+    extortions of, 188
+  South America, 4
+  Specimens, packing of, 296, 315
+  Squirrel, flying (_Petaurista yunnanensis_), 291;
+    _Ratufa gigantea_, 251;
+    red-bellied (_Callosciurus erythræus_), 89, 280
+  S'suchuan Province, 8, 137, 174
+  S'su-mao, 178, 212
+  Standard Oil Co., xi;
+    launch of, 19, 82, 200
+  Su Ek, 207
+  Sun-birds, 244
+  _Sung-kiang_, S. S., 78
+
+  Tablets, ancestral, description of, 215
+  Tai-ping-pu, 291, 298
+  Taku, 160, 184
+  Taku ferry, 164
+  Ta-li Fu, soldiers guard to, 88;
+    road to, 99;
+    graves at, 100;
+    lake at, 100;
+    mandarin at, 100;
+    pagodas at, 100, 104, 105, 188, 186, 198, 200, 201
+  Ta-li Fu Lake, description of, 199
+  _Tamiops macclellandi_, 280
+  Taoist temple, 26
+  Tao-tai, 85
+  Tartars, 219, 221
+  Temple, camp in, 86
+  Teng-yueh, 4, 141, 289, 291, 298, 294, 295, 298, 318;
+    return to, 315, 317
+  Tents, 74
+  _Tenyo Maru_, 5, 9
+  Thompson, Dr., 205
+  Tibet, 8, 108, 172, 178;
+    monopoly of gold in, 181, 188
+  Tibetan plateaus, 191
+  Tibetans, description of, 178;
+    photographing of, 179;
+    dislike for strangers of, 180;
+    influence of Chinese on, 181, 183, 190, 191, 212
+  Tiger, 22, 25, 64;
+    man-eating, 44;
+    lairs of, 45;
+    stalking a goat, 45;
+    habits of, 46;
+    daring of, 47;
+    strength of, 48;
+    excitement of hunting, 49;
+    weight of, 50;
+    blood of, 50;
+    skins in temples of, 51;
+    food of, 51;
+    hunting in lair of, 51;
+    flesh and bones of, 51;
+    marking trees by, 52;
+    skins of, 103
+  Tiger, blue, 8, 43, 55;
+    description of, 56;
+    hunting of, 57;
+    trying to trap, 60
+  Tonking, 3, 77, 81, 93, 178, 212
+  Tragopan, Temminck's, 291
+  Transportation, difficulties of, 321
+  Trapping, methods of, 110
+  Traps, steel, 75;
+    method of setting, 245
+  Trees, marking of, by tiger, 52
+  Tribes, non-Chinese, description of, 138
+  Trimble, Dr., 32;
+    house of, 34, 36, 37, 205, 207
+  Trowbridge, Captain Harry, 77, 78, 79
+  Tsai-ao, General, 9
+  _Tsamba_, 178
+  Ts'ang mountains, 100
+  Tsinan-fu, 12
+  _Tupaia belangeri chinensis_, 89
+
+  United States, 4
+  Universal Camera, 76
+  _Ursus tibetanus_, 296
+
+  Vegetarians, 23
+  _Viverra_, 246
+  Viverridæ, 247
+  Vochang, 218
+  Vole, 173
+  Von Hintze, Admiral, 11
+
+  Wapiti, 1, 175
+  War, Mohammedan, 101
+  Was, 239
+  Waterhole, 258
+  Wa-tien, 310, 313
+  Wei-hsi, 182, 187, 190, 196
+  White Water, 149;
+    camp at, 149;
+    weather at, 149
+  Wild boar, 258
+  Wilden, Henry M., French Consul, 82
+  Wolves, 25
+  Woman's college at Foochow, 67
+  Women, position of, in China, 67
+  Worship, ancestor, 156
+  Wu Hung-tao, interpreter, x, 4, 77, 87, 102, 105, 108, 123, 136, 168,
+    187, 191, 200, 213, 238, 267, 289, 294, 312, 318, 321
+
+  _Yamen_, 39
+  Yangtze River, 19, 81, 137, 150;
+    road to, 157;
+    crossing of, 161;
+    barrier to mammals, 163, 184, 187, 193, 201, 262
+  Yangtze gorge, description of, 160, 164, 167
+  Yen-ping, 20, 22;
+    climate of, 24;
+    description of, 24;
+    residence of Mr. Caldwell at, 24;
+    Methodist Mission at, 24;
+    trapping at, 25;
+    rebellion in, 33;
+    refugees from, 33;
+    fighting in, 34;
+    attacked by rebels in, 35;
+    wounded in, 36;
+    schools for native girls at, 67;
+    Chinese wedding at, 72;
+    missionary buildings of, 203, 205, 207
+  Yokohama, 5
+  Yuan, 7, 8, 10, 12
+  Yuan Shi-kai, 7, 10;
+    death of, 12, 14, 34
+  Yuchi, 22;
+    brigands at, 23, 24, 35, 36, 204, 207, 208, 211
+  Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at, 212;
+    road to, 212, 214;
+    water buffaloes at, 218;
+    battle at, 218
+  Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road, 282
+  Yün-nan, xi;
+    size of, 2;
+    topography of, 3;
+    boundaries of, 3;
+    fauna of, 3;
+    natives of, 3;
+    language of, 3, 10, 25;
+    infested with brigands, 83;
+    zoölogical study of, 83;
+    meaning of, 88;
+    summer climate of, 99
+  Yün-nan Fu, 9;
+    foreign residents of, 82;
+    foreign office at, 97;
+    Dr. Thompson's hospital at, 205
+
+  Zoölogical Garden, Berlin, 144
+  Zoölogical Park, Calcutta, 144
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcriber Note
+
+Minor typos corrected. Hyphenation was generally standardized to
+the most frequently utilized version. Text was rearranged to avoid
+splitting by images. The terms Irawadi and Irrawaddy seem to both apply
+to the same River and valley. Both names retained.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN
+CHINA ***
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diff --git a/old/12296-0.zip b/old/12296-0.zip
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Camps and Trails in China
+       A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China
+
+Author: Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+Release Date: May 7, 2004 [EBook #12296]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Paul Hollander, Christopher Lund and PG Distributed
+Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: OUR CAMP ON THE SNOW MOUNTAIN
+AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET]
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA
+
+BY
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.
+
+ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND
+LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917; FELLOW
+NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER ZOÖLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
+LONDON, MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON; AUTHOR OF 'WHALE
+HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA'
+
+AND
+
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION
+
+1918
+
+
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN AS AN EXPRESSION
+OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION
+
+
+"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
+Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
+There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
+And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
+
+--_Service_.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the Asiatic
+Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History to China in
+1916-17. Details of a purely scientific nature have been condensed, or
+eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our experiences with the
+strange natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the hope
+that the book will be interesting to the general reader.
+
+The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon the technical
+reports of its work which will be published in due course by the American
+Museum of Natural History. To these reports we would refer those readers
+who desire more complete information concerning the results of our
+researches. At the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press the
+collections were still undergoing preparation and the study of the
+different groups had just begun.
+
+Although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his
+collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all the
+illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been made of
+her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in reference
+work and in numerous other ways.
+
+The information concerning the relationships and distribution of the native
+tribes of Yün-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference work by
+Major H.R. Davies and we have followed his spelling of Chinese names.
+
+Parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the _American
+Museum Journal, Harper's Magazine_, and _Asia_ and to the editors of the
+above publications our acknowledgments are due.
+
+That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative collection of
+small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts of Mr. Edmund
+Heller, our companion in the field. He worked tirelessly in the care and
+preservation of the specimens, and the fact that they reached New York in
+excellent condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill and
+thoroughness with which they were prepared.
+
+Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely to the success of
+the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic devotion to our interests and
+his tact and resourcefulness under trying circumstances won our lasting
+gratitude and affectionate regard.
+
+The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among
+the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest
+gratitude to the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, and
+especially to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, whose enthusiastic
+endorsement and loyal support made the Expedition possible. Director F.A.
+Lucas, Dr. J.A. Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in
+furthering our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
+
+To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions materially
+assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we wish to acknowledge our
+great personal indebtedness as well as that of the Museum; Mr. and Mrs.
+Charles L. Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Messrs. George
+Bowdoin, Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford, Henry C. Frick, Childs Frick,
+and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
+
+The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the
+following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it would have been
+impossible to have carried on the work successfully. Their services have
+been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book: The Director
+of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs of the Province of Yün-nan; M. Georges
+Chemin Dupontès, Director de l'Exploration de la Compagnie Française des
+Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yün-nan, Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry
+Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai; M. Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong;
+Mr. Howard Page, Standard Oil Co., Yün-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch,
+Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the Chinese Republic,
+Mr. J.V.A. McMurray, First Secretary of the American Legation, Peking; Mr.
+H.G. Evans, British-American Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna,
+Ta-li Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chang Fu; Ralph Grierson, Esq., Teng-yueh;
+Herbert Goffe, Esq., H.B.M. Consul General, Yün-nan Fu; Messrs. C.R.
+Kellogg, and H.W. Livingstone, Foochow, China; the General Passenger Agent,
+Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.R. Caldwell,
+Yenping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript and who through his
+criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long experience in China.
+
+To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger we wish to express
+our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the preparation
+of the volume.
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+JUSTAMERE HOME,
+_Lawrence Park,
+Bronxville, N.Y._
+
+_May 10, 1917._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The importance of the scientific exploration of Central Asia--The region
+which the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition investigated--Personnel of the
+Expedition--Equipment--Applicants for positions upon the Expedition
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our arrival
+in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral von Hintze, the German
+Minister--_En route_ to Shanghai--Death of Yuan Shi-kai
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The Min River--Our
+first night in a _sampan_--Miss Mabel Hartford--Brigands at
+Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at Yen-ping
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment house
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation in the
+city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded men at the hospital--We do Red
+Cross work--More fighting--A Chinese puzzle--The missionaries save the
+city--The narrow escape of a young Chinese--The mission cook--Return to
+Foochow
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+HUNTING THE GREAT INVISIBLE
+
+Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first tiger--Habits of
+tigers--Experiences with the Great Invisible--Killing a man eater--Chinese
+superstitions--Hunting in the lair
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first view of the
+beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck with the tiger--A meeting in
+the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life at the temple--Fukien Province as a
+collecting ground
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's life in
+the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A Chinese wedding
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+VOYAGING TO YÜN-NAN
+
+Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--_En route_ to Tonking--The
+Island of Hainan--We engage a cook at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss
+of our Ammunition--Hanoi--The railroad to Yün-nan Fu--Yün-nan--The Chinese
+Foreign Office endorses our plans
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+Our caravan--The Yün-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
+_mafus_--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese scholar--New
+mammals--Village life--Opium growing--An opium scandal--Goitre--The
+Chinese "Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss Morgan--Brigands--Our guard
+of soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr. H.G.
+Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese mandarins--Mammals at Ta-li--Caravan
+horses and mules--The cook becomes ill
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+LI-CHIANG, AND THE "TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The surprise of the
+foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small mammals--The Moso
+natives--Customs--The Snow Mountain--Baron Haendel-Mazzetti
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Cross-bows and poisoned arrows--Dogs--A
+porcupine--New mammals--We find a new camp on the mountain
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small mammals--The
+second goral
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material for a
+Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two gorals--A crested muntjac
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading dog--Rain--Two more
+serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of Yün-nan
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Our new camp--A serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial ceremony--Ancestor
+worship
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view of the
+gorge--The Taku ferry--Caves
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
+mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid inhabitants--Strange
+natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving with the Lolos
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing frightened
+natives--Reason for suspicion
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The Shih-ku
+ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A well-deserved beating--Chinese soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties in the
+valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The salt wells--A snow covered
+pass--Duck shooting--Return to Ta-li Fu
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yün-nan
+Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary exile--Medical
+missionaries--A missionary's experience with the brigands at Yuchi
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants of the
+city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
+cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical valley at
+Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid camp--Many new mammals--Preparing
+specimens--Sambur--Trapping
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE: OF MANY TONGUES
+
+The first Shan village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The Shan
+mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing under
+difficulties--Suppression of opium growing
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
+fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Strange calls in the jungle--Our first gibbons--Relationship and
+habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the jungle
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan
+tribe--Dress
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The _mafus_
+rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding the border--Life at Ma-li-pa
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+The valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker stalked--Habits
+of peafowls
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping on a
+mountain pass--Gibbons--An exciting hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the
+"hoolock"
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TENG-YUEH: A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr.
+Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+Monkeys at Hui-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move camp to Wa-tien--A fine
+sambur
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of the Expedition--On
+the road to Bhamo--The chair coolies--Burma _vs._ China--In civilization
+again--Farewell to the Orient
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet.
+
+Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yün-nan squirrel
+Edmund Heller
+Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral
+
+A Chinese hunter and a muntjac
+Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion
+
+The Ling-suik monastery
+A priest of Ling-suik
+
+A Chinese mother with her children
+Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet
+
+Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yün-nan Fu
+Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu
+
+The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+The dead of China
+
+The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li-Fu
+The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu
+
+One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+
+A Moso herder
+A Moso woman
+
+The Snow Mountain
+
+A cheek gun used by one of our hunters
+The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain
+
+Hotenfa, one of our Moso hunters, bringing in a goral
+Another Moso hunter with a porcupine
+
+A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain
+
+A serow killed on the Snow Mountain
+The head of a serow
+
+The "white water"
+
+A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel
+The chief of our Lolo hunters
+
+A Lolo village
+Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time
+
+Travelers in the Mekong valley
+Two Tibetans
+
+The gorge of the Yangtze River
+
+A quiet curve of the Mekong River
+
+The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu
+A crested muntjac
+
+The south gate at Yung-chang
+A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's
+
+A Chinese patriarch
+Young China
+
+A Shan village
+A Shan woman spinning
+
+A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting
+One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons
+
+Our camp on the Nam-ting River
+The Shan village at Nam-ka
+
+The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River
+A civet
+
+A Shan girl
+A Shan boy
+
+A suspension bridge
+Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs
+
+A sambur killed at Wa-tien
+The head of a muntjac
+
+A mountain chair
+The waterfall at Teng-Yueh
+
+MAP I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition
+
+MAP II. Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan
+
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere in
+the vast plateau of Central Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains. From
+this region came the successive invasions that poured into Europe from the
+east, to India from the north, and to China from the west; the migration
+route to North America led over the Bering Strait and spread fanwise south
+and southeast to the farthest extremity of South America. The Central Asian
+plateau at the beginning of the Pleistocene was probably less arid than it
+is today and there is reason to believe that this general region was not
+only the distributing center of man but also of many of the forms of
+mammalian life which are now living in other parts of the world. For
+instance, our American moose, the wapiti or elk, Rocky Mountain sheep, the
+so-called mountain goat, and other animals are probably of Central Asian
+origin.
+
+Doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive wanderings
+of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters, one of the most
+important must have been the movements of the game upon which they lived.
+Therefore the study of the early human races is, necessarily, closely
+connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of the Central Asian
+mammalian life and its distribution. No systematic palaeontological,
+archaeological, or zoölogical study of this region on a large scale has
+ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of the inhabited surface
+of the earth about which so little is known.
+
+The American Museum of Natural History hopes in the near future to conduct
+extensive explorations in this part of the world along general scientific
+lines. The country itself and its inhabitants, however, present unusual
+obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the region one of vast
+intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the earth, but the climate is
+too cold in winter to permit of continuous work. The people have a natural
+dislike for foreigners, and the political events of the last half century
+have not tended to decrease their suspicions.
+
+It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for extensive
+research must be carefully prepared. One of the most important steps is the
+sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge of the
+natives and fauna and of the conditions to be encountered. For the first
+reconnoissance, which was intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition left New York in March, 1916.
+
+Its destination was Yün-nan, a province in southwestern China. This is one
+of the least known parts of the Chinese Republic and, because of its
+southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and faunal range
+is very great. It is about equal in size to the state of California and
+topographically might be likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the
+greater part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain waves which
+divide and cross one another in hopeless confusion.
+
+Yün-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and S'suchuan, on the west by
+Burma, on the south by Tonking, and on the east by Kwei-chau Province.
+Faunistically the entire northwestern part of Yün-nan is essentially
+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of 8,000
+feet to 20,000 feet above sea level. In the south and west along the
+borders of Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys, the
+climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as the
+fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in the
+north.
+
+The natives of Yün-nan are exceptionally interesting. There are about
+thirty non-Chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the Shans
+and Lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it is safe to
+say that in no similar area of the world is there such a variety of
+language and dialects as in this region.
+
+Although the main work of the Expedition was to be conducted in Yün-nan, we
+decided to spend a short time in Fukien Province, China, and endeavor to
+obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been seen twice
+by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary and amateur naturalist, who
+has done much hunting in the vicinity of Foochow.
+
+The white members of the first Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition included Mr.
+Edmund Heller, my wife (Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A Chinese
+interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten muleteers,
+completed the personnel.
+
+Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His early work, which was
+done in the western United States and the Galápagos Islands, was followed
+by many years of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America, and Africa.
+He first visited British East Africa with Mr. Carl E. Akeley, next with
+ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and again with Mr. Paul J. Rainey. During
+the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition Mr. Heller devoted most of his time to
+the gathering and preparation of small mammals. He joined our party late in
+July in China.
+
+Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition. She had studied
+photography as an amateur in Germany, France, and Italy, as well as in New
+York, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of photographs in
+natural colors. Such work requires infinite care and patience, but the
+results are well worth the efforts expended.
+
+Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and studied English at the
+Anglo-Chinese College in that city. He lived for some time in Teng-yueh,
+Yün-nan, in the employ of Mr. F.W. Carey, Commissioner of Customs, and not
+only speaks mandarin Chinese but also several native dialects. He acted as
+interpreter, head "boy," and general field manager. My own work was devoted
+mainly to the direction of the Expedition and the hunting of big game.
+
+In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased only such
+equipment in New York as could not be obtained in Shanghai or Hongkong.
+Messrs. Shoverling, Daly & Gales furnished our guns, ammunition, tents, and
+general camp equipment, and gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the
+minor details which often assume alarming importance when an expedition is
+in the field and defects cannot be remedied. All food and commissary
+supplies were purchased in Hongkong (_see_ Chapter IX).
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the announcement of the Expedition was made by the American Museum of
+Natural History it received wide publicity in America and other parts of
+the world. Immediately we began to discover how many strange persons make
+up the great cities of the United States, and we received letters and
+telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take part in the
+Expedition. Men and boys were the principal applicants, but there was no
+lack of women, many of whom came to the Museum for personal interviews.
+
+Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. One was from a butcher
+who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our specimens, or
+defending us from savage natives; another young man offered himself to my
+wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure his twenty years' experience
+as a waiter would fit him for an important position on the Expedition, and
+numerous women, young and old, wished to become "companions" for my wife in
+those "drear wastes."
+
+Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way across
+the continent and in San Francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of
+March 28 on the S.S. _Tenyo Maru_ for Japan.
+
+Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel drew in
+toward the wharf in Yokohama she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives.
+We were standing at the rail when three Japanese approached and, bowing in
+unison, said, "We are report for leading Japanese newspaper. We wish to
+know all thing about Chinese animal." Evidently the speech had been
+rehearsed, for with it their English ended abruptly, and the interview
+proceeded rather lamely, on my part, in Japanese.
+
+Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for a
+person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise. We
+stayed three weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea. But
+before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would like
+briefly to review the political situation in China as a background for our
+early work in the province of Fukien.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+During the time the Expedition was preparing to leave New York, China was
+in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai was president of the Republic, but the hope of his
+heart was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had plotted for the
+throne; he had been emperor for one hundred miserable days; and now he was
+watching, impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet. Yuan was
+the strong man of his day, with more power, brains, and personality than
+any Chinese since Li-Hung Chang. He always had been a factor in his
+political world. His monarchial dream first took definite form as early as
+1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li, the province in which Peking is
+situated.
+
+It was then that he began to modernize and get control of the army which is
+the great basis of political power in China. Properly speaking, there was
+not, and is not now, a Chinese national army. It is rather a collection of
+armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general, and he who secures the
+support of the various commanders controls the destiny of China's four
+hundred millions of people regardless of his official title.
+
+Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of the leading generals, and
+in 1911, when the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues
+began to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and Manchus he
+managed to get himself elected president of the new republic, although he
+did not for a moment believe in the republican form of government. He was
+always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing to declare himself
+an ardent republican so long as such a declaration could be used as a
+stepping stone to the throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.
+
+As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1913 there was a rebellion in
+protest against his official acts but he defeated the rebels, won over more
+of the older generals, and solidified the army for his own interests,
+making himself stronger than ever before.
+
+At this time he might well have made a _coup d'état_ and proclaimed himself
+emperor with hardly a shadow of resistance, but with the hereditary caution
+of the Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. He wanted his
+position to be even more secure and to have it appear that he reluctantly
+accepted the throne as a patriotic duty at the insistent call of the
+people.
+
+Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment were typically
+Chinese but entirely effective, and he was making splendid progress, when
+in May, 1915, Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage
+of the European war and presenting the historical twenty-one demands, to
+most of which China agreed.
+
+This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's agents pushed the work
+of making him emperor more actively than ever, with the result that the
+throne was tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people." To "save
+his face" he declined at first but at the second offer he "reluctantly"
+yielded and on December 12, 1915, became emperor of China.
+
+But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later tidings of unrest in
+Yün-nan reached Peking. General Tsai-ao, a former military governor of the
+province, appeared in Yün-nan Fu, the capital, and, on December 23, sent an
+ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must repudiate the monarchy and execute
+all those who had assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise Yün-nan would
+secede; which it forthwith did on December 25.
+
+Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese who had intimated
+to Yuan that the change from a republican form of government would not meet
+with their approval. The rebellion spread rapidly. On January 21, Kwei-chau
+Province, which adjoins Yün-nan, seceded, and, on March 13, Kwang-si also
+announced its independence.
+
+About this time the Museum authorities were becoming somewhat doubtful as
+to the advisability of proceeding with our Expedition. We had a long talk
+with Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United States, at the
+Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo, while certain that the rebellion would
+be short-lived, strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until
+conditions became more settled. He offered to cable Peking for advice, but
+we, knowing how unwelcome to the government of the harassed Yuan would be a
+party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed area, gratefully
+declined and determined to proceed regardless of conditions. We hoped that
+Yuan would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he had that of 1913,
+but day by day, as we anxiously watched the papers, there came reports of
+other provinces dropping away from his standard.
+
+On the _Tenyo Maru_ we met the Honorable Charles Denby, an ex-American
+Consul-General at Shanghai and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he was
+viceroy of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining a road concession
+near Peking and was then on his way to see Yuan. His anxiety over the
+political situation was not less than ours and together we often paced the
+decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless report told of more
+desertions to the ranks of the rebels.
+
+It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan had lost his nerve. He
+had decided to quit, and one hundred days after he became emperor elect he
+issued a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the republic. But the
+rebellious provinces were not satisfied and demanded that he get out
+altogether.
+
+About this time we reached Peking, literally blown in by a tremendous dust
+storm which seemed an elemental manifestation of the human turmoil within
+the grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins, Naval Attaché of
+the American Legation, was awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat
+with one hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other.
+
+The news we received from him was by no means comforting for in the
+Legation pessimism reigned supreme. The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch, was
+not enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions, but
+nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain the necessary visé for our
+passports.
+
+We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province, where we were to hunt
+tiger until Mr. Heller joined us in July for the expedition into Yün-nan.
+Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese influence in this
+province, which is directly opposite the island of Formosa, was causing
+considerable uneasiness in Peking.
+
+We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C.R. Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese
+College, with whom we were to stay while in Foochow, assuring us that all
+was quiet in the province, and through the influence of Dr. Reinsch, the
+Chinese Foreign Office viséd our passports. The huge red stamp which was
+affixed to them was an amusing example of Chinese "face saving." First came
+the seal of Yuan's impotent dynasty of Hung Hsien, signifying "Brilliant
+Prosperity," and directly upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese
+Republic. One was almost as legible as the other and thus the Foreign
+Office saved its face in whichever direction the shifting cards of
+political destiny should fall.
+
+At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy in Peking, we met Admiral
+von Hintze, the German Minister, who had recently completed an adventurous
+trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to Mexico at the beginning of
+the war but had returned to Berlin incognito through England to ask the
+Kaiser for active sea service. The Emperor was greatly elated over von
+Hintze's performance and offered him the appointment of Minister to China
+if he could reach Peking in the same way that he had traveled to Berlin.
+Von Hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a Scandinavian tramp steamer
+and arrived safely at Shanghai, where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign
+diplomat and proceeded to the capital.
+
+The Americans were in a rather difficult position at this time because of
+the international complications, and social intercourse was extremely
+limited. Dinner guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one was
+very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever one went.
+
+Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who has shared its social
+life. In the midst of one of the most picturesque, most historical, and
+most romantic cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community that
+enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is all of horses, polo, racing,
+shooting, dinners, and dances, with the interesting background of Chinese
+politics, in which things are never dull. There is always a rebellion of
+some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never can tell when a new
+political bomb will be projected from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden
+City.
+
+We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by rail for Shanghai. _En
+route_ we passed through Tsinan-fu where the previous night serious
+fighting had occurred in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the rebels
+against Yuan's troops. On every side there was evidence of Japan's efforts
+against him. In the foreign quarter of Shanghai just behind the residence
+of Mr. Sammons, the American Consul-General, one of Yuan's leading officers
+had been openly murdered, and Japanese were directly concerned in the plot.
+We were told that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in the
+foreign concession because wealthy Chinese who feared the wrath of one
+party or the other were eager to pay almost any rent to obtain the
+protection of that quarter of the city.
+
+A short time later it became known to a few that Yuan was seriously ill. He
+was suffering from Bright's disease with its consequent weakness, loss of
+mental alertness, and lack of concentration. French doctors were called in,
+but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating him with concoctions of their own,
+and on June 6, shortly after three o'clock in the morning, he died.
+
+Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his face before the country,
+and his last words were a reiteration of what he knew no one believed. The
+story of his death is told in the _China Press_ of June 7, 1916:
+
+    According to news from the President's palace the condition of Yuan
+    became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan asked for his old
+    confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came immediately. On the
+    arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak, but entirely conscious.
+
+    With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he had never
+    had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown; he had been deceived
+    by his _entourage_ over the true state of public opinion and thus had
+    sincerely believed the people wished for the restoration of the
+    monarchy. The desire of the South for his resignation he had not wished
+    to follow for fear that general anarchy would break out all over China.
+    Now that he felt death approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words
+    known to the public.
+
+    In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung, situated in the
+    Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly owned by Yang Tu, the
+    prominent monarchist, the formal transfer of the power to Li-Yuan-hung
+    took place this morning at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui, Secretary of
+    State and Premier, as well as all the members of the cabinet, Prince Pu
+    Lun as chairman of the State Council, and other high officials were
+    present.
+
+    The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by Li-Yuan-hung
+    in the main hall and made three bows to the new president, which were
+    returned by the latter. The same ceremony will take place at two
+    o'clock, when all the high military officials will assemble at the
+    President's residence.
+
+    The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the provinces that
+    Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance with the constitution, has
+    become president of the Chinese Republic (Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the
+    seventh instance.
+
+So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself an emperor over four
+hundred millions of people, a plot which could only have been carried out
+in China. He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation
+of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children and his country in
+political chaos.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+Three days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at Pagoda Anchorage at the
+mouth of the Min River, twelve miles from Foochow.
+
+We boarded a launch which threaded its way through a fleet of picturesque
+fishing vessels, each one of which had a round black and white eye painted
+on its crescent-shaped bow. When asked the reason for this decoration a
+Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly for a moment and then
+said: "No have eye. No can see." How simple and how entirely satisfactory!
+
+The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of coolies swarmed like
+flies over it, fighting madly for our luggage. One seized a trunk, the
+other end of which had been appropriated by another man and, in the
+argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen the other by his screams.
+The habit of yelling to enforce command is inherent with the Chinese and
+appears to be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary tone of voice,
+pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems a psychological
+impossibility.
+
+There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival at Foochow, and we
+were two days earlier than we had been expected, so that Mr. C.R. Kellogg,
+of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to stay, was not on the
+jetty to meet us. We were at a loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos
+and confusion until a customs officer took us in charge and, judiciously
+selecting a competent looking woman from among the screaming multitude,
+told her to get two sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. She
+disappeared and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. Dashing about among
+the crowd in front of us, she chose the baggage for such men as met with
+her approval and after the usual amount of argument the loads were taken.
+
+We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently all Foochow following
+us. As far as we could see down the narrow street were the heads and
+shoulders of our porters. We felt as if we were heading an invading army
+as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred pounds of luggage, we
+descended upon the homes of people whom we did not know and who were not
+expecting us. But our sudden arrival did not disturb the Kelloggs and our
+welcome was typical of the warm hospitality one always finds in the Far
+East.
+
+No matter how long one has lived in China one remains in a condition of
+mental suspense unable to decide which is the filthiest city of the
+Republic. The residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to the
+senses no town can compare with theirs, and although Amoy and several other
+places dispute this questionable title, we were inclined to grant it
+unreservedly to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its narrow,
+ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze. They are usually
+roofed over so that by no accident can a ray of purifying sun penetrate
+their dark corners. With no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks
+with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming houses.
+
+In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow alleys are literally
+choked with every form of industrial obstruction. Countless workmen plant
+themselves in the tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and
+women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones. There is a common
+saying that the Chinese do little which is not at some time done on the
+street.
+
+The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,
+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of the city on a hilltop. Their
+houses are built with very high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the
+occupants seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have
+"punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible during the intense
+heat of summer.
+
+A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry Caldwell, with whom we
+were to hunt, asking us to come to his station two hundred miles up the
+river, and we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit while Mr.
+Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking cook.
+
+One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but when he learned that we
+were going "up country," he shook his head with an assumption of great
+filial devotion and said that he did not think his mother would let him go.
+Another was afraid the sun might be too hot. Finally on the eve of our
+departure we engaged a stuttering Chinese who assured us that he was a
+remarkable cook and exceptionally honest.
+
+If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you have something to live for,
+and although we discovered that our cook was a shameless rascal he was
+worth all he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted to utter a
+word we became almost hysterical. He sounded exactly like a worn-out
+phonograph record buzzing on a single note, and when he finally did manage
+to articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was screamingly funny.
+
+One day he came to the _sampan_ proudly displaying a piece of beef and,
+after a series of vocal gymnastics, eventually succeeded in shouting:
+"Missie, this meat no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which meant
+that this particular piece of beef was not from an animal which had died
+from disease.
+
+The first stage of our trip began before daylight. We rode in four-man
+sedan chairs, followed by a long procession of heavily laden coolies with
+our cameras, duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through green
+rice fields between terraced mountains, and we jogged along first on the
+crest of a hill, then in the valley, passing dilapidated temples with the
+paint flaking off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the reeds of
+the winding river. It was a relief to get into the country again after
+passing down the narrow village streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed
+with honeysuckle.
+
+A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the beginning of the
+rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in the morning and is literally
+crowded to overflowing with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over every
+available inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries strongly
+advised us against taking it. The passengers not infrequently are pushed
+off into the water. One of the missionaries witnessed an incident which
+illustrates in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the average
+Chinese.
+
+A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard, and although a
+friend was able to grasp his hand and hold him above the surface, no one
+offered to help him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally
+weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. This is by no means an
+isolated case. Some years ago a foreign steamer was burned on the Yangtze
+River, and the crowds of watching Chinese did little or nothing to rescue
+the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast as they made their way to shore
+many of them were robbed even of their clothing and some were murdered
+outright.
+
+Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious of the entire
+Expedition, for we were fortunate in obtaining the Standard Oil Company's
+launch through the kindness of Mr. Livingston, their agent. It was large
+and roomy, and the trip, which would have been worse than disagreeable on
+the public boat, was most delightful. The Min is one of the most beautiful
+rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains rising a thousand feet
+or more straight up from the water and often terraced to the summits.
+
+Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little gentleman with a
+pigtail wrapped around his head, who said he was a pilot, but as he
+inquired the channel of everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen
+times or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain, we felt that his
+claim was not entirely justified.
+
+The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture. One moment we
+would pass a _sampan_ so loaded with branches that it seemed like a small
+island floating down the stream. Next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed sails
+projecting at impossible angles drifted by, followed by innumerable smaller
+crafts, the monotonous chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water
+to us as they passed.
+
+When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The _sampans_ in which we were to
+spend eight days were drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others.
+Right above us was the straggling town looking very much like the rear view
+of tenement houses at home. Darkness blotted out the filth of our
+surroundings but could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down from
+the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.
+
+Our beds were spread in the _sampans_ which we shared in common with the
+four river men who formed the crew. There was only a mosquito net to screen
+the end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange that this was
+but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots we could look up at the stars
+framed in the half oval of the _sampan's_ roof and listen to the sounds of
+the water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the river men beached
+their boats for the night. It seemed only a few minutes later when we were
+roused by a rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had reached
+the first of the rapids which separated us from Yen-ping, one hundred and
+twenty miles away.
+
+In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan where Mr. Caldwell stood
+on the shore waving his hat to us amidst scores of dirty little children
+and the explosion of countless firecrackers. Wherever we went crackers
+preceded and followed us--for when a Chinese wishes to register extreme
+emotion, either of joy or sorrow, its expression always takes the form of
+firecrackers.
+
+There had been a good deal of persecution of the native Christians in the
+district, and only recently a band of soldiers had strung up the native
+pastor by the thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host that night
+and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man but quite deaf as a result
+of his cruel treatment. He never recovered and died a few weeks later. Mr.
+Caldwell had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries are
+invested by the people themselves with a good deal of authority.
+
+We spent that night in the parish house just behind the little church, a
+bare schoolroom being turned over to us for our use, and it seemed very
+luxurious after we had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but
+the house was in the center of the town and the high walls shut out every
+breath of pure air. The barred windows opened on a street hardly six feet
+wide, and while we were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued
+whispers outside. We switched on a powerful electric flashlight and there
+stood at least forty men, women and children gazing at us with rapt
+attention, but they melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a
+June sun.
+
+That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was intense, the mosquitoes
+worse, and every dog and cat in the village seemed to choose our court yard
+as a dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax was reached
+at four o'clock in the morning, when directly under our windows there came
+a series of ear-splitting squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. The
+neighbors had chosen that particular spot and hour to kill the family pig,
+and the entire process which followed of sousing it in hot water and
+scraping off the hair was accompanied by unceasing chatter. Boiling with
+rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to spend another night in
+the place but to sleep in the _sampans_.
+
+On the whole our river men were nice fellows but they had the love of
+companionship characteristic of all Chinese and the inherent desire to
+huddle together as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way up
+the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on stopping at some
+foul-smelling village, and it was difficult to induce them to spend the
+night away from a town. Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would
+invariably ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where the sun beat
+down like a blast furnace.
+
+The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun and go bareheaded at all
+seasons of the year, shading their eyes with one hand or a partly opened
+fan. A fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to see coolies
+almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy load and with the perspiration
+streaming from their naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves
+meanwhile.
+
+Mr. Caldwell was _en route_ to Yuchi, one of his mission stations far up a
+branch of the Min River, and as there was a vague report of tiger in that
+vicinity we joined him instead of proceeding directly to Yen-ping. The
+tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but our trip was made
+interesting by meeting Miss Mabel Hartford, the only foreign resident of
+the place. She has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one time did not see
+a white person for eight months with the exception of Mr. Caldwell who was
+in the vicinity for three days. It requires four weeks to obtain supplies
+from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are very irregular, but she
+enjoys the isolation and is passionately fond of her work.
+
+She has had an interesting life and one not devoid of danger. In 1895 she
+was wounded and barely escaped death in the Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+massacre in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered by a mob of
+fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians." The Chinese Government was required
+to pay a considerable indemnity to Miss Hartford, which she accepted only
+under protest and characteristically devoted to missionary work in Kucheng
+where the massacre occurred.
+
+Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled and for some months
+there had been a veritable "reign of terror." A large band of brigands was
+established in the hills not far from the city, and we were warned by the
+mandarin not to attempt to go farther up the river. A few months earlier
+several companies of soldiers had been sent from Foochow, and the result of
+turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to make "the remedy worse
+than the disease."
+
+The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants, accusing them of
+being brigands or aiding the bandits, and shooting them without a hearing.
+At one time accurate information concerning the camp of the robbers was
+received and the soldiers set bravely off, but when within a short distance
+of the brigands the commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns were
+fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must always "save his face,"
+however, and when they returned to Yuchi they arrested dozens of people on
+mere suspicion and executed them without the vestige of a trial. Finally
+conditions became so intolerable that no one was safe, and after repeated
+complaints by the missionaries, a new mandarin of a somewhat better type
+was sent to Yuchi.
+
+As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up the river because of
+the bandits, we left for Yen-ping two days after arriving at Yuchi.
+Yen-ping is a wonderfully picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a
+fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and
+loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little use against
+artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less than
+field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover.
+
+The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the very
+summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the four dwelling
+houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's
+residence commands a wonderful view down the river and in the late
+afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and lavender and
+purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.
+
+But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable
+weather. In summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so nearly
+saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except
+over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost as bad in the opposite
+extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but the early fall is said to
+be delightful.
+
+The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces in China, has been
+denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have all been
+planted. This deforestation consequently has driven out the game, and
+except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and gorals, none of
+the large species is left. However, the dense growth of sword grass and the
+thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to
+muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small cats, civets, and other
+Viverines. These animals come to the rice paddys, which fill every valley,
+to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because of
+the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.
+
+We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although we caught a good many
+animals they were almost always stolen together with the traps. We had this
+same difficulty in Yün-nan as well as in Fukien. None of us had ever seen
+natives in any part of the world who were such unmitigated thieves as the
+Chinese of these two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more abundant
+than the larger ones for the natives wage an unceasing war on those about
+the rice paddys and have exterminated nearly all but a few widely
+distributed forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went with Mr. Caldwell and his
+son Oliver to a Taoist temple seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as
+Chi-yuen-kang. The walk to the temple in the early morning was delightful.
+The "bamboo chickens" and francolins were calling all about us and on the
+way we shot enough for our first day's dinner. Both these birds are
+abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means easy to kill them for
+they live in such thick cover that they can only be flushed with
+difficulty.
+
+Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins crowing in the
+trees or on the top of a hill and when a cock had taken possession of such
+a spot the intrusion of another was almost sure to cause trouble which only
+ended when one of them had been driven off.
+
+For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow cut between
+perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed to their very summits with bamboo
+and a tangle of thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a mountain torrent
+foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle, slow moving stream when it
+leaves the cool darkness of the cañon to spread itself over the terraced
+rice fields.
+
+About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle into the hillside.
+One stands just over the water, but the other clings to the rock wall three
+hundred feet above the river, and it was there that we made our camp.
+
+The old priest in charge did not appear especially delighted to see us
+until I slipped a Mexican dollar into his hand--then it was laughable to
+see his change of face. The far end of the balcony was given up to us while
+Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at the feet of a grinning idol in
+the main temple.
+
+We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (_see_ Chapter XVII) and had
+brought with us only a few traps for small mammals. Harry had seen several
+serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along the river, and all
+were reported to have been killed near this ravine. There was a village of
+considerable size at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of
+beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a mountain which towered
+about two thousand five hundred feet above the river.
+
+Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start at daylight but it was
+well toward six o'clock before we got our men together. A Chinaman would
+drive an impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it is well-nigh
+impossible to get him started within an hour of the appointed time, and
+with a half dozen the difficulty is multiplied as many times. Just when you
+think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason for delaying
+longer, the whole crowd will disappear suddenly and you discover that they
+have gone for "chow." Then you know that the end is really in sight, for
+chow usually is the last thing.
+
+We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning before we started on
+the long climb to the top of the mountain. The sun was simply blazing, and
+in fifteen minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When we were half way
+up the dogs disappeared in a small ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword
+grass and suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. They had found a fresh
+trail and were driving our way.
+
+Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting to us to watch
+another higher up. We were hardly in position when his rifle banged,
+followed by such a bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must have
+killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before we reached them Harry
+appeared, smiling all over, and dragging a muntjac (_Muntiacus_) by the
+fore legs. He had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he had been
+watching was not more than ten feet wide and the muntjac flashed across it
+at full speed. Caldwell fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught
+the animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone dead.
+
+This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger than a fox. Its
+antlers are only two or three inches in length and rise from an elongated
+skin-covered pedicel instead of from the base of the skull as in all other
+members of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw is a slender
+tusk, about two inches long, which projects well beyond the lips and makes
+a rather formidable weapon.
+
+We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a "good joss," but instead a
+disappointing day was in store for us. When we had worked our way to the
+very summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over a trail which
+led through a smothering bamboo jungle, we saw dozens of fresh serow
+tracks. The animals were there without a doubt and we were on the _qui
+vive_ with excitement.
+
+We selected positions and the men made a long circuit to drive toward us as
+Caldwell had directed. After half an hour had passed we heard them yelling
+as they closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly parading
+in single file up the bottom of the valley on an open trail and carefully
+avoiding all thickets where a serow could possibly be. As Harry expressed
+it, "all the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the noble
+procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew nothing whatever about
+driving nor were we able to teach them, for they seriously objected to
+leaving the open trails and going into the bush.
+
+We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless and it was impossible to
+"still hunt" the animals at that time of the year. The natives say that in
+September when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower forests the serow
+leave the mountain tops and thick cover to feed upon the fungus, and that
+they may be killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the hunt
+would involve a vast amount of labor with only a moderate chance of
+success. After we had left Fukien, Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and
+female serow for us which are especially interesting as they represent a
+different subspecies (_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochcaetes_) from those
+we killed in Yün-nan.
+
+Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we discovered a wonderful
+bat cave less than a mile from our temple. Its entrance was a low round
+hole half covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular
+gallery; from this three long corridors branched off like fingers from the
+palm of a giant's hand. The cave was literally alive with bats. There must
+have been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a hundred,
+representing seven species and at least four genera. This was especially
+remarkable as it is unusual to find more than two or three species living
+together.
+
+The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each corridor was divided by
+rock partitions into several small rooms in every one of which bats of
+different species were rearing their families. The young in most instances
+were only a few days old but were thickly clustered on the walls and
+ceilings, and each and every one was squeaking at the top of its tiny
+lungs. The place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds, of
+years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.
+
+When we returned the day after our first visit we found that many of the
+young bats had been removed by their parents and in some instances entire
+rooms had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the cave was so
+nauseating that to enable us to go inside it was necessary to wear gauze
+pads of iodoform over our noses.
+
+The bats at this place were killed with bamboo switches but later we always
+used a long gill net which had been especially made in New York. We could
+hang the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was ready, send a
+native into the galleries to stir up the animals. As they flew out they
+became entangled in the net and could be caught or killed before they were
+able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch every specimen in a
+cavern, and moreover, to secure them in perfect condition without broken
+skulls or wings.
+
+If a bat escaped from the net it would never again strike it, for the
+animals are wonderfully accurate in flight and most expert dodgers. Even
+while in a cave, where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom flew
+against us, although we might often be brushed by their wings; and it was a
+most difficult thing to hit them with a bamboo switch. Their ability in
+dodging is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding habits
+for, with the exception of a few species, bats live exclusively upon
+insects and catch them in the air.
+
+It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit in a bat cave
+especially if the light has gone out and she is in utter darkness. Of
+course she has a cap tightly pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if
+she be a naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats with one
+wisp of hair exposed!
+
+All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush her face or neck and
+the air is full of chattering noises like the grinding of hundreds of tiny
+teeth. Sometimes a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares to
+take her hands from her face long enough to disengage the clinging animal
+she is liable to receive a vicious bite from teeth as sharp as needles.
+But, withal, it is good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or
+collecting trays can be filled with beautiful specimens!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+On Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to obtain a new supply of
+specimens. Upon our return, just as we were about to sit down to luncheon,
+four excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    DEAR ROY:
+
+    There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this
+    morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as though there
+    was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been sent for and the chances
+    are that either tonight or tomorrow morning there will be quite a
+    battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble and myself have just made a round of the
+    city, visiting the telegraph office, post office and other places, and
+    while we do not believe that the foreigners will be molested,
+    nevertheless it is impossible to tell just what to expect. It is
+    certain, however, that the Consul will order all of us to Foochow if
+    news of the situation reaches there. Owing to the uncertainty, I think
+    you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be ready for any
+    eventuality.
+
+    After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr. Bankhardt, we
+    all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to come in immediately. I
+    am sending four burden-bearers for it will be out of the question to
+    find any tomorrow, if trouble occurs tonight. The city gates are closed
+    so you will have to climb up the ladder over the wall behind our
+    compound. Best wishes.
+
+    HARRY.
+
+    P.S.--Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers are to arrive
+    tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only chance is to get to
+    Yen-ping today.
+
+    H.C.
+
+The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for Da-Ming, the cook, and
+the burden-bearers were jabbering excitedly at the top of their voices.
+The servants began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile we ate a roast
+chicken faster than good table manners would permit--in fact, we took it in
+our fingers. We were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement and
+talked almost as fast as the Chinese.
+
+In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had been received, we were
+on the way to Yen-ping. It was the hottest part of the day, and we were
+dripping with perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine and
+struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering in a furnace-like heat.
+At the first rest house on the top of the long hill we waited nearly an
+hour for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy loads.
+
+Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past us on her peglike feet
+leaning on the arm of a man. A short distance more and we came to the
+second rest house. We had been there but a few moments when three panting
+women, steadying themselves with long staves and barely able to walk on
+feet not more than four inches long, came up the hill. With them were
+several men bearing household goods in large bundles and huge red boxes.
+
+The exhausted women sank upon the benches and fanned themselves while the
+perspiration ran down their flushed faces. They looked so utterly miserable
+that we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which Mrs. Caldwell had
+sent us the day before. Their gratitude was pitiful, but, of course, they
+gave the larger share to the men.
+
+It was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill path,
+all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly
+bound feet. Probably these women had not walked so far in their entire
+lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and what would happen in the
+city if they took possession had driven them from their homes.
+
+Farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line of
+people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside. Half a
+mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees and their
+goods. Hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every little house
+beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.
+
+At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city and
+half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall of the
+compound, just behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and while
+cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. It seemed that a
+certain element in the city was in coöperation with the representatives of
+the revolutionary organization. These men wished to obtain possession of
+Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started, to gather forces, march
+to Foochow, and force the Governor to declare the independence of the
+province.
+
+The plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of Yuan Shi-kai
+had somewhat delayed its fruition. Saturday, however, it was known
+throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning at half
+past three, a band of one hundred men from Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping
+where they were received by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who
+opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately they began to fire
+up the streets to intimidate the people and in a short time were in a hot
+engagement with the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw away
+their guns and swam across the river. The remaining city troops were from
+the province of Hunan and their sympathies were really with the South in
+the great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels, where they were
+received with open arms. It was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district
+mandarin) had asked for troops from Foochow and that these might be
+expected at any moment; thus when they arrived a real battle could be
+expected and it was very likely that the city would be partly destroyed.
+
+We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and discussed the situation.
+It was the opinion of all that the foreigners were in no immediate danger,
+but nevertheless it was considered wise to be prepared, and we decided upon
+posts for each man if it should become necessary to protect the compound.
+
+Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries with requests to be
+allowed to bring their goods and families inside the walls, but these
+necessarily had to be refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese to
+bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the right of Consular
+protection and, moreover, their compound would have been the first to be
+attacked if looting began.
+
+On Monday morning while we were sitting on the porch of Mr. Caldwell's
+house preparing some bird skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire
+and then a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and we could see
+puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a black powder gun punctuated the
+vicious snapping of the high-power rifles. The firing gradually ceased
+after half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to see what had
+happened, for, as no Northern troops had appeared, the cause of the
+fighting was a mystery.
+
+We went first to the mission hospital which lay across a deep ravine and
+only a few yards from the quarters of the soldiers. At the door of the
+hospital compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble in the
+operating room examining a wounded man who had just been brought in. The
+fellow had been shot in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball that had
+gone entirely through him, emerging about three inches to the right of his
+spine.
+
+From the doctor we got the first real news of the puzzling situation. It
+appeared that all the men who had arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi to join
+the Yen-ping rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their own lives,
+the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had played a clever trick. They
+had pretended to join the rebels but at a given signal had turned upon
+them, killing or capturing almost every one. Although their sympathies were
+really with the South, the Hunan men knew that the rebels in Yen-ping could
+not hold the city against the Northern soldiers from Foochow and, by
+crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to avert a bigger fight.
+
+As we could not help the doctor he suggested that we might be of some
+assistance to the wounded in the city, and with rude crosses of red cloth
+pinned to our white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied by four
+Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In the compound we met a chair in
+which was lying an old man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. Beside
+him were his wife and several boys. The poor woman was crying quietly and,
+between her sobs, was offering the wounded man mustard pickles from a small
+dish in her hand! Poor things, they have so little to eat that they believe
+food will cure all ills!
+
+The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and lifted the filthy rag
+which covered a gaping wound in the man's shoulder, over which had been
+plastered a great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection, but it was
+the only remedy they knew!
+
+We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was preparing to operate on the
+fellow who had been shot in the abdomen. The doctor was working steadily
+and quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native hospital
+staff with his own coolness; the way this young missionary handled his
+cases made us glad that he was an American.
+
+On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us, each carrying four or
+five rifles and slung about with cartridge belts--plunder stripped from the
+men who had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we found two
+brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The nearest one had fallen on his
+face and, as we turned him over, we saw that half his head had been blown
+away; the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on which the flies
+already were settling in swarms.
+
+There was little use in wasting time over these men who long ago had passed
+beyond need of our help, and we went on rapidly down the alley to the main
+thoroughfare. Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the rough stones for
+fifteen minutes, and suddenly came to a man lying at the side of the
+street, his head propped on a wooden block. An umbrella once had partly
+covered him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected in the broiling
+sun. His face and a terrible wound in his head were a solid mass of flies,
+and thousands of insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones
+beside him. At first we thought he was dead but soon saw his abdomen move
+and realized that he was breathing. It did not seem possible that a human
+being could live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told us that
+he had been lying there for thirty hours--he had been shot early the
+previous morning and it was now three o'clock of the next afternoon.
+
+The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his wife in the most utter
+poverty. He had been peering over the city wall when the firing began
+Sunday morning and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay the
+penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not been taken to the
+hospital, and the answer was that his wife was too poor to hire anyone to
+carry him and he had no friends. So there he lay in the burning sun, gazed
+at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand being lifted to help him.
+
+Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed him in the stretcher
+and started up the long hill, followed by the haggard, weeping wife and a
+curious crowd. On every hand were questions: "Why are these men taking him
+away?" "What are they going to do with him?" But several educated natives
+who understood said, "_Ing-ai-gidaiie_" (A work of love). They got right
+there a lesson in Christianity which they will not soon forget. It is
+seldom that Chinese try to help an injured man, for ever present in their
+minds is the possibility that he may die and that they will be responsible
+for his burial expenses.
+
+We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main street with orders
+to return as soon as they had deposited the man in the hospital and, under
+the guidance of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said seven
+or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us first to a brigand who had
+been wounded and left to die beside the gutter. The corpse was a horrible
+sight and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried examination
+and walked to the gate at the end of the street.
+
+A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from the officer that there were
+no wounded in the pile of dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned
+toward the river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to the
+_tao-tai's yamen_ (official residence) where the firing had been heaviest.
+The _yamen_ was crowded with soldiers, and we were informed that the dead
+had all been removed and that there were no wounded--a grim statement which
+told its own story.
+
+The _yamen_ is but a short distance from the hospital so we climbed the
+hill to the compound. The sun was simply blazing and I realized then what
+the wounded men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter. We
+returned to the house and were resting on the upper porch when suddenly,
+far down the river, we saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and
+with field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men winding along the
+shore trail. At the same time two huge boats filled with soldiers came into
+view heading for the water gate of the city. These were undoubtedly the
+Northern troops from Foochow who were expected Monday night.
+
+Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of musketry and a cloud of smoke
+drifted up from the barracks right below us--then a rattling fusillade of
+shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls firing at men below
+and often in our direction. Bullets hummed in the air like angry bees and
+we rushed for cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly as
+it began.
+
+We were at a loss to know what it all meant and why the troops were firing
+upon the Northern soldiers whom they wished to placate. It was still a
+mystery when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a few minutes
+later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that he had just received a note from
+the _tao-tai_. The mandarin's personal servant had brought word that the
+Northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were going to kill him
+and he begged the missionaries for assistance. Bankhardt also told us of
+the latest developments in the situation. It seems that the city soldiers
+supposed the Northern troops to be brigands and had fired upon them and
+killed several before they discovered their mistake. A very delicate
+situation had thus been precipitated, for the Northern commander believed
+that it was treachery and intended to attack the barracks in the morning
+and kill every man whom he found with a rifle, as well as all the city
+officials.
+
+The story of the way in which the missionaries acted as peacemakers, saved
+the _tao-tai_, and prevented the slaughter which surely would have taken
+place in the morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished
+only after hours of the talk and "face saving" so dear to the heart of the
+Oriental. Suffice it to say that through the exercise of great tact and a
+thorough understanding of the Chinese character they were able to settle
+the matter without bloodshed.
+
+The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called trial, marched off
+to the west gate, beheaded amid great enthusiasm, and the incident was
+closed. In the afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of us an
+official letter from the commander of the Northern troops thanking us for
+the part we had played in averting trouble and bringing the matter to a
+peaceful end.
+
+An interesting sidelight on the affair was received a few days later. A
+young man, a Christian, who was born in the same town from which a number
+of the brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night after the fight
+and found seven of the robbers concealed in his bedroom. He was terrified
+because if they were discovered he and all his family would be killed for
+aiding the bandits. He told them they must leave at once, but they pleaded
+with him to let them stay for they knew there were soldiers at every corner
+and that it would be impossible to get away.
+
+While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded at the door. He pushed
+the brigands into the courtyard, and opened to three soldiers. They said:
+"We understand you have brigands in your house." He was trembling with
+fear, but answered, "Come in and see for yourself, if you think so."
+
+The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner and, as they knew him
+to be a good man, did not search the house, but went away. The poor fellow
+was frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being watched it was
+impossible for the brigands to leave during the day.
+
+At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads, and dressed like
+coolies, and were able to get to the ladder down the city wall just below
+the mission compound where they could escape into the hills.
+
+The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in the afternoon, a
+breathless Chinese appeared at the house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt
+saying that his Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been
+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded in an hour. We
+hurried to the police office where they were confined and found that not
+only the two men but three others were in custody.
+
+The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the management of one of
+his relatives and, while Bankhardt's teacher and the other man were sitting
+at a table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom owed the
+restaurant keeper a small amount of money. When asked to pay, the soldier
+turned upon him and shouted: "You have been assisting the brigands. I saw
+some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon the soldiers
+arrested everyone in the shop.
+
+The police officials were quite ready to release the teacher and the other
+man upon our statements, but they would not allow the cook to go. His hands
+were kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by the neck. The
+soldier who arrested him was his sole accuser, but of course, others would
+appear to uphold him in his charge if it were necessary.
+
+The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries, but it required
+several hours of work and threats of complaint to the government at Foochow
+to prevent the man from being summarily executed.
+
+We were not able to get any mail from Foochow during the rebellion because
+the constant stream of Northern soldiers on their way up the river had
+paralyzed the entire country to such an extent that all the river men had
+fled.
+
+The soldiers were firing for target practice upon every boat they saw on
+the river and dozens of men had been killed and then robbed. The Northern
+commander told us frankly that this could not be prevented, and when we
+announced that we were going to start will all the missionaries down the
+river on the following day, he was very much disturbed. He insisted that we
+have American flags displayed on our boats to prevent being fired upon by
+the soldiers.
+
+Although it had taken eight days to work our way laboriously through the
+rapids and up the river from Foochow to Yen-Ping, we covered the same
+distance down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast with Mr.
+Kellogg at his house the morning after we left Yen-Ping. In two days our
+equipment was repacked and ready for the trip to Futsing to hunt the blue
+tiger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"
+
+For many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping he had been stationed
+at the city of Futsing, about thirty miles from Foochow. Much of his work
+consisted of itinerant trips during which he visited the various mission
+stations under his charge. He almost invariably went on foot from place to
+place and carried with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so keen
+a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest.
+
+The country was infested with man-eating tigers, and very often the
+villagers implored him to rid their neighborhood of some one of the yellow
+raiders which had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. During ten
+years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing region. He often said that
+his gun had been just as effective in carrying Christianity to the natives
+as had his evangelistic work. Although Mr. Caldwell has been especially
+fortunate and has killed his tigers without ever really hunting them,
+nevertheless it is a most uncertain sport as we were destined to learn. The
+tiger is the "Great Invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere, here today
+and gone tomorrow. A sportsman in China may get his shot the first day out
+or he may hunt for weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they are
+all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that makes the game all the
+more fascinating.
+
+The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes mountains of
+considerable height, many of which are planted with rice and support a
+surprising number of Chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages.
+While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger and the mountain
+slopes themselves are usually more or less denuded of forest, yet the deep
+and narrow ravines, choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an
+impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during the day without
+fear of being disturbed. It is possible for a man to make his way through
+these lairs only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been opened
+by the tigers themselves.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead a goat with one or two
+kids to an open place where they could be fastened just outside the edge of
+the lair, and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The bleating of the
+goats would usually bring the tiger into the open where there would be an
+opportunity for a shot in the late afternoon.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was with a shotgun at the
+village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers had not arrived with the basket
+containing his rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he
+suggested to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant companion, that
+they make a preliminary inspection of the lair even though they carried
+only shotguns loaded with lead slugs about the size of buckshot.
+
+They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the lair and the tiger
+responded to its bleating almost immediately. Caldwell did not see the
+animal until it came into the open about fifty yards away and remained in
+plain view for almost half an hour. The tiger seemed to suspect danger and
+crouched on the terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward a
+short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He had approached along a
+small trail, but before he could reach the goat it was necessary to cross
+an open space a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened
+himself like a huge striped serpent. His head was extended so that the
+throat and chin were touching the ground, and there was absolutely no
+motion of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the beast slid
+along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at the instant the cat gained the
+nearest cover it made three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the
+terrace upon which the goat was tied.
+
+"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and slowly pushed his great
+black-barred face over the edge of the grass not fifteen feet away.
+
+"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped into the air with the
+blood spurting over the grass, and fell into a heap, but gathered himself
+and slid down over the terraces. As he went I fired a second load of slugs
+into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the hill parallel with us,
+and stood looking back at me, his face streaming with blood.
+
+"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other shells, but before I could
+reload the gun he walked unsteadily into the lair and lay down. It was
+already too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail showed where
+he had gone upward into the grass. Later, in the same afternoon, he was
+found dead by some Chinese more than three miles away."
+
+During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers Mr. Caldwell has
+learned much about their habits and peculiarities, and some of his
+observations are given in the following pages.
+
+"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted by his greatest
+enemy--man. Bold and daring as he may be when circumstances are in his
+favor, he will hurriedly abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a
+shepherd boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will always weigh
+conditions before making an attack. If things do not exactly suit him
+nothing will tempt him to charge into the open upon what may appear to be
+an isolated and defenseless goat.
+
+"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate this point. I led a
+goat into a ravine where a tiger which had been working havoc among the
+herds of the farmers was said to live. This animal only a few days previous
+to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three of them, but on
+this occasion the beast must have suspected danger and was exceedingly
+cautious. He advanced under cover along a trail until within one hundred
+feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey of the surroundings.
+Peering into the valley, he saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards
+or more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a time, the great
+cat turned and bounded away into the bushes.
+
+"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity to attack a cow
+which a farmer was using in plowing his field. The man had unhitched his
+cow and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day meal, when the
+tiger suddenly rushed from cover and killed the animal only a few yards
+behind the peasant. This shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able to
+strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem to favor an attack. I
+have known tigers to rush at a dog or hog standing inside a Chinese house
+where there was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost every
+instance the victim was killed, although it was not always carried away.
+
+"There is probably no creature in the wilds which shows such a combination
+of daring strategy and slinking cowardice as the tiger. Often courage fails
+him after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash off into
+the nearest wood.
+
+"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a mountain-side when a
+large tiger was routed from his bed. The beast made a rushing attack on the
+man standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing him by the leg
+dragged him into the ravine below. Luckily the man succeeded in grasping a
+small tree whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim lying
+upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and fear.
+
+"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills near Futsing when a tiger
+which had been sleeping in the high grass was disturbed. The enraged beast
+turned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly and striking
+another a ripping blow with his paw which sent him lifeless to the terrace
+below. The beast did not attempt to drag either of its victims into the
+bush or to attack the other persons near by.
+
+"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are amazing. I had
+occasion to spend the night a short time ago in a place where a tiger had
+performed some remarkable feats. Just at dusk one of these marauders
+visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old calf in a
+pen which had been excavated in the side of a hill and adjoined a house.
+There was no possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door opening
+from the main part of the dwelling or to descend from above. The tiger
+jumped from the roof upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and
+the inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see the animal
+throw the calf out bodily and leap after it himself. I measured the
+embankment and found that the exact height was twelve and a half feet.
+
+"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked a hog, just back of the
+village and carried it into the hills. The villagers pursued the beast and
+overtook it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed weighed more
+than two hundred pounds, was found, it had no marks or bruises upon it
+other than the deep fang wounds in the neck. This is another instance where
+courage failed a tiger after he had made off with his kill to a safe
+distance. The Chinese declare that when carrying such a load a tiger never
+attempts to drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races off at
+top speed.
+
+"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in years I shot in May,
+1910. Two days previous to my hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a
+sixteen-year-old boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to make
+an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast. Obtaining a mother goat
+with two small kids, I led them into a ravine near where the boy had been
+killed. The goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair, and the
+kids were concealed in the tall grass well in toward the place where the
+tiger would probably be. I selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind
+a bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one may be stalked by the very
+beast which one is hunting adds to the excitement and keeps one's nerves on
+edge. I expected that the tiger would approach stealthily as long as he
+could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack, so far as my
+observation goes, is to creep up under cover as far as possible before
+rushing into the open. In any case the tiger would be within twenty yards
+of me before it could be seen.
+
+"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert and waiting, behind
+the little blind of ferns and grass. There was nothing to break the silence
+other than the incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping
+call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope of a shot when suddenly
+the huge head of the man-eater emerged from the bush, exactly where I had
+expected he would appear and within fifteen feet of the kids. The back,
+neck, and head of the beast were in almost the same plane as he moved
+noiselessly forward.
+
+"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the gun in my hand, and
+at the crack of the rifle the huge brute settled forward with hardly a
+quiver not ten feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring. A
+second shot was not necessary but was fired as a matter of precaution as
+the tiger had fallen behind rank grass, and the bullet passed through the
+shoulder blade lodging in the spine. The beast measured more than nine feet
+and weighed almost four hundred pounds.
+
+"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into the ravine, each eager
+not so much to see their slain tormentor as to gather up the blood. But
+little attention was paid to the tiger until every available drop was
+sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men and children even
+pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I learned that the blood of a tiger is
+used for two purposes. A bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the neck
+of a child as a preventive against either measles or smallpox, and tiger
+flesh is eaten for the same purpose. It is also said that if a handkerchief
+stained with tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the animal
+will slink away cowed and terrified.
+
+"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the most valuable part of a
+tiger. Almost always before a hunt is made, or a trap is built, the
+villagers burn incense before the temple god, and an agreement is made to
+the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin of the beast taken
+becomes the property of the gods. Thus it happens that in many of the
+temples handsome tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied
+by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the land. When a hunt is
+successful, the flesh and bones are considered of greatest value, and it
+often happens that a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with
+that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully paid for
+tiger meat. The bones are boiled for a number of days until a gelatine-like
+product results, and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious
+medicine.
+
+"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger in the tangle of its
+lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded for the risk when one begins to
+sum up one's observations. The most interesting result of investigating an
+oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's food. That a tiger always
+devours its prey upon the spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is
+an erroneous idea. This is often true when the kill is too heavy to be
+carried for a long distance, but it is by no means universally so. Not long
+ago the remains of a young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's
+lair a few miles from Futsing city. No child had been reported missing in
+the immediate neighborhood and everything indicated that the boy had been
+brought alive to this spot from a considerable distance. The sides of the
+grave were besmeared with the blood of the unfortunate victim, indicating
+that the tiger had tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as
+it remains alive.
+
+"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or places under
+overhanging trees, which are covered with bones, and are evidently spots to
+which the animal brings its prey to be devoured. On such a terrace one will
+find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine, pangolin, and
+other animals both domestic and wild. A fresh kill shows that with its
+rasp-like tongue the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before
+devouring it and the hair will be found in a circle around what remains of
+the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair in order to gather up the quills of
+the porcupine and the bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for
+medicinal purposes.
+
+"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon reptiles and frogs
+which they find among the rice fields. On the night of April 22, 1914, a
+party of frog catchers were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the
+load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The animal made no
+attempt to drag the man away and it would appear that it was attracted by
+the croaking of the frogs."
+
+"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some trail or path in, or
+adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the tiger measures its full length upon a
+tree, standing in a convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips
+deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting to the sportsman
+as it not only indicates the presence of a tiger in the immediate vicinity
+but serves to give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. The trails
+leading into a lair often are marked in a different way. In doing this the
+animal rakes away the grass with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but
+claw prints never appear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+After one has traveled in a Chinese _sampan_ for several days the prospect
+of a river journey is not very alluring but we had a most agreeable
+surprise when we sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt
+the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the luxury of a private
+yacht, for our boat contained a large central cabin with a table and chairs
+and two staterooms and was manned by a captain and crew of six men--all for
+$1.50 per day!
+
+In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long time before we spread
+our beds on the roof of the boat and went to sleep under the stars. We left
+the boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for the six-mile walk to
+Lung-tao. To my great surprise the coolies were considerably distressed at
+the lightness of our loads. In this region they are paid by weight and some
+of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. As an example, one of our
+men came into camp swinging a 125-pound trunk on each end of his pole,
+laughing and chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying 250
+pounds for six miles under a broiling sun.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at Lung-tao and we found his
+house to be one of several built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of
+gum and banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean for a Chinese
+dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance away. At first we were
+somewhat doubtful about sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we
+decided that any risk was preferable to spending another hour in the
+stifling heat of the house.
+
+It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious of the white tents that
+it would not attack us, but nevertheless during the first nights we were
+rather wakeful and more than once at some strange night sound seized our
+rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.
+
+Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred yards from our camp
+site, in 1911, a tiger had rushed into the house of one of the peasants and
+attempted to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play under the
+family table. All was quiet in the house when suddenly the animal dashed
+through the open door. The Chinese declare that the gods protected the
+infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the leg of the table
+against which the baby's head was resting, bolted through the door dragging
+the table into the courtyard.
+
+This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which we had come to hunt and
+which had on two occasions been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The first time he
+heard of this strange beast was in the spring of 1910. The animal was
+reported as having been seen at various places within an area of a few
+miles almost simultaneously and so mysterious were its movements that the
+Chinese declared it was a spirit of the devil. After several unsuccessful
+hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at close range but as he was armed
+with only a shotgun it would have been useless to shoot.
+
+His second view of the beast was a few weeks later and in the same place. I
+will give the story in his own words:
+
+"I selected a spot upon a hill-top and cleared away the grass and ferns
+with a jack-knife for a place to tie the goat. I concealed myself in the
+bushes ten feet away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened and
+the tiger approached from the rear.
+
+"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily along a little trail
+just across a shallow ravine. I supposed, of course, that he was trying to
+locate the goat which was bleating loudly, but to my horror I saw that he
+was creeping upon two boys who had entered the ravine to cut grass. The
+huge brute moved along lizard-fashion for a few yards and then cautiously
+lifted his head above the grass. He was within easy springing distance when
+I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized that if I wounded the animal
+the boys would certainly meet a horrible death.
+
+"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so instead of firing I
+stepped from the bushes, yelling and waving my arms. The huge cat, crouched
+for a spring, drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then slowly
+slipped away into the grass. The boys were saved but I had lost the
+opportunity I had sought for over a year.
+
+"However, I had again seen the animal about which so many strange tales had
+been told. The markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground
+color is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light gray-blue on
+the underparts. The stripes are well defined and like those of the ordinary
+yellow tiger."
+
+Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written me repeatedly urging me to
+stop at Futsing on the way to Yün-nan to try with him for the blue tiger
+which was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical as to its
+being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was a most interesting animal
+and would certainly be well worth getting.
+
+I believed then, and my opinion has since been strengthened, that it is a
+partially melanistic phase of the ordinary yellow tiger. Black leopards are
+common in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a single individual of
+the blue tiger has been reported the evidence hardly warrants the
+assumption that it represents a distinct species.
+
+We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute ranged in the vicinity of
+two or three villages about seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently
+near Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing a dog or
+goat in one village and by the time we had hurried across the mountains
+appearing in another spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified
+natives who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations. He was in
+truth the "Great Invisible" and it seemed impossible that we should not get
+him sooner or later, but we never did.
+
+Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer bad luck, and it was
+only by exercising almost superhuman restraint that we prevented ourselves
+from doing bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our hunt. Every
+evening for a week we had faithfully taken a goat into the "Long Ravine,"
+for the blue tiger had been seen several times near this lair. On the
+eighth afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as usual. We had
+tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two kids were but a few feet away.
+
+The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless heat, silent save
+for the echoes of the bleating goats. Crouched behind the screen of
+branches, for three long hours we sat in the patchwork shade,--motionless,
+dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and watched the shadows
+steal slowly down the narrow ravine.
+
+It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut out of the mountain side
+with two strokes of a mighty ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny
+vines and sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only entrance
+was by the tiger tunnels which drove their twisting way through the
+murderous growth far in toward its gloomy heart.
+
+The shadows had passed over us and just reached a lone palm tree on the
+opposite hillside. By that I knew it was six o'clock and in half an hour
+another day of disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the left and just
+below us there came the faintest crunching sound as a loose stone shifted
+under a heavy weight; then a rustling in the grass. Instantly the captive
+goat gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at the rope which
+held it to the tree.
+
+At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear "Get ready, he's coming." I
+was half kneeling with my heavy .405 Winchester pushed forward and the
+hammer up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck muscles ached with the
+strain but I thanked Heaven that my hands were steady.
+
+Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his little 22 caliber high
+power Savage nestling against his cheek. Our eyes met for an instant and I
+knew in that glance that the blue tiger would never make another charge,
+for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten minutes we waited and my heart
+lost a beat when twenty feet away the grass began to move again--but
+rapidly and _up the ravine_.
+
+I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look which changed to one of
+disgust as a chorus of yells sounded across the ravine and three Chinese
+wood cutters appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking a short cut
+home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and they had succeeded only too
+well, for the blue tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from
+whence he had come.
+
+He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him! I felt so badly that I
+could not even swear and it wasn't the fact that Harry was a missionary
+which kept me from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once, for his
+disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had been hunting this
+same tiger off and on for six years.
+
+It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and we pushed our way
+through the sword grass to the entrance of the tunnel down which the tiger
+had come. There in the soft earth were the great footprints where he had
+crouched at the entrance to take a cautious survey before charging into the
+open.
+
+As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said: "Roy, let's go into the
+lair. There is just one chance in a thousand that we may get a shot." Now I
+must admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that little excursion,
+but in we went, crawling on our hands and knees up the narrow passage.
+Every few feet we passed side branches from the main tunnel in any one of
+which the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and could have killed
+us as we passed. It was a foolhardy thing to do and I am free to admit that
+I was scared. It was not long before Harry twisted about and said: "Roy, I
+haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out." And out we came faster
+than we went in.
+
+This was only one of the times when the "Great Invisible" was almost in our
+hands. A few days later a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice
+bank early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he ran a mile and a
+half to our camp only to find that we had left half an hour before for
+another village where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the
+morning.
+
+Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at daybreak just as the
+members of the family were getting up, stole a dog from the "heaven's
+well," dragged it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We were in camp
+only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the carcass on a narrow
+ledge in the sword grass high up on the mountain side. The spot was an
+impossible one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which had been
+carried with us from New York.
+
+It seemed out of the question for any animal to return to the carcass of
+the dog without getting caught and yet the tiger did it. With his hind
+quarters on the upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck
+across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired to a tree and pulled
+it away. It was evident that he was quite unconscious of the trap for his
+fore feet had actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two inches
+from the pan which would have sprung it.
+
+One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao, a village seven miles
+beyond Lung-tao, where the blue tiger had been seen that day. The natives
+assured us that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly clothed with
+pines and sword grass just above the village and even though it was late
+when we arrived Harry thought it wise to set the trap that night.
+
+It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying the trap, two
+lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a wretched little dog for bait. We had
+been engaged for about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and
+Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when suddenly a low rumbling
+growl came from the grass not twenty feet away. We jumped to our feet just
+as it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The tiger had arrived a
+few moments too early and we were in the rather uncomfortable position of
+having to return to the village by way of a narrow trail through the
+jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric lamp cutting a brilliant
+path in the darkness we walked slowly toward the edge of the sword grass
+hoping to see the flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off
+beyond the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where we could
+not follow. Apparently he was frightened by the lantern, for we did not
+hear him again.
+
+After nearly a month of disappointments such as these Mr. Heller joined us
+at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg. Caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to
+the Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where he had once spent a
+summer with his family and had killed several tigers. This was within the
+blue tiger's range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a better
+general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with Heller to look after the
+small mammals we could begin to make our time count for something if we did
+not get the tiger.
+
+Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of temples, built into a
+hillside at the end of a long narrow valley which swells out like a great
+bowl between bamboo clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. On his
+former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the head priest and we were
+allowed to establish ourselves upon the broad porch of the third and
+highest building. It was an ideal place for a collecting camp and would
+have been delightful except for the terrible heat which was rendered doubly
+disagreeable by the almost continual rain.
+
+The priests who shuffled about the temples were a hard lot. Most of them
+were fugitives from justice and certainly looked the part, for a more
+disreputable, diseased and generally undesirable body of men I have never
+seen.
+
+Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple life interesting. We
+slept on the porch and each morning, about half an hour before daylight,
+the measured strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just below us.
+_Boom--boom--boom--boom_ it went, then rapidly _bang, bang, bang_. It was a
+religious alarm clock to rouse the world.
+
+A little later when the upturned gables and twisted dolphins on the roof
+had begun to take definite shape in the gray light of the new day, the gong
+boomed out again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms shuffled
+the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before the early service. The
+droning chorus of hoarse voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant,
+harmonized strangely with the romantic surroundings of the temple and
+become our daily _matin_ and evensong.
+
+At the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito nets and dressed to
+be ready for the bats which fluttered into the building to hide themselves
+beneath the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully come we scattered to
+the four winds of heaven to inspect traps, hunt barking deer, or collect
+birds, but gathered again at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our
+spoil. Caldwell and I always spent the afternoon at the blue tiger's lair
+but the animal had suddenly shifted his operations back to Lung-tao and did
+not appear at Ling-suik while we were there.
+
+Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of help to other naturalists
+who contemplate a visit to this province. We satisfied ourselves that
+summer collecting is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the
+vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained for the
+efforts expended. Continual tramping over the mountains in the blazing sun
+necessarily must have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even
+a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has become thoroughly acclimated, is not
+immune.
+
+Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty pounds in weight during the
+time we hunted the blue tiger and each of us had serious trouble from
+abscesses. I have never worked in a more trying climate--even that of
+Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected in 1909-10, was much
+less debilitating than Fukien in the summer. The average temperature was
+about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so high that one felt
+as though one were wrapped in a wet blanket and even during a six weeks'
+rainless period the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds.
+
+In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting then would be vastly
+easier than in summer, not only on account of climatic conditions, but
+because much of the vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for
+"still hunting."
+
+Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because of the dense
+population. The mud dykes and the rice fields usually are covered with
+tracks of civets, mongooses, and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but
+if a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly is stolen.
+Moreover, the small mammals are neither abundant nor varied in number of
+species, and the larger forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow
+are exceedingly difficult to kill.
+
+While our work in the province was done during an unfavorable season and in
+only two localities, yet enough was seen of the general conditions to make
+it certain that a thorough zoölogical study of the region would require
+considerable time and hard work and that the results, so far as a large
+collection of mammals is concerned, would not be highly satisfactory. Work
+in the western part of the province among the Bohea Hills undoubtedly would
+be more profitable, but even there it would be hardly worth while for an
+expedition with limited time and money.
+
+Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology of Fukien
+already has received considerable attention through the collections of
+Swinhoe, La Touche, Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably not
+a great number of species remain to be described.
+
+Much work could still be done upon the herpetology of the region, however,
+and I believe that this branch of zoölogy would be well worth investigation
+for reptiles and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives would
+rather assist than retard one's efforts.
+
+The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than in any other of the
+Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow dialect (which is one of the most
+difficult to learn) is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the
+city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow" perfectly, could not
+understand a word of the "southern mandarin" which is the language of that
+region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives from Amoy have settled,
+the dialect is unintelligible to one who knows only "Foochow."
+
+Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport is entirely by
+coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred pounds. The men are paid by
+distance or weight; therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained
+there is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one to two hours
+are consumed before the party can start.
+
+But the worst of it is that one can never be certain when one's entire
+outfit will arrive at its new destination. Some men walk much faster than
+others, some will delay a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if
+the day be hot, with the result that the last load will arrive perhaps five
+or six hours after the first one.
+
+As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the only alternative is
+to be carried in a mountain chair, which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like
+affair and only to be found along the main highways. On the whole,
+transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and expensive that for a
+large expedition it forms a grave obstacle to successful work, if time and
+funds be limited.
+
+On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually good. We employed a very
+fair cook who received monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about three and
+one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from five to seven dollars
+(Mexican). As none of the servants knew English they could be obtained at
+much lower wages, but English-speaking cooks usually receive from fifteen
+to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.
+
+It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger but we had hunted him
+unsuccessfully for five weeks and there was other and more important work
+awaiting us in Yün-nan. It required thirty porters to transport our baggage
+from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei, twenty-one miles away, where two
+houseboats were to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were lying
+off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the flood tide to take us to Foochow. We made
+our beds on the deck house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the
+boat tied to the wharf at the Custom House on the Bund, and ourselves in
+full view of all Foochow had it been awake at that hour.
+
+The week of packing and repacking that followed was made easy for us by
+Claude Kellogg, who acted as our ministering angel. I think there must be a
+special Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and directs them
+to such men as Kellogg, for without divine aid they could never be found.
+When we last saw him, he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving
+his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the S.S. _Haitan_ for
+Hongkong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping interested us greatly,
+even when we first came to China, but we could not appreciate then as we
+did later the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions.
+
+How much the missionaries are able to accomplish from a religious
+standpoint is a question which we do not wish to discuss, but no one who
+has ever lived among them can deny that the opening of schools and the
+diffusing of western knowledge are potent factors in the development of the
+people. The Chinese were not slow even in the beginning to see the
+advantages of a foreign education for their boys and now, along the coast
+at least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their daughters as
+well. The Woman's College, which was opened recently in Foochow, is one of
+the finest buildings of the Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced
+girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments, it is difficult
+to realize that outside such schools they are still slaves in mind and body
+to those iron rules of Confucius which have molded the entire structure of
+Chinese society for over 2400 years.
+
+The position of women in China today, and the rules which govern the
+household of every orthodox Chinese, are the direct heritage of
+Confucianism. The following translation by Professor J. Legge from the
+_Narratives of the Confucian School_, chapter 26, is illuminating:
+
+    Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and is supreme
+    over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions of man and
+    helps to carry out his principles. On this account she can determine
+    nothing of herself and is subject to the rule of the three obediences.
+
+    "(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder brother;
+
+    "(2) When married, she must obey her husband;
+
+    "(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.
+
+    "She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions or orders
+    must issue from the harem. Women's business is simply the preparation
+    and supplying of drink and food. Beyond the threshold of her apartments
+    she shall not be known for evil or for good. She may not cross the
+    boundaries of a state to attend a funeral. She may take no steps on her
+    own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation."
+
+    The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:
+
+    "(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;
+
+    "(2) Not giving birth to a son;
+
+    "(3) Dissolute conduct;
+
+    "(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates at his
+    harem);
+
+    "(5) Talkativeness, and
+
+    "(6) Thieving."
+
+A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her mother-in-law, and as she is
+often reared by her husband's family, or else married to him as a mere
+child, and is under the complete control of his mother for a considerable
+period of her existence, her life in many instances is one of intolerable
+misery. There is generally little or no consideration for a girl under the
+best of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male child; her
+condition then improves but she approaches happiness only when she in turn
+occupies the enviable position of mother-in-law.
+
+It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness and vacuity than
+that of the average Chinese woman. Owing to her bound feet and resultant
+helplessness, if she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the
+narrow confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her entire life she may
+not go a mile from the house to which she was brought a bride, except for
+the periodical visits to her father's home.
+
+It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in China and it is not
+surprising that, ignored and despised for centuries, the Chinese woman
+shows no ability to improve the squalor of her surroundings. She passes her
+life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken furniture and a mud
+floor, together with pigs, chickens and babies enjoying a limited sphere of
+action under the tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard
+without. Her work is actually never done and a Chinese bride, bright and
+attractive at twenty, will be old and faded at thirty.
+
+But without doubt the crowning evil which attends woman's condition in
+China is foot binding, and nothing can be offered in extenuation of this
+abominable custom. It is said to have originated one thousand years before
+the Christian era and has persisted until the present day in spite of the
+efforts directed against it. The Empress Dowager issued edicts strongly
+advising its discontinuation, the "Natural Foot Society," which was formed
+about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate public opinion, and the
+missionaries refuse to admit girls so mutilated to their schools; but
+nevertheless the reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities.
+"Precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands for their
+daughters are responsible for the continuation of the evil, and it is
+estimated that there are still about seventy-four millions of girls and
+women who are crippled in this way.
+
+The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and seven. The toes are bent
+under the sole of the foot and after two or three years the heel and instep
+are so forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft; gradually
+also the lower limbs shrink away until only the bones remain.
+
+The suffering of the children is intense. We often passed through streets
+full of laughing boys and tiny girls where others, a few years older, were
+sitting on the doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and
+crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are constructed a
+considerable distance from the family dwelling where the girls must sleep
+during their first crippled years in order that their moans may not disturb
+the other members of the family. The child's only relief is to hang her
+feet over the edge of the bed in order to stop the circulation and induce
+numbness, or to seek oblivion from opium.
+
+If the custom were a fad which affected only the wealthy classes it would
+be reprehensible enough, but it curses rich and poor alike, and almost
+every day we saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves by means
+of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads or laboring in the fields.
+
+Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly making itself
+felt to a certain extent in the coast provinces, in Yün-nan the horrible
+practice continues unabated. During the year in which we traveled through a
+large part of the province, wherever there were Chinese we saw bound feet.
+And the fact that virtually _every_ girl over eight years old was mutilated
+in this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have not penetrated
+to this remote part of the Republic.
+
+I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation because of its
+senselessness and brutality, and China can never hope to take her place
+among civilized nations until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and
+liberated her women from their infamous subjection.
+
+There has been much criticism of foreign education because the girls who
+have had its advantages absorb western ideas so completely that they
+dislike to return to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a Chinese
+household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of China are ever to be
+emancipated it must come through their own education as well as that of the
+men.
+
+One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay marriage, and in
+some instances the early betrothal with its attendant miseries. The evil
+which results from this custom can hardly be overestimated. It happens not
+infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy, the respective
+families being in like circumstances at the time. The opportunity perhaps
+is offered to the girl to attend school and she may even go through
+college, but an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents' home,
+forces her to submit to the engagement made in babyhood and perhaps ruins
+her life through marriage with a man of no higher social status or
+intelligence than a coolie.
+
+Among the few girls imbued with western civilization a spirit of revolt is
+slowly growing, and while it is impossible for them to break down the
+barriers of ages, yet in many instances they waive aside what would seem an
+unsurmountable precedent and insist upon having some voice in the choosing
+of their husbands.
+
+While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign wedding of a
+girl who had been brought up in the Woman's School and who was qualified to
+be a "Bible Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was whispered that she
+had actually met her betrothed on several occasions, but on their wedding
+day no trace of recognition was visible, and the marriage was performed
+with all the punctilious Chinese observances compatible with a Christian
+ceremony.
+
+Precedent required of this little bride, although she might have been
+radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly was, to appear tearful and
+shrinking and as she was escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might
+have thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not becoming to the
+Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning, so she had chosen pink for
+her wedding gown and had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled
+hair.
+
+After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded downstairs to the
+joyous strain of the wedding march, but with nothing joyous in their
+demeanor--in fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception and
+endured for over an hour the stares and loud criticism of the guests. He
+assumed during the ordeal a look of bored indifference while the little
+bride sat with her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken.
+But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle in her shining black
+eyes that made me realize that perhaps it wasn't all quite so frightful as
+she would have us believe. I often wonder what sort of a life she is
+leading in her far away Chinese courtyard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+VOYAGING TO YÜN-NAN
+
+We had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our trip to Yün-nan. Hongkong
+is one of the best cities in the Orient in which to purchase supplies of
+almost any kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best
+English goods can be had for prices very little in excess of those in
+London itself.
+
+The system which we used in our commissary was that of the unit food box
+which has been adopted by most large expeditions. The boxes were packed to
+weigh seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary staple supplies
+for three persons for one week; thus only one box needed to be opened at a
+time, and, moreover, if the party separated for a few days a single box
+could be taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance
+that sufficient food would be available.
+
+Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar, coffee, milk,
+bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned meat, vegetables, or fruit
+because we were certain to be able to obtain a plentiful supply of such
+food in the country through which we were expecting to travel.
+
+Our tents were brought from New York and were made of light Egyptian cotton
+thoroughly waterproof, but we also purchased in Hongkong a large army tent
+for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and specimens. We
+used sleeping bags and folding cots, tables and chairs, for when an
+expedition expects to remain in the field for a long time it is absolutely
+necessary to be as comfortable as possible and to live well; otherwise one
+cannot work at one's highest efficiency.
+
+For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits with flannel shirts and
+high leather shoes for mountain climbing, and we had light rubber
+automobile shirts and rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto shirt
+is a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens about the neck
+and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can be so spread about as to cover
+all exposed parts of the body; it is especially useful and necessary, and
+hip rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy season.
+
+Our traps for catching small mammals were brought from New York. We had two
+sizes of wooden "Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes of
+Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as civets and
+polecats. We also carried a half dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had
+used this size in Africa and found that they were large enough even to hold
+lions.
+
+Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I used a 6-1/2 mm.
+Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All of these guns were eminently
+satisfactory, but the choice of a rifle is a very personal matter and every
+sportsman has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat
+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we were armed was
+absolutely essential for many of our shots were at long range and we
+frequently killed gorals at three hundred yards or over.
+
+The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks, a Graphic 4 × 5 tripod
+camera, and Graflex 4 × 5 for rapid work. We have found after considerable
+field experience that the 4 × 5 is the most convenient size to handle, for
+the plate is large enough and can be obtained more readily than any other
+in different parts of the world. The same applies to the 3A Kodak
+"post-card" size film, for there are few places where foreign goods are
+carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.
+
+All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin boxes before we
+left America, and thus the material was in perfect condition when the cans
+were opened. We used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic
+work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to handle than
+films, nevertheless the results obtained are very superior. A collapsible
+rubber dark room about seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an
+indispensable part of the camera equipment. This tent was made for us by
+the Abercrombie & Fitch Company, of New York, and could be hung from the
+limb of a tree or the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five
+minutes.
+
+The motion pictures were taken with a Universal camera, and like all other
+negatives were developed in the field by means of a special apparatus which
+had been designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural
+History. This work required a much larger space than that of the portable
+dark room and we consequently had a tent made of red cloth which could be
+tied inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.
+
+Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and in wooden boxes with
+sliding tops. The latter arrangement is especially desirable in Yün-nan,
+for the loads can be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus
+saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.
+
+It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies together, but the
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong pushed the making and packing of our
+boxes in a remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of their
+departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a Chinaman is to get more
+Chinamen," and they put a small army at work upon our material, which was
+ready for shipment in just a week.
+
+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. Gary, 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 lotos 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 3 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. Chemein Dupontés, 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. Dupontés was especially helpful.
+
+Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad from Hanoi to Yün-nan
+Fu had caved in and for almost a month trains had not been running. It was
+now in operation, however, but all luggage had to be transferred by hand at
+the broken tunnel and consequently must not exceed eighty-five pounds in
+weight. This meant repacking our entire equipment and three days of hard
+work. M. Dupontés arranged to have our 4000 pounds of baggage put in a
+special third class carriage with our "boys" in attendance and in this way
+saved the expedition a considerable amount of money. He personally went
+with us to the station to arrange for our comfort with the _chef de gare_,
+telegraphed ahead at every station upon the railroad, and gave us an open
+letter to all officials; in fact there was nothing which he left undone.
+
+The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement for it was constructed
+in great haste through a difficult mountainous range. Yün-nan is an
+exceedingly rich province and the French were quick to see the advantages
+of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports. The British were already
+making surveys to construct a railroad from Bhamo on the headwaters of the
+Irawadi River across Yün-nan to connect with the Yangtze, and the French
+were anxious to have their road in operation some time before the rival
+line could be completed.
+
+Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall, or perhaps to both,
+the tunnels and bridges frequently cave in or are washed away and the
+railroad is chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in which
+it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve great credit for their
+enterprise in extending their line to Yün-nan Fu over the mountains where
+there is a tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. While it was
+being built through the fever-stricken jungles of Tonking the coolies died
+like flies, and it was necessary to suspend all work during the summer
+months.
+
+The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the traveling is by no
+means uncomfortable, but the hotels in which one stops at night are
+wretched. One of our friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience
+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad. He asked for a
+bath and discovered that a tub of hot water had been prepared. He wished a
+cold bath, and seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of
+the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when the hotel proprietor
+suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming, "Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, you are in the
+tank of drinking water."
+
+When we arrived at Yün-nan Fu we found a surprisingly cosmopolitan
+community housed within its grim old walls; some were consuls, some
+missionaries, some salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese
+employ, and others represented business firms in Hongkong, but all received
+us with open handed hospitality characteristic of the East.
+
+We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening clothes would not again
+be used, but they were requisitioned every night for we were guests at
+dinners given by almost everyone of the foreign community. Mr. Howard Page,
+a representative of the Standard Oil Company, proved a most valuable
+friend, and through him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other
+arrangements for the transportation of our baggage. M. Henry Wilden, the
+French Consul, an ardent sportsman and a charming gentleman, took an active
+interest in our affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the Chinese
+Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, he later transported our trunks
+to Hongkong with his personal baggage and assisted us in every possible
+way.
+
+We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and were ushered into a
+large room where a rather imposing lunch had already been spread. The
+Commissioner, a fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of French but
+none of English, received us in the most cordial way and immediately opened
+several bottles of champagne in our honor. He asked why our passports had
+not been viséd in Peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying that at
+the time we were in the capital Yün-nan was an independent province and
+consequently the Peking Government had not the temerity to put their stamp
+upon our passports.
+
+Inasmuch as Yün-nan was infested with brigands we had expected some
+opposition to our plans for traveling in the interior, but none was
+forthcoming, and with the exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for
+our trip to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse, we left
+the Foreign Office with all the desired permits.
+
+The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested in our zoölogical
+study of Yün-nan, offered to assist us in every way we could suggest, and
+telegraphed to every mandarin in the north and west of the province,
+instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate our work in
+every way. None of the opposition which we had been led to expect
+developed, and it is difficult to see how we could have been more cordially
+received.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+On August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to Ta-li Fu, and three days
+later we ourselves left Yün-nan Fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after
+an interminable wait for our caravan. Through the kindness of Mr. Page, a
+house boat was put at our disposal and we sailed across the upper end of
+the beautiful lake which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the
+caravan twenty-five _li_ [Footnote: A _li_ in this province equals
+one-third of an English mile.] from Yün-nan Fu.
+
+On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers, each with ten or a
+dozen birds sitting quietly upon the boat with outspread wings drying their
+feathers. Every bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented from
+swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into the water.
+
+After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the long train of mules and
+horses winding up the hill toward us. There were seventeen altogether, and
+in the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately with both hands to
+a diminutive mule, his long legs dangling and a look of utter wretchedness
+upon his face. Just before the caravan reached us it began to rain, and the
+cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow oilskins which we had purchased
+for him in Yün-nan Fu. These, together with a huge yellow hat, completed a
+picture which made us roar with laughter; Heller gave the caption for it
+when he shouted, "Here comes the 'Yellow Peril.'"
+
+We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller vainly tried to get his
+girth tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding over the animal's tail
+he exclaimed, "Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying to ride?" But it
+was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and found that we did not
+crush the little brutes.
+
+A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with a few odds and ends on
+top made a pack of at least one hundred and sixty pounds. This is heavy
+even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility,
+but it is the usual weight, and the businesslike way in which they moved
+off showed that they were not overloaded.
+
+The Yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. The load is
+strapped with a rawhide to a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over
+a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place by its own
+weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it can be easily
+removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. It has the great
+disadvantage, however, of giving the horses serious back sores which
+receive but scanty attention from the _mafus_ (muleteers).
+
+When we were fairly started upon our long ride to Ta-li Fu the time slipped
+by in a succession of delightful days. Since this was the main caravan
+route the _mafus_ had regular stages beyond which they would not go. If we
+did not stop for luncheon the march could be ended early in the afternoon
+and we could settle ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved
+a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle. A few pages
+from my wife's "Journal" of September fifteenth describes our camp at
+Lu-ho-we and our life on the road to Ta-li Fu.
+
+    We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on a hilltop
+    in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at our feet. The sun
+    is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and throwing bars of golden
+    light through the twisted branches of a bent old pine, over the stone
+    well, and into the dim recesses behind the altar where a benevolent
+    idol grins down upon us.
+
+    We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting to rest
+    in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children are shouting and
+    laughing but all is quiet here save for the drip of water in the well,
+    and the chatter of a magpie on the pine tree. Today we made the stage
+    in one long march and now we can rest and browse among our books or
+    wander with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths.
+
+    The sun is hot at midday, although the mornings and evenings are cold,
+    and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of yellow pine, and talk for
+    an hour before we go to sleep upon the porch where we can see the moon
+    come up and the stars shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns
+    in the sky.
+
+    It is seven days since we left Yün-nan Fu and each night we have come
+    to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible charm about them,
+    lying asleep, as it were, among the trees of their courtyards, with
+    stately, pillared porches, and picturesque gables upturned to the sky.
+    They seem so very, very old and filled with such great calm and peace.
+
+    Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride
+    through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged women,
+    filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the dilapidated
+    entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close the huge gates
+    and are in another world.
+
+    We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn. As
+    we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted against
+    the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and the
+    contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans.
+
+    Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we have
+    fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the remotest
+    corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal is
+    awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean white cloth. While we
+    are eating, the beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a
+    running fire of exhortations to the _mafus_ who cause us endless
+    trouble.
+
+    They are a hard lot, these _mafus_. Force seems to be the only thing
+    they understand and kindness produces no results. If the march is long
+    and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to get them started
+    within three hours without the aid of threats. Once after a long halt
+    when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to wait by the roadside for
+    hours before the caravan arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they
+    had begun to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage
+    until long after dark.
+
+    In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses we
+    ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling line of
+    mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones of the road.
+    It is delightful in the early morning for the air is fresh and brisk
+    like that of October at home, but later in the day when the sun is
+    higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade
+    where we can rest until the caravan arrives.
+
+    The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which says: "A road
+    is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this applies most
+    excellently to those of Yün-nan. The main caravan highways are paved
+    with huge stones to make them passable during the rainy season, but
+    after a few years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the
+    earth is washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible
+    angles. The result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch of imagination
+    can be called a road. Where the stones are still in place they have
+    been worn to such glasslike smoothness by the thousands of passing
+    mules that it is well-nigh impossible to walk upon them. As a result a
+    caravan avoids the paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes
+    dozens of deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.
+
+    We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire province
+    is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges which we crossed.
+    It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep mountain-sides, but once on
+    the ridges where the country is spread out below us like a great, green
+    relief map, there is a wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with
+    a joyous sense of freedom.
+
+    Yün-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the peaks about us
+    are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like mists still float about
+    the mountain tops when we climb into them, and we are suddenly
+    enveloped in a wet gray blanket which sends us shivering into the coats
+    tied to our saddles.
+
+For centuries this road has been one of the main trade arteries through the
+province, and with the total lack of conservation ideas so characteristic
+of the Chinese, every available bit of natural forest has been cut away. As
+a result the mountains are desert wastes of sandstone alternating with
+grass-covered hills sometimes clothed with groves of pines or spruces.
+These trees have all been planted, and ere they have reached a height of
+fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent demand for wood which is
+ever present with the Chinese.
+
+The ignorance of the need of forest conservation is an illuminating
+commentary on Chinese education. Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of Ta-li
+Fu, told us that one day he was riding over this same road with a Chinese
+gentleman, a deep scholar, who was considered one of the best educated men
+of the province. Pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil and
+deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked that all this could
+have been prevented, and that instead of a rocky waste there might have
+been a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow.
+
+The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts which every western
+schoolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was
+ignorant because they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox Chinese for
+"everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the past
+utterly neglectful of the present.
+
+Every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this, together
+with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for the almost
+total lack of animal life. Night after night we set traps about our temple
+camps only to find them untouched in the morning. There were no mammals
+with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus
+erythraeus_ sub sp.) and now and then a tree shrew (_Tupaia belangeri
+chinensis_).
+
+
+The latter is an interesting species. Although it is an Insectivore, and a
+relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs, it has
+squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is
+totally unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike tails of the
+ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed long bushy tails and in fact
+look and act so much like squirrels that it is difficult to convince the
+white residents of Yün-nan, who are accustomed to see them run about the
+hedges and walls of their courtyards that the two are quite unrelated.
+
+The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one of the most remarkable
+instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated animals with
+similar habits. A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that they
+represent a distinct group which is connected with the monkeys (lemurs).
+
+Although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. We were
+about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the winter
+swarm into Yün-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants are
+difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed in the game birds,
+for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road and
+virtually none were to be found.
+
+The main caravan roads of Yün-nan held little of interest for us as
+naturalists, but as students of native customs they were fascinating, for
+the life of the province passed before us in panoramic completeness.
+Chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels of utter and
+abandoned filth and although those of Yün-nan are no exception to the rule,
+they are considerably better than the coast cities.
+
+Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion with the human
+inmates of the houses, the pigs especially being treated as we favor dogs
+at home. On the door steps children play with the swine, patting and
+pounding them, and one of my friends said that he had actually seen a
+mother bring her baby to be nursed by a sow with her family of piglets.
+
+The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed to be industrious.
+Wherever the deforestation had left sufficient soil on the lower hillsides
+patches of corn took the place of the former poppy fields for opium. In
+1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting the growing of opium,
+and gave guarantees to the British that it would be entirely stamped out
+during the next ten years. Strangely enough these promises have been
+faithfully kept, and in Yün-nan the hillsides, which were once white with
+poppy blossoms, are now yellow with corn. In all our 2000 miles of riding
+over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way spots we found only
+one instance where opium was being cultivated.
+
+The mandarin of each district accompanied by a guard of soldiers makes
+periodical excursions during the seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts
+down the plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China deserves
+the greatest credit for so successfully dealing with a question which
+affects such a large part of her four hundred millions of people and which
+presents such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance.
+
+Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown freely and much is
+smuggled into Yün-nan. Therefore its use has by no means been abandoned,
+especially in the south of the province, and in some towns it is smoked
+openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just before we reached Yün-nan
+Fu there was an _exposé_ of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating
+side light on the corruption of some Chinese officials.
+
+Opium can be purchased in Yün-nan Fu for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce,
+while in Shanghai it is worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the Military
+Governor), the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother and three
+members of Parliament had collected six hundred pounds of opium which they
+undertook to transfer to Shanghai.
+
+Their request that no examination of their baggage be made by the French
+during their passage through Tonking was granted, and a similar favor was
+procured for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were safely landed, but
+a few hours later, through the opium combine, foreign detectives learned of
+the smuggling and the boxes were seized.
+
+The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the opium, as did the three
+Parliament members, and Governor Tang was not interrogated as that would be
+quite contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however, he will not
+receive reappointment when his official term expires.
+
+As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire road, we were amazed at
+the prevalence of goitre. At a conservative estimate two out of every five
+persons were suffering from the disease, some having two, or even three,
+globules of uneven size hanging from their throats. In one village six out
+of seven adults were affected, but apparently children under twelve or
+fourteen years are free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex.
+Probably the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking water, for
+it is most prevalent in the limestone regions and seems to be somewhat
+localized.
+
+Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them, "mountain schooners," in
+each of which a fat Chinaman sprawled while two or four sweating coolies
+bore him up hill. The chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo poles
+and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which is piled a heap of
+bedding. Overhead a light bamboo frame supports a piece of yellow oilcloth,
+which completely shuts in the occupant, except from the front and rear.
+
+The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even to ride, and if one is
+about to make an official visit nothing less than a four-man chair is
+required. Haste is just as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical
+exertion, and is utterly incomprehensible to the Chinese. Major Davies says
+that while he was in Tonking before the railroad to Yün-nan Fu had been
+constructed, M. Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indo-China, who was
+a very energetic man, rode to Yün-nan Fu in an extraordinarily short time.
+While the Europeans greatly admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must
+be in some difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of the
+Viceroy of Yün-nan could extricate him.
+
+In Yün-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding for the inns supply
+nothing but food, and consequently when a Chinaman rides from one city to
+another he piles a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on
+top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. The horses are
+trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and I know of no more
+ridiculous sight than a Chinaman bouncing along a road on the summit of a
+veritable mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers flying in
+every direction. He is assisted in keeping his balance by broad brass
+stirrups in which he usually hooks his heels and guides his horse by means
+of a rawhide bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make a
+comforting jingle whenever he moves.
+
+On the sixth day out when approaching the city of Chu-hsuing Fu we took a
+short cut through the fields leaving the caravan to follow the main road.
+The trail brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a bridge
+made from two narrow planks, with a wide median fissure. We led our horses
+across without trouble and Heller started to follow. He had reached the
+center of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped to one side,
+hung suspended on his belly for a moment, and toppled off into the water.
+
+The performance had all happened behind Heller's back and when he turned
+about in time to see his horse diving into the river, he stood looking down
+at him with a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust, while the
+animal climbed out and began to graze as quietly as though nothing had
+happened.
+
+Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss Cordelia Morgan, a
+niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia. We found her to be a most charming and
+determined young woman who had established a mission station in the city
+under considerable difficulties. The mandarin and other officials by no
+means wished to have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down
+among them and become a responsibility which might cause them endless
+trouble, and although she had rented a house before she arrived, the owner
+refused to allow her to move in.
+
+She could get no assistance from the mandarin and was forced to live for
+two months in a dirty Chinese inn, swarming with vermin, until they
+realized that she was determined not to be driven away. She eventually
+obtained a house and while she considers herself comfortable, I doubt if
+others would care to share her life unless they had an equal amount of
+determination and enthusiasm.
+
+At that time she had not placed her work under the charge of a mission
+board and was carrying it on independently. Until our arrival she had seen
+but one white person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon Chinese
+food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.
+
+We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the next morning as our
+caravan wound down the long hill past her house she stood at the window to
+wave good-by. She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if we
+could have seen her face we would have found tears upon it, for the evening
+with another woman of her kind had brought to her a breath of the old life
+which she had resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to her
+self-appointed exile.
+
+On our ninth day from Yün-nan Fu we had a welcome bit of excitement. We
+were climbing a long mountain trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high
+and were near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to the caravan,
+jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required fifteen minutes of questioning
+before we finally learned that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than
+a mile ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads.
+
+He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them and that they had
+killed two _mafus_; almost immediately a second gesticulating Chinaman
+appeared and gave the number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as
+five. Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt quite sure
+that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently learned that forty
+was the correct number and that no one had been killed.
+
+Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but we got out our
+rifles and made for a village at the top of the pass. There were not more
+than a half dozen mud houses and in the narrow street between them perfect
+bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to wait for us, and men,
+horses, loads, and chairs were packed and jammed together so tightly that
+it seemed impossible ever to extricate them. Our arrival added to the
+confusion, but leaving the _mafus_ to scream and chatter among themselves,
+we scouted ahead to learn the true condition of affairs.
+
+Almost within sight we found the caravan which had been robbed. Paper and
+cloth were strewn about, loads overturned, and loose mules wandered over
+the hillside. The frightened _mafus_ were straggling back and told us that
+about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the caravan, shooting and
+brandishing long knives. Instantly the _mafus_ had run for their lives
+leaving the brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. The goods chiefly
+belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang, and included some five
+thousand dollars worth of jade and gold dust, all of which was taken.
+
+Yün-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China, is infested with
+brigands who make traveling very unsafe. There are, of course, organized
+bands of robbers at all times, but these have been greatly augmented since
+the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who have taken to
+brigandage as the easiest means to avoid starvation.
+
+The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with the situation and
+makes only half-hearted attempts to punish even the most flagrant
+robberies, so that unguarded caravans carrying valuable material which
+arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves very lucky.
+
+So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel great apprehension
+for it was generally known that we carried but little money and our
+equipment, except for guns, could not readily be disposed of. Throughout
+the entire expedition we paid our _mafus_ and servants a part of their
+wages in advance when they were engaged, and arranged to have money sent by
+the mandarins or the British American Tobacco Co., to some large town which
+would be reached after several months. There the balance on salaries was
+paid and we carried with us only enough money for our daily needs.
+
+Before we left Yün-nan Fu we were assured by the Foreign Office that we
+would be furnished with a guard of soldiers--an honor few foreigners
+escape! The first day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These
+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered their official
+message to the _yamen_ and intrusted us to the care of others for our next
+day's journey.
+
+Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage of 1872, but their
+cartridges were seldom of the same caliber as the rifles and in most cases
+the ubiquitous umbrella was their only weapon. Just what good they would be
+in a real attack it is difficult to imagine, except to divert attention by
+breaking the speed limits in running away.
+
+Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped them but they
+always turned up in an hour or two. They were not so much a nuisance as an
+expense, for custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (Mexican) a day
+both going and returning. They are of some use in lending an official
+aspect to an expedition and in requisitioning anything which may be needed;
+also they act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed a claim
+can be entered against the government, whereas if the escort is refused the
+traveler has no redress.
+
+It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier way in which these
+men treat other caravans or the peasants along the road. Waving their arms
+and shouting oaths they shoo horses, mules or chairs out of the way
+regardless of the confusion into which the approaching caravan may be
+thrown. They must also be closely watched for they are none too honest and
+are prone to rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever
+they wish without the formality of payment.
+
+We were especially careful to respect the property on which we camped and
+to be just in all our dealings with the natives, but it was sometimes
+difficult to prevent the _mafus_ or soldiers from tearing down fences for
+firewood or committing similar depredations. Wherever such acts were
+discovered we made suitable payment and punished the offenders by deducting
+a part of their wages. Foreigners cannot respect too carefully the rights
+of the peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception which will be
+accorded to all others who follow in their footsteps.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+On Friday, September 23, we were at Chou Chou and camped in a picturesque
+little temple on the outskirts of the town. As the last stage was only six
+hours we spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the caravan
+and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early _tiffin_.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan, a large commercial
+town at the lower end of the lake. Its population largely consists of
+merchants and it is by all means the most important business place of
+interior Yün-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence and official
+city.
+
+At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner, Mr. Lui, to whom Mr.
+Bode, the salt inspector at Yün-nan Fu, had very kindly telegraphed money
+for my account, and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went on to Ta-li
+Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was so slippery that it was
+well-nigh impossible for either horse or man to move over it faster than a
+walk.
+
+This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern Yün-nan, the
+thermometer registering 85°+ in the shade, which is the usual mid-summer
+temperature, but the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it was
+cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the winter it is never very
+cold and its delightful summer should make Northern Yün-nan a wonderful
+health resort for the residents of fever-stricken Burma and Tonking.
+
+We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our right hand and on the
+other the Ts'ang Shan mountains which rise to a height of fourteen thousand
+feet. As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined against the
+foothills the slender shafts of three ancient pagodas. They were erected to
+the _feng-shui_, the spirits of the "earth, wind, and water," and for
+fifteen hundred years have stood guard over the stone graves which, in
+countless thousands, are spread along the foot of the mountains like a vast
+gray blanket. In the late afternoon sunlight the walls of the city seemed
+to recede before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and unreal even
+when we passed through its gloomy arch and clattered up the stone-paved
+street.
+
+We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H.G. Evans, agent of the British
+American Tobacco Company, to whose care our first caravan had been
+consigned, and he very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we
+were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr. Evans' assistance to
+the Expedition, for he acted as its banker throughout our stay in Yün-nan,
+cashing checks and transferring money for us whenever we needed funds.
+
+The British American Tobacco Company and the Standard Oil Company of New
+York are veritable "oases in the desert" for travelers because their
+agencies are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia and their
+employees are always ready to extend the cordial hospitality of the East to
+wandering foreigners.
+
+Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include the Reverend
+William J. Hanna, his wife and two other ladies, all of the China Inland
+Mission. Mr. Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along
+educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful little chapel, a
+large school, and a dispensary in connection with his house, where he and
+his wife are occupied every morning treating the minor ills of the natives,
+Christian and heathen alike.
+
+Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at the time of the
+Mohammedan war, when the Chinese captured the city through the treachery of
+its commander and turned the streets to rivers of blood. The Mohammedans
+were almost exterminated, and the ruined stone walls testify to the
+completeness of the Chinese devastation.
+
+The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt. He
+called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately asked if
+we had any shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun but no shells,
+and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to hint broadly at
+every opportunity.
+
+The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what they
+can make in "squeeze" from the natives of their district for reimbursement
+and a profit on their investment. In almost every case which is brought to
+them for adjustment the decision is withheld until the magistrate has
+learned which of the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a
+settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant, accepting this as the
+established custom, pays the bribe without a murmur if it is not too
+exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were
+dispensed in any other way.
+
+My personal relations with the various mandarins whom I was constantly
+required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and I was
+treated with great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were in China that
+there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant and
+official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the law,
+undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the
+republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a lesson in etiquette.
+The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary to conform to
+their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse,
+the fact that Western customs differ from their own.
+
+At the end of the reception room in every _yamen_ is a raised platform on
+which the visitor sits at the _left hand_ of the mandarin; it would be
+exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. Tea
+is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted until the
+official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to the lips with both
+hands. Usually when the magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the
+interview is ended. When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor to the
+doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually bows and protests
+asking him not to come so far.
+
+Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time
+investigating the shops. One important find was the panda (_Aelurus
+fulgens_). The panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but looks
+rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the "fire fox" because of
+its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were supposed to be exceedingly rare and we
+could hardly believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made from
+their skins hanging in the fur shops.
+
+Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, _Petaruista yunnanensis_, were
+also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was almost as great
+a surprise as the finding of the pandas. This is often true in the case of
+supposedly rare species. A few specimens may be obtained from the extreme
+limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for
+years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the
+proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant.
+
+We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (_Felis temmicki_) which, with
+the snow leopard (_Felis uncia_), it was said came from Tibet. Civets,
+bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and
+pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops. The scales of the
+pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of certain
+diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of
+deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows.
+
+Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in China by
+foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops. If a Chinaman discovers
+a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold mine
+to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed with an acid, and a
+phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain value as a tonic. When a
+considerable amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added its efficacy
+assumes double proportions.
+
+Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan from the southern
+part of the province along the Tonking border, but the good ones are
+quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).
+Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.
+
+Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century and, among other
+things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province. We
+were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and more
+heavily built than those of Yün-nan Fu and appear to be better in every
+way. A good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five dollars
+(Mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because
+they are considered better pack animals.
+
+On the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of Yün-nan we
+hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them outright, and
+subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course. Saddle ponies,
+which are used only for short trips about the city, cannot endure continual
+traveling over the execrable roads of the interior where often it is
+impossible to feed them properly. If an entire caravan were purchased the
+leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble with the _mafus_ to
+insure even ordinary care of the animals, an opportunity would be given for
+endless "squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other reasons too
+numerous to mention why in this province the plan is impracticable.
+
+However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to the limit. They are
+trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind another
+horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat or kick the
+beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the horse in
+front. On the first day out Heller, who was on a particularly bad animal,
+when trying to pass one of us began to cavort about like a circus rider,
+prancing from side to side and backward but never going forward. We shouted
+that we would wait for him to go on but he replied helplessly, "I can't,
+this horse isn't under my management," and we found very soon that our
+animals were not under our management either!
+
+In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the caravan with Wu and Heller:
+Wu stopped to buy a basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move
+ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a circle, ours followed,
+and in a few moments we were packed together so tightly that it was
+impossible even to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the huge delight of
+the villagers until rescued by a _mafu_. As soon as he led Wu's horse
+forward the others proceeded as quietly as lambs.
+
+We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal while traveling, and
+fifteen or twenty cents when in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in
+different parts of the province, and in the west and south, along the Burma
+border fifty cents is the usual price. When a caravan is engaged the
+necessary _mafus_ are included and they buy food for themselves and beans
+and hay for the animals.
+
+Ever since leaving Yün-nan Fu the cook we engaged at Paik-hoi had been a
+source of combined irritation and amusement. He was a lanky, effeminate
+gentleman who never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically and
+mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life. After five months in the
+field he appeared to be as helpless when the caravan camped for the night
+as when we first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until someone
+directed him what to do. But he was a good cook, when he wished to exert
+himself, and had the great asset of knowing a considerable amount of
+English. While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr. Evans overheard him relating his
+experiences on the road to several of the other servants. "Of course," said
+the cook, "it is a fine way to see the country, but the riding! My
+goodness, that's awful! After the third day I didn't know whether to go on
+or turn back--I was so sore I couldn't sit down even on a chair to say
+nothing of a horse!"
+
+He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see the country" that way
+for the day after we left Ta-li Fu _en route_ to the Tibetan frontier he
+became violently ill. Although we could find nothing the matter with him he
+made such a good case for himself that we believed he really was quite sick
+and treated him accordingly. The following morning, however, he sullenly
+refused to proceed, and we realized that his illness was of the mind rather
+than the body. As he had accepted two months' salary in advance and had
+already sent it to his wife in Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a
+certain amount of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its
+object and illness did not trouble him thereafter.
+
+The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition. Good meals
+and varied food must be provided if the personnel is to work at its highest
+efficiency and cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. In
+Yün-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no means easy to find and
+when our Paik-hoi gentleman finally left us upon our return to Ta-li Fu we
+were fortunate in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to take his place
+through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+We left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu and with a new
+caravan of twenty-five animals traveled northward for six days to Li-chiang
+Fu. By taking a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the pine
+forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was a total absence of
+animal life. The woods were beautiful, parklike stretches which in a
+country like California would be full of game, but here were silent and
+deserted. During the fourth and fifth days we were still in the forests,
+but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000 feet high and descended abruptly
+into a long marshy plain where at the far end were the gray outlines of
+Li-chiang dimly visible against the mountains.
+
+Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our camp, leaving Heller and
+my wife to follow. A few pages from her journal tell of their entry into
+the city.
+
+    We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the outskirts of
+    the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither Roy nor Wu was in
+    sight but we expected that the _mafus_ would ask where they had gone
+    and follow, for of course we could not speak a word of the language.
+    Already there was quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our
+    sudden appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement.
+    One old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and uttered
+    what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "Mon Dieu" of disagreeable
+    surprise.
+
+    I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to appreciate
+    our friendliness and in return merely stared with open mouths and eyes.
+    We halted and immediately the street was blocked by crowds of men,
+    women, and children who poured out of the houses, shops, and
+    cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention. When the caravan arrived we
+    moved on again expecting that the _mafus_ had learned where Roy had
+    gone, but they seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow
+    winding streets. Even though we did not find a camping place we
+    afforded the natives intense delight.
+
+    I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade at home, but
+    the most remarkable attraction there could not have equaled our
+    unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second excursion through the
+    town we passed down a cross-street, and suddenly from a courtyard at
+    the right we heard feminine voices speaking English.
+
+    "It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair, it's a
+    girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably
+    foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They were Mrs. A. Kok,
+    wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary, and two assistants, who
+    rushed into the street as soon as they had determined my sex and
+    literally "fell upon my neck." They had not seen a white woman since
+    their arrival there four years ago and it seemed to them that I had
+    suddenly dropped from the sky.
+
+    While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the camp. They had
+    chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled courtyard on the summit
+    of a hill overlooking the city. It was wonderfully clean and when our
+    beds, tables, and chairs were spread on the broad stone porch it seemed
+    like a real home.
+
+    The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller setting traps,
+    and I working at my photography. We let it be known that we would pay
+    well for specimens, and there was an almost uninterrupted procession of
+    men and boys carrying long sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats,
+    toads, and snakes. They would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm.
+    Our fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame
+    things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds, and I
+    even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two, for mothers
+    stood about with little brown kiddies on their backs as though they
+    really would like to offer them to us but hardly dared.
+
+    The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap, and hidden
+    under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe that his religious
+    vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and so he would
+    beckon Roy into the darkness of the temple with a most mysterious air,
+    and would extract all sorts of things from his sleeves just like a
+    sleight-of-hand performer. He was a rich man when we left!
+
+    The people are mostly tribesmen--Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans, and many
+    others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in front and with a long
+    plait in back. They wash their hair once--on their wedding day--and
+    then it is wrapped up in turbans for the rest of their lives. The
+    Tibetan women dress their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but I don't
+    believe there is any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves
+    either.
+
+Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never had a better one. On
+the morning after our arrival Heller found mammals in half his traps, and
+in the afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which brought us
+fifty mammals of eleven species. This was a wonderful relief after the many
+days of travel through country devoid of animal life.
+
+Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow voles, Asiatic
+white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels, and tree shrews. The small
+mammals were exceedingly abundant and easy to catch, but after the first
+day we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole our traps. We
+usually marked them with a bit of cotton, and the boys would follow an
+entire line down a hedge, taking every one. Sometimes they even brought
+specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught in our stolen traps!
+
+The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the grass where we found
+the "runways" or paths which mice, rats and voles often make. These animals
+begin to move about just after dark, and we usually would inspect our traps
+with a lantern about nine o'clock in the evening. This not only gave the
+trap a double chance to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens,
+for such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and almost every
+night, if the specimens were not taken out early in the evening, several
+would be partly eaten.
+
+Small mammals are often of much greater interest and importance
+scientifically than large ones, for, especially among the Insectivores,
+there are many primitive forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and
+throw light on the evolutionary history of other living groups.
+
+Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance for the Tibetans bring
+down vast quantities of skins for sale and trade. Lambs, goats, foxes,
+cats, civets, pandas, and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are
+dozens of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.
+
+This city is a most interesting place especially on market day, for its
+inhabitants represent many different tribes with but comparatively few
+Chinese. By far the greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who are
+semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally an independent
+race who ruled a considerable part of northern Yün-nan, and Li-chiang was
+their ancient capital. To the effeminate and "highly civilized" Chinese
+they are "barbarians," but we found them to be simple, honest and wholly
+delightful people. Many of those whom we met later had never seen a white
+woman, and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast to that
+of the Chinese who consider themselves so immeasurably their superior.
+
+The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle, and this is the one place
+in the Orient except in large cities along the coast, where we could obtain
+fresh milk and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered tea and _tsamba_
+(parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but they also grow quantities
+of delicious vegetables and fruit. Buttered tea is prepared by churning
+fresh butter into hot tea until the two have become well mixed. It is then
+thickened with finely ground _tsamba_ until a ball is formed which is eaten
+with the fingers. The combination is distinctly good when the ingredients
+are fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less said of it the
+better.
+
+The natives of this region are largely agriculturists and raise great
+quantities of squash, turnips, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn,
+peas, beans, oranges, pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling we filled
+our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or chestnuts and could
+replenish our stock at almost any village along the road.
+
+Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually about eight cents
+(Mexican) a dozen, and we could always purchase a chicken for an empty tin
+can, or two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest desideratum
+and when offers of money failed to induce a native to pose for the camera a
+bottle nearly always would decide matters in our favor.
+
+In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting only twelve miles
+north of the city on the Snow Mountain range, the highest peak of which
+rises 18,000 feet above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr. Kok's
+house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules to take us to the hunting
+grounds. Mr. Kok assisted us in numberless ways while we were in the
+vicinity of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took charge of
+all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned us money when it was
+difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu and helped us to engage servants and
+caravans.
+
+It had rained almost continually for five days and a dense gray curtain of
+fog hung far down in the valley, but on the morning of October 11 we awoke
+to find ourselves in another world. We were in a vast amphitheater of
+encircling mountains, white almost to their bases, rising ridge on ridge,
+like the foamy billows of a mighty ocean. At the north, silhouetted against
+the vivid blue of a cloudless sky, towered the great Snow Mountain, its
+jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning sun had kissed their
+summits. We rode toward it across a level rock-strewn plain and watched the
+fleecy clouds form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves
+in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. It was an inspiration, that
+beautiful mountain, lying so white and still in its cradle of dark green
+trees. Each hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its grandeur,
+and we were glad to be of the chosen few to look upon its sacred beauty.
+
+In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple which nestled into a
+grove of spruce trees on the outskirts of a straggling village. To the
+north the Snow Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and south a
+grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle undulations to a range of
+hills which jutted into the valley like a great recumbent dragon.
+
+A short time after our camp was established we had a visit from an Austrian
+botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti, who had been in the village for two
+weeks. He had come to Yün-nan for the Vienna Museum before the war,
+expecting to remain a year, but already had been there three. Surrounded as
+he was by Tibet, Burma, and Tonking, his only possible exit was by way of
+the four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had little money and for
+two years had been living on Chinese food. He dined with us in the evening,
+and his enjoyment of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other canned
+goods was almost pathetic.
+
+A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti left for Yün-nan Fu and
+eventually reached Shanghai which, however, became a closed port to him
+upon China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped that his
+collections, which must be of great scientific value and importance, have
+arrived at a place of safety long ere this book issues from the press.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+We hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain village. They were
+picturesque fellows, supposedly dressed in skins, but their garments were
+so ragged and patched that it was difficult to determine the original
+material of which they were made.
+
+One of them was armed with a most extraordinary gun which, it was said,
+came from Tibet. Its barrel was more than six feet long, and the stock was
+curved like a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in the side
+of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was fastened a forked spring.
+At his waist the man carried a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of
+which was placed in the crotched spring. When about to shoot the native
+placed the butt of the weapon against his cheek, pressed the spring so that
+the burning rope's end touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun.
+
+The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned arrows. They were
+remarkably good shots and at a distance of one hundred feet could place an
+arrow in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found later that
+crossbows are in common use throughout the more remote parts of Yün-nan and
+were only another evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the
+Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth century
+equipment, were anachronisms.
+
+The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game even with such primitive
+weapons for they depend largely upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to
+bay against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. The dogs are a
+mongrel breed which appears to be largely hound, and some are really
+excellent hunters. White is the usual color but a few are mixed black and
+brown, or fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos, owned a good pack and we all
+came to love its big red leader. This fine dog could be depended upon to
+dig out game if there was any in the mountains, but his life with us was
+short for he was killed by our first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable and
+the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for the loss of a faithful friend.
+
+Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we saw while passing through
+Chinese villages were nauseating in their unsightliness, for at least
+thirty per cent of them were more or less diseased. Barely able to walk,
+they would stagger across the street or lie in the gutter in indescribable
+filth. One longed to put them out of their misery with a bullet but,
+although they seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner
+appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.
+
+The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly good condition and there
+seemed to be comparatively little disease among them. Our hunters treated
+their hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves, although
+loyal to their masters, manifested but little affection. In Korea dogs are
+eaten by the natives, but none of the tribes with which we came in contact
+in Yün-nan used them for food.
+
+On our first day in the temple Heller went up the Snow Mountain for a
+reconnoissance and the party secured a fine porcupine. It is quite a
+different animal from the American tree porcupines and represents a genus
+(_Hystrix_) which is found in Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. This
+species lives in burrows and, when hunting big game, we were often greatly
+annoyed to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of these
+animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing about the burrow yelping
+excitedly instead of having a goral at bay as we had expected.
+
+Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills are more than twelve
+inches long and very sharp. A porcupine will keep an entire pack of dogs at
+bay and is almost sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies of
+some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short time. The Mosos eat the
+flesh which is white and fine.
+
+Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang the traps yielded four
+shrews and one mouse which were new to our collection. The natives brought
+in three bats which we had not previously seen and began a thriving
+business in toads and frogs with now and then a snake.
+
+The temple was an excellent place for small mammals but it was evident that
+we would have to move high up on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and
+other big game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while Heller prepared a
+number of bat skins we started out on horseback to hunt a camp site.
+
+It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly from a cloudless sky
+and just a touch of autumn snap in the air. We crossed the sloping
+rock-strewn plain to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which
+led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main peaks. An hour of
+steady climbing brought us to the summit of the ridge where we struck into
+the woods toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The trail led us along
+the brink of a steep escarpment from which we could look over the valley
+and away into the blue distance toward Li-chiang. Three thousand feet below
+us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering pine trees, and
+the herds of sheep and cattle massed themselves into moving patches on the
+smooth brown plain.
+
+We pushed our way through the spruce forest with the glistening snow bed as
+a beacon and suddenly emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the
+ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place to camp," we both
+exclaimed. "If we can only find water, let's come tomorrow."
+
+The hunters had assured us that there were no streams on this end of the
+mountain but we hoped to find a snow bank which would supply our camp for a
+few days at least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the grandeur of
+the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling very small and helpless amid
+surroundings where nature had so magnificently expressed herself.
+
+At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry creek bed which led upward
+through the dense spruce forest. "Where water has been, water may be
+again," we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way among the trees
+and over fallen logs to a fairly open hill slope where we attempted to
+ride, but our animals were nearly done. After climbing a few feet they
+stood with heaving sides and trembling legs, the breath rasping through
+distended nostrils. We felt the altitude almost as badly as the horses for
+the meadow itself was twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and
+the air was very thin.
+
+There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable snow bank when it was
+slowly borne in upon us that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound
+of water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined. Above and to
+the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet in height, and as we toiled
+upward and emerged beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver
+ribbon streaming down its face. It came from a melting snow crater and we
+could follow its course with our eyes to where it swung downward along a
+rock wall not far from the upper end of the meadow. It was so hidden by the
+trees that had we not climbed above timber line, it never would have been
+discovered.
+
+This solved the question of our camp and we looked about us happily. On the
+way through the forest we had noticed small mammal runways under almost
+every log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy slope was cut
+by an intricate network of tiny tunnels. These were plainly the work of a
+meadow vole (_Microtus_) and at this altitude it certainly would prove to
+be a species new to our collection.
+
+The sun had already dropped behind the mountain and the meadow was in
+shadow when we reached it again on our homeward way. By five o'clock we
+were in the temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations for an
+early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the morning three of the mules
+had strayed, and we did not arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the
+afternoon.
+
+Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce forest a few hundred yards
+from the snow stream. As soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy
+slope above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of traps in the vole
+runways and under logs and stumps in the forest.
+
+The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a short distance away and
+slept in their ragged clothes without a blanket or shelter of any kind. It
+was delightfully warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was out, but as
+soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and the nights were freezing cold;
+yet the natives did not seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our
+offer of a canvas tent fly.
+
+We never will forget that first night on the Snow Mountain. As we sat at
+dinner about the campfire we could see the somber mass of the forest losing
+itself in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of the mighty peaks
+standing guard about our mountain home. We slept, breathing the strong,
+sweet perfume of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering
+alone through the forest opening the treasure boxes of the Wild.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+We were awakened before daylight by Wu's long drawn call to the hunters,
+"_L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o_." The steady drum of rain on our
+tent shot a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened my eyes, but
+before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags and dressed it lessened to a
+gentle patter and soon ceased altogether. It left a cold, gray morning with
+dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but, nevertheless, I
+decided to go out with the hunters to try for goral.
+
+Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a high rock shoulder
+sparsely covered with scrub spruce while I went up the opposite slope
+accompanied by the other two. We had not been away from camp half an hour
+when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately we heard them coming
+around the summit of the ridge in our direction. The hunters made frantic
+signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the thin air with my heart
+pounding like a trip hammer I could not go faster than a walk.
+
+We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly the dogs appeared on the
+side of the cliff near the summit. Just in front of them was a bounding
+gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs and animals but ten
+minutes later a blessed gust of wind drifted the fog away and the goral was
+indistinctly visible with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. The big
+red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for a nip at the animal's
+throat but was kept at bay by its vicious lunges and sharp horns.
+
+It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud was drifting in again
+and I dropped down for a shot. The hunters were running up the slope,
+frantically waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot at that
+distance. I could just see the gray form through the sights and the first
+two shots spattered the loose rock about a foot low. For the third I got a
+dead rest over a stone and as the crash of the little Mannlicher echoed up
+the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air whirling over and over onto
+the rocks below.
+
+The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill and down into the
+stream bed, and when I arrived the goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the
+water. The animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through its
+lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed on the rocks, its
+horns were uninjured and the beautiful gray coat was in perfect condition.
+It so happened that this ram was the largest which we killed on the entire
+trip.
+
+When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp we met Yvette and Heller
+on their way to visit the traps just below snow line, and she returned with
+me to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies which I knew would
+be performed. One of the natives cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon
+it and at the first cut chanted a prayer. Then laying several leaves one
+upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart, wrapped it carefully in
+the leaves and placed it in a nearby tree as an offering to the God of the
+Hunt.
+
+I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters perform similar ceremonies
+at the death of an animal, and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate
+the God of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting in Korea in 1912, and
+also in other parts of China, if luck had been against us for a few days
+the hunters would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some animal to
+sacrifice for "good joss."
+
+After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood we again climbed the
+cliff at the end of the meadow. When we were nearly 2,000 feet above camp
+the clouds shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped itself
+about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for it to drift away.
+
+After an hour the fog began to thin and the men sent the hounds toward a
+talus slope at the base of the highest peak. Almost immediately the big red
+dog picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with the pack
+yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly as possible over such hard
+going but before we reached the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp
+pinnacle and disappeared far below us. Expecting that the goral would swing
+about the base of the peak the hunters sent me back across the talus to
+watch for a shot, but the animal ran down the valley and into a heavily
+wooded ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance above
+camp.
+
+I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich haul from the traps. As
+we supposed, the runways which Yvette and I had discovered above timber
+line were made by a meadow vole (_Microtus_) and in the forest almost every
+trap had caught a white-footed mouse (_Apodemus_). He also had several new
+shrews and we caught eight different species of these important little
+animals at this one camp.
+
+Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came to me one day in
+great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese dictionary. He had looked up the
+word "shrew" and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"
+
+The following day Heller went out with the hunters and saw two gorals but
+did not get a shot. In the meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and prepared
+the small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side, Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with ropes and an alpine snow ax. He was
+about to attempt to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended
+but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet from the summit. He
+dined at our camp and as all of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we
+spent a very pleasant evening. During his three years in Yün-nan he had
+explored and mapped many sections of the province which had not been
+visited previously by foreigners and from him we obtained much valuable
+information.
+
+On the third morning we were up before daylight and I left with the hunters
+in the gray dawn. We climbed steadily for an hour after leaving camp and,
+when well up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak through
+a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets, emerging upon a steep
+grassy meadow; this abutted on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and
+below ran into a thick evergreen forest.
+
+As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog, trotted off by himself
+toward the rock wall above us, and in a few moments we heard his sharp
+yelps near the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing out in a long
+line up the hillside.
+
+We had nearly crossed the open slope and were standing on the edge of a
+deep gully when the dogs gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure
+they were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom of the gorge and
+began the sharp ascent on the other side. It was almost straight up and
+before we had gone a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my
+legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of the dogs sounding
+closer and closer kept us going.
+
+When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill I was absolutely done. I
+lay flat on my back for a few minutes and got to my knees just as the goral
+appeared on the opposite cliff. The sight of the magnificent animal
+bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet seemed hardly to touch down
+the face of a sheer wall, will remain in my memory as long as I live. He
+seemed the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks and crags,
+vibrant with the breath of the clouds. Selecting a spot which he must touch
+in the next flying leap, I waited until his body darkened the sights and
+then pulled the trigger.
+
+The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to his feet, and with a
+tremendous leap landed on a projecting shelf of rock four yards below.
+Instantly I fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass not two
+feet from the edge of the precipice which fell away in a dizzy drop of six
+hundred feet.
+
+The dogs were on him long before we had worked our way down the cañon and
+up to the shelf where he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as the
+first one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they were very tired
+from their two days of hunting, so I decided to return to camp with the
+men. On the way a second goral was started but it swung about the summit of
+the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction, giving one of the
+hunters a shot with his crossbow, which he missed.
+
+It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear and blue but the clouds
+still lay thickly over the meadow and the camp was invisible. The billowy
+masses clung to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we could
+look far across the valley into the blue distance where the snow-covered
+summits of range after range of magnificent mountains lay shining in the
+sun like beaten silver. There was a strange fascination about those
+mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that for twelve long months I
+was free to roam where I willed and explore their hidden mysteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns. Their hair was thick and
+soft, pale olive-buff tipped with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon
+bones" were buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. Their color
+made them practically invisible against the rocks and when I killed the
+second goral my only distinct impression as he dashed down the face of the
+precipice, was of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body which
+I could hardly see.
+
+This invisibility, combined with the fact that the Snow Mountain gorals
+lived on almost inaccessible cliffs thickly covered with scrub spruce
+forest, made "still hunting" impossible. In fact, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,
+who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains fairly thoroughly in his
+search for plants, had never seen a goral, and did not know that such an
+animal existed there.
+
+Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although he saw several
+gorals, he was not successful in getting one until we had been in camp
+almost a week. His was a young male not more than a year old with horns
+about an inch long. It was a valuable addition to our collection for I was
+anxious to obtain specimens of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat
+group" in the Museum and we lacked only a female.
+
+The preparation of the group required the greatest care and study. First,
+we selected a proper spot to reproduce in the Museum, and Yvette took a
+series of natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting the
+background. Next she made detail photographs of the surroundings. Then we
+collected portions of the rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss
+and leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. In a large group,
+perhaps several thousand leaves will be required, but the field naturalist
+need select typical specimens of only five or six different sizes from each
+of which a plaster mold can be made at the Museum and the leaves reproduced
+in wax.
+
+After two days of rain during which I had a hard and unsuccessful hunt for
+serows we decided to return to the temple at the foot of the mountain which
+was nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We had already been
+in our camp on the meadow for nine days and, besides the gorals, had
+gathered a large and valuable collection of small mammals. The shrews were
+especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series of meadow
+voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained a new weasel and a single
+specimen of a tiny rock-cony or little chief hare, an Asiatic genus
+(_Ochotona_) which is also found in the western part of North America on
+the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Although we set dozens of traps
+among the rocks we did not get another on the entire expedition nor did we
+see indications of their presence in other localities.
+
+The almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great
+surprise. Except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that
+foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though food
+was abundant.
+
+On the day before we went to the temple I had a magnificent hunt. We left
+camp at daylight in a heavy fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow
+trail. We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the upper edge of a
+little meadow and expected the animal to break cover any moment, but it
+turned down the mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce
+woods.
+
+We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were well above the clouds,
+which lay in a thick white blanket over the camp, and headed for the cañon
+where I had shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go lower down into the
+forests but I prevailed upon him to stay along the open slopes and, while
+we were resting, the big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and
+to the right of us. It was in the exact spot where my second goral had been
+started and we were on the _qui vive_ when the rest of the pack dashed up
+the mountain-side to join their leader.
+
+In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard them swinging about in
+our direction. Just then the clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank
+below us, began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the cañon. On
+and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps of the dogs. I was trembling
+with impatience and swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the
+gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the ravine, until we were
+enveloped so completely that I could hardly see the length of my gun
+barrel. A moment later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff not a
+hundred yards away.
+
+With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each hoof beat and the
+stones which his flying feet sent rattling into the gorge. Then the dogs
+came past, and we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing
+fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The goral was lost, and as
+though the Fates were laughing at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind
+sucked the cloud out of the cañon as swiftly as it had come, and above us
+shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.
+
+Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I had loaned him my
+three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .303 Savage) and he was as excited as a
+child with a new toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered the
+safety catches in a short time even though he had never before seen a
+breach-loading gun.
+
+There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain for the dogs might
+bring the goral to bay on one of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes
+we stood on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest. One of
+the hunters picked his way down the rock wall while Hotenfa and I circled
+the top of the spur.
+
+We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter shouted that a goral was
+running in our direction. Hotenfa reached the edge of the ridge before me,
+and I saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which disappeared
+into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt only a few feet behind the
+animal although it must have been well beyond a hundred yards and almost
+straight below us.
+
+Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other hunter brought us again
+to the edge of the cliff just in time to see a second goral dash into the
+forest a good three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the gorge.
+
+Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and Hotenfa made signs
+which said as plainly as words, "I told you so. The gorals are not on the
+peaks but down in the forest. We ought to have come here first."
+
+There were not many moments for regret, however, for this was "our busy
+day." Suddenly a burst of frantic yelps from the red dog turned us off to
+the left and we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which we had just
+left. One of the other hunters was standing there and his crossbow twanged
+as the goral passed only a few yards from him, but the wicked little
+poisoned dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches above the animal's
+back.
+
+The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the second hunter who was
+too surprised to shoot and only yelled that it was coming toward us on the
+cliff below. Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat himself,
+and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting shelf which overhung the
+gorge.
+
+We reached the rim at the same moment and saw a huge ram standing on a
+narrow ledge a hundred yards below. I fired instantly and the noble animal,
+with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched himself into space
+falling six hundred feet to the rocks beneath us.
+
+As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to go insane. Yelling with joy,
+he threw his arms about my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me
+on the back until I thought he would throw us both off the cliff. I was
+utterly dumfounded but seized his three-barrel gun to unload it for in his
+excitement there was imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or
+me.
+
+Then I realized what it was all about. We had both fired simultaneously and
+neither had heard the other's shot. By mistake Hotenfa had discharged a
+load of buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the goral but his
+joy was so great that I would not for anything have disillusioned him.
+
+It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place where the goral had
+fallen. The dogs were already there lying quietly beside the animal when we
+arrived. My bullet had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and
+ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself against the breast bone;
+the jacket had split, one piece tearing into the heart, so that the ram was
+probably dead before it struck the rocks.
+
+I photographed the goral where it lay and after it had been eviscerated,
+and the hunters had performed their ceremonies to the God of the Hunt, I
+sent one of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked toward the bottom
+of the cañon in the hope of finding the other animals.
+
+It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me in his vivid sign
+language that the gorals were likely to be asleep on the sunny side of the
+ravine; therefore we worked up the opposite slope.
+
+It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours we plodded steadily
+upward, clinging by feet and hands to bushes and rocks, and were almost
+exhausted when we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds of
+the way to the summit.
+
+We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin, toiled on again. I
+had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa was still sitting down, when I saw
+him wave his arm excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped down to
+his side just as he fired at a big female goral which was sound asleep in
+an open patch of grass on the mountain-side.
+
+Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the knee but without the
+slightest sign of injury she dashed down the cliff. I fired as she ran,
+striking her squarely in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the
+bushes a hundred feet below.
+
+How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the summit of the ridge I never
+can understand, for with a light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all I
+could do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely done when we
+finally threw ourselves on the grass at the edge of the meadow which we had
+left in the morning. Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the goral,
+but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for my bullet had smashed the
+heart to a pulp.
+
+On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead tired, disappeared alone
+into the heavy forest below us. Suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up
+the hill in our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens and ran to an
+opening in the forest where we thought the animal must pass.
+
+Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared higher up at the
+heels of a crested muntjac (_Elaphodus_), which was bounding along at full
+speed, its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish back. I had
+one chance for a shot at about one hundred and fifty yards as the pair
+crossed a little opening in the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot
+for, had I missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been killed.
+
+I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is an exceedingly rare
+species, but a few days later a shepherd brought in another which had been
+wounded by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the plains to die.
+
+When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out to meet us, falling over
+logs and bushes in her eagerness to see what we were carrying. No dinner
+which I have ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak that
+night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping bag, dead tired in body
+but with a happy heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+On October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain and camped in the
+temple which we had formerly occupied. This was directly below the forests
+inhabited by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively
+toward obtaining a representative series of these animals.
+
+Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the palm of my right hand
+almost immediately, and had it not been for the devoted care of my wife I
+should not have left China alive. Through terrible nights of delirium when
+the poison was threatening to spread over my entire body, she nursed me
+with an utter disregard of her own health and slept only during a few
+restless hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I could do no work
+but at last was able to bend my "trigger finger" and resume hunting
+although I did not entirely recover the use of my hand for several months.
+
+However, the work of the expedition by no means ceased because of my
+illness. Mr. Heller continued to collect small mammals with great energy
+and the day after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new native
+hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit from the independent tribe of
+S'suchuan and they proved to be excellent men.
+
+The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our third day in the
+temple. Heller went out with the hunters but in a few hours returned alone.
+A short time after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail of a
+huge serow and followed it for three miles through the spruce forest. They
+finally brought the animal to bay against a cliff and a furious fight
+ensued. One dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust in the
+side, and the big red leader was thrown over a cliff to the rocks below.
+More of the hounds undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters
+arrived and shot the animal.
+
+The men brought the serow in late at night but our joy was considerably
+dampened by the loss of the red dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms and
+laid him gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal died
+during the night. His master cried like a child and I am sure that he felt
+more real sorrow than he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for
+wives are much easier to get in China than good hunting dogs.
+
+The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from fighting, and had lost one
+horn by falling over a cliff when he was killed. He was brownish black,
+with rusty red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was nine and
+three-quarters inches in length and five and three-quarters inches in
+circumference at the base and the effectiveness with which he had used his
+horns against the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means only for
+ornaments. In the next chapter the habits and relationships of the gorals
+and serows will be considered more fully.
+
+On the morning following the capture of the first serow the last rain of
+the season began and continued for nine days almost without ceasing. The
+weather made hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so thickly
+over the woods that one could not see a hundred feet and Heller found that
+many of his small traps were sprung by the raindrops. The Lolos had
+disappeared, and we believed that they had returned to their village, but
+they had been hunting in spite of the weather and on the fifth day arrived
+with a fine male serow in perfect condition. It showed a most interesting
+color variation for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with hardly a
+tinge of reddish.
+
+November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless sky and during the
+remainder of the winter we had as perfect weather as one could wish.
+Yvette's constant nursing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion
+of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread of the poison in my hand and
+my nights were no longer haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but
+I was as helpless as a babe. I could do nothing but sit with steaming
+cloths wrapped about my arm and rail at the fate which kept me useless in
+the temple.
+
+The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just above our camp but the
+animal fell into a rock fissure more than a hundred feet deep and was
+recovered only after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging ladder from
+tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the serow bodily up the cliff; as it
+weighed nearly three hundred pounds this was by no means an easy
+undertaking.
+
+Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led by a slender young chief
+with patrician features who ruled his village like an autocrat with
+absolute power of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people who at one
+time probably occupied much of the region south of the Yangtze River but
+were pushed south and west by the Chinese and, except in one instance, now
+exist only in scattered units in the provinces of Kwei-chau and Yün-nan.
+
+In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which is absolutely closed to
+the Chinese on pain of death and over which they exercise no control.
+Several expeditions have been launched against the Lolos but all have ended
+in disaster.
+
+Only a few weeks before we arrived in Yün-nan a number of Chinese soldiers
+butchered nearly a hundred Lolos whom they had encountered outside the
+independent territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned several villages
+almost under the walls of a fortified city in which were five hundred
+soldiers, massacred all the men and boys, and carried off the women as
+slaves.
+
+The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with comparatively fair
+complexions, and often with straight features, suggesting a mixture of
+Mongolian with some more straight-featured race. Their appearance marks
+them as closely connected by race with the eastern Tibetans, the latter
+being, if anything, rather the bigger men of the two." [Footnote: "Yün-nan,
+the Link between India and the Yangtze," by Major H.R. Davies, 1909, p.
+389.] They are great wanderers and over a very large part of Yün-nan form
+the bulk of the hill population, being the most numerous of all the
+non-Chinese tribes in the province.
+
+
+Like almost every race which has been conquered by the Chinese or has come
+into continual contact with them for a few generations, the Lolos of
+Yün-nan, where they are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the
+Chinese. We found, as did Major Davies, that in some instances they were
+giving up their language and beginning to talk Chinese even among
+themselves. The women already had begun to tie up their feet in the Chinese
+fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.
+
+Those whom we employed were living entirely by hunting and, although we
+found them amiable enough, they were exceedingly independent. They
+preferred to hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased chance
+for game our high-power rifles gave them, and eventually left us while I
+was away on a short trip, even though we still owed them considerable
+money.
+
+The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of Yün-nan. Major Davies
+has considered this question in his valuable book to which I have already
+referred, and I cannot do better than quote his remarks here.
+
+    The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western
+    China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in
+    that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the
+    world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are
+    to be heard in the country which lies between Assam and the eastern
+    border of Yün-nan and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of
+    this region.
+
+    The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical
+    characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges and the
+    deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the differences in
+    customs and language, and the innumerable tribal distinctions, which
+    are so perplexing to the enquirer into Indo-Chinese ethnology.
+
+    A tribe has entered Yün-nan from their original Himalayan or Tibetan
+    home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land they have
+    settled on not equal to their wants. The natural result has been the
+    emigration of part of the colony. The emigrants, having surmounted
+    pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts,
+    have found a new place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to
+    undertake such a journey again to revisit their old home.
+
+    Being without a written character in which to preserve their
+    traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside world,
+    and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support themselves, the
+    recollection of their connection with their original ancestors has died
+    out. It is not then surprising that they should now consider themselves
+    a totally distinct race from the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and
+    the practice of slave raiding so common among the wilder members of the
+    Indo-Chinese family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In
+    fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for
+    hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the
+    languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to each
+    other the marked general resemblance which is still to be found.
+
+    The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good means
+    of communication have also naturally militated against the formation of
+    any large kingdoms with effective control over the mountainous
+    districts. Directly we get to a flat country with good roads and
+    navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions disappear, and the
+    whole of the inhabitants are welded into a homogeneous people under a
+    settled government, speaking one language.
+
+    Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the same
+    everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will find one language
+    spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same length in
+    the hilly country to the east or to the west of the Irrawaddy valley
+    would bring him into contact with twenty mutually unintelligible
+    tongues.
+
+    The same state of things applies to Siam and Tong-king--one nation
+    speaking one language in the flat country and a Tower of Babel in the
+    hills (_loc. cit._, pp. 332-333).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Gorals and serows belong to the subfamily _Rupicaprinae_ which is an early
+mountain-living offshoot of the _Bovidae_; it also includes the chamois,
+takin, and the so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America. The animals are
+commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in order to express the
+intermediate position which they apparently hold between the goats and
+antelopes. They are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine antelopes from
+the scientific name of the chamois (_Rupicapra_).
+
+The horns of all members of the group are finely ridged, subcylindrical and
+are present in both sexes, being almost as long in the female as in the
+male. Although no one would suspect that the gorals are more closely
+related to the takins than to the serows, which they resemble
+superficially, such seems to be the case, but the cranial differences
+between the two genera are to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of
+the small Japanese serow (_Capricornulus crispus_). This species is most
+interesting because of its intermediate position. In size it is larger than
+a goral but smaller than a serow; its long coat and its horns resemble
+those of a goral but it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. It is
+found in Japan, Manchuria and southern Siberia.
+
+The principal external difference between the gorals and serows, besides
+that of size, is in the fact that the serows have a short tail and a well
+developed face gland, which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice,
+while the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.
+
+In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are similar to some
+of the antelopes but in their clumsy build, heavy limbs and stout
+hoofs as well as in habits they resemble goats. The serow has a long,
+melancholy-looking face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese in
+Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey" but in Yün-nan it is
+called "wild cow."
+
+The specific relationships of the serows are by no means satisfactorily
+determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent of the London Zoölogical Society's
+Gardens, has recently devoted considerable study to the serows of British
+India and considers them all to be races of the single species _Capricornis
+sumatrensis_. With this opinion I am inclined to agree, although I have not
+yet had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject in the
+light of our new material.
+
+These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration, and fall into
+three groups all of which partake more or less of the characters of each
+other. Chinese serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in
+Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern Burma and Malayan
+forms.
+
+The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain can probably be referred
+to _Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, those of Fukien obtained by
+Mr. Caldwell represent the white-maned serow _Capricornis sumatrensis
+argyrochaetes_ and one which I shot in May, 1917, near Teng-yueh, not far
+from the Burma frontier, is apparently an undescribed form.
+
+Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable individual
+variation exists in the color of the legs of these animals; this character
+was considered to be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree,
+but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed to be.
+
+Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain have the lower legs rusty
+red, while in two others these parts are buff colored. The animals, all
+males of nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain, and
+virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no important differences
+and there is no reason to believe that they represent anything but an
+extreme individual variation.
+
+The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping are even more
+surprising. The old female is coal black, but the young male is distinctly
+brownish-black with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along the
+mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a ridge. The horns of the
+female are nearly parallel for half their extent and approach each other at
+the tips; their surfaces are remarkably smooth. The horns of the young male
+diverge like a V from the skull and are very heavily ridged. The latter
+character is undoubtedly due to youth.
+
+These serows are an excellent example of the necessity for collecting a
+large number of specimens from the same locality. Only by this means is it
+possible to learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual
+variation and what are its really important characters. In the case of the
+gorals, our Expedition obtained at Hui-yao such a splendid series of all
+ages that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent study. Serows
+are entirely Asian and found in China, Japan, India, Sumatra and the Malay
+Peninsula.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly at altitudes of from 9,000
+to 13,000 feet in dense spruce forests, among the cliffs. The animals
+seemed to be fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were
+constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive use.
+Apparently serows seldom come out into the open, but feed on leaves and
+grass while in the thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill
+them without the aid of dogs or beaters.
+
+Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or four miles, and
+eventually lose them or it may turn at bay and fight the pack after only a
+short chase; a large serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds
+if in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back. The animal can use
+its strong curved horns with deadly effect for it is remarkably agile for a
+beast of its size.
+
+In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high mountain clothed with a
+dense jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was in quite different country from that
+which the animals inhabit in Yün-nan for although the cover was exceedingly
+thick it was without such high cliffs and there were extensive grassy
+meadows. We did not see any serows in Fukien because of the ignorance of
+our beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks. The natives said
+that in late September the animals could often be found in the forests of
+the lower mountain slopes when they came to browse upon the new grown
+mushrooms.
+
+Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin of a splendid female
+serow and a short time later obtained a young male. The latter was seen
+swimming across the river just below the city wall and was caught alive by
+the natives. The female weighed three hundred and ten pounds and the male
+two hundred and ninety pounds.
+
+Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather dangerous pets
+unless tamed when very young. We are reproducing a photograph taken and
+kindly loaned by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the Berlin
+Zoölogical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zoölogical Park at Calcutta and
+one from Darjeeling is owned by the London Zoölogical Society.
+
+Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the chamois. The species
+which we killed on the Snow Mountain can probably be referred to
+_Naemorhedus griseus_, but I have not yet had an opportunity to study our
+specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals have blackish brown
+tails which from the roots to the end of the hairs measure about 10 inches
+in length. The horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal
+half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The male horns are
+strongly recurved and are thick and round at the base but narrow rapidly to
+the tips; the female horns are straighter and more slender. The longest
+horns in the series which we received measured six inches in length and
+three and three-quarters inches in circumference at the base. Like the
+serows, gorals are confined to Asia and are found in northern India, Burma,
+and China, and northwards through Korea and southern Manchuria.
+
+We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain for in this particular
+region they could be killed in no other way. There was so much cover, even
+at altitudes of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so
+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still hunting" and never see a
+goral. They are vicious fighters, and often back up to a cliff where they
+can keep the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds while hunting
+alone, brought a goral to bay and was found dead next day by the hunters
+with its side ripped open.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly but at Hui-yao, not far
+from the Burma frontier, where we hunted another species in the spring,
+they were almost universally in herds of from six to seven or eight. It was
+at the latter place that we had our best opportunity to observe gorals and
+learn something of their habits. We were camping on the banks of a branch
+of the Shwelie River, which had cut a narrow gorge for itself; on one side
+this was seven or eight hundred feet deep. A herd of about fifty gorals had
+been living for many years on one of the mountain sides not far from the
+village, and although they were seen constantly the natives had no weapons
+with which to kill them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to
+shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred to four hundred
+yards.
+
+We could scan every inch of the hillside through our field glasses and
+watch the gorals as they moved about quite unconscious of our presence. At
+this place they were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low
+bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where the slopes had been
+partly burned over. We found them browsing from daylight until about nine
+o'clock, and from four in the afternoon until dark. They would move slowly
+among the bushes, picking off the new leaves, and usually about the middle
+of the morning would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon the
+rocks, and go to sleep.
+
+Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides, as do many hoofed
+animals, but doubled their forelegs under them, stretched their necks and
+hind legs straight out, and rested on their bellies. It was a most
+uncomfortable looking attitude, and the first time I saw an animal resting
+thus I thought it had been wounded, but both Mr. Heller and myself saw them
+repeatedly at other times, and realized that this was their natural
+position when asleep.
+
+When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or goats, they would run a
+short distance and stop to look back. This was usually their undoing, for
+they offered excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the sky.
+They were very difficult to see when lying down among the rocks, but our
+native hunters, who had most extraordinary eyesight, often would discover
+them when it was almost impossible for me to find them even with the field
+glasses. We never could be sure that there were no gorals on a
+mountainside, for they were adepts at hiding, and made use of a bunch of
+grass or the smallest crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it
+so completely that they seemed to have vanished from the earth.
+
+Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where it seemed impossible
+for any animal to move. I have seen a goral run down the face of a cliff
+which appeared to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared not
+venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock it would bounce off as
+though made of rubber, and leap eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which
+did not seem large enough to support a rabbit.
+
+The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is largely due to the
+animal's foot structure. Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn has investigated
+this matter in the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost equally
+well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote them here:
+
+    The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme front. Behind
+    this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which gives the horny hoof
+    a chance to get its hold. Both the main digits and the dewclaws
+    terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded and expanded soles, which are
+    of great service in securing a firm footing on the shelving rocks and
+    narrow ledges on which the animal travels with such ease. This sole,
+    Smith states, softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is
+    leaving the ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place.
+    The rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by no
+    means useless; they project back below the horny part of the hoof, and
+    Mr. Smith has actually observed the young captive goats supporting
+    themselves solely on their dewclaws on the edge of a roof. It is
+    probable that they are similarly used on the rocks and precipices,
+    since on a very narrow ledge they would serve favorably to alter the
+    center of gravity by enabling the limb to be extended somewhat farther
+    forward. [Footnote: "Mountain Goat Hunting with the Camera," by Henry
+    Fairfield Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth _Annual Report of the New
+    York Zoölogical Society_, 1906, pp. 13-14.]
+
+There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes at Hui-yao which the
+gorals must have used continually, judging by the way in which these were
+worn. We also found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on projecting
+ledges to indicate that these were definite resorts for numbers of the
+animals. Many which we saw were young or of varying ages running with the
+herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they had mastered the
+art of self-concealment even when hardly a year old. Although at Hui-yao
+almost all were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to be
+especially averse to water, and several times I watched wounded animals
+swim across the stream.
+
+Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little brutes inspire the
+sportsman with admiration, besides leading him over peaks which try his
+nerve to the utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my life the
+wonderful hunts in Yün-nan, far above the clouds, at the edge of the snow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+October had slipped into November when we left the temple and shifted camp
+to the other side of the Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It was a
+brilliant day and the ride up the valley could not have been more
+beautiful. Crossing the _gangheisa_ or "dry sea," a great grassy plain
+which was evidently a dry lake basin, we followed the trail into the forest
+and down the side of a deep cañon to a mountain stream where the waters
+spread themselves in a thin, green veil over a bed of white stones.
+
+We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the stream at the edge of
+the spruce forest. Above us towered the highest peak of the mountain, with
+a glacier nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered slopes
+extending in a glorious shining crescent about our camp. The moon was full,
+and each night as we sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned
+crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to purest silver at the
+touch of the white moonlight. We have had many camps in many lands but none
+more beautiful than the one at the "White Water."
+
+The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone in a cloudless blue sky
+and in the morning the ground was frozen hard and covered with snowlike
+frost, but the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that we could be
+happy at the "White Water" forever, but it did not prove to be as good a
+hunting ground as that on the other side of the mountain. The Lolos killed
+a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in a young goral a short
+time later, but big game was by no means abundant. At the "White Water" we
+obtained our first Lady Amherst's pheasant (_Thaumalea amherstiae_) one of
+the most remarkable species of a family containing the most beautiful birds
+of the world. The rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are made
+more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff about the neck. The first
+birds brought alive to England were two males which had been presented to
+the Countess Amherst after whom the species was named. We found this
+pheasant inhabiting thick forests where it is by no means easy to discover
+or shoot. It is fairly abundant in Yün-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan but
+its habits are not well known. Although the camp yielded several small
+mammals new to our collection, we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a
+new caravan for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller remained in
+camp.
+
+The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter than by way of the
+Snow Mountain village and at three o'clock in the afternoon our beloved
+"Temple of the Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city. As
+we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque gathering on the porch and
+heard the sound of many voices laughing and talking. The beautiful
+garden-like courtyard was filled with women and children of every age and
+description, and all the doors from one side of the temple had been
+removed, leaving a large open space where huge caldrons were boiling and
+steaming.
+
+We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the young priest was
+delighted to see us and insisted that we wait until Wu arrived. We were
+glad that we did not seek other quarters for we were to witness an
+interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of Chinese life. It
+seemed that about five years before a gentleman of Li-chiang had "shuffled
+off this mortal coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his mortal coil"
+certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited a few hundred dollars
+several years later and the village "astrologer" informed them that
+according to the _feng-shui_, or omnipotent spirits of the earth, wind, and
+water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's grave was ill-chosen and
+that if they ever hoped to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up,
+give the customary feast in his honor and have another burial site chosen.
+
+Every village has a "wise man" who is always called upon to select the
+resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to two
+thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's
+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether or not the spot
+will prove a propitious one and if the family later sell any property,
+receive a legacy, or are known to have obtained money in other ways, the
+astrologer usually finds that the _feng-shui_ do not favor the original
+place and he will exact another fee for choosing a second grave.
+
+The dead are never buried until the astrologer has named an auspicious day
+as well as an appropriate site, with the result that unburied coffins are
+to be seen in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in the
+back yards of many houses.
+
+Any interference by foreigners with this custom is liable to bring about
+dire results as in the case of the rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A number of
+French residents objected to a temple near by being used to store a score
+or more of bodies until a convenient time for burial and the result was the
+death of many people in the fighting which ensued. Mr. Tyler Dennet cites
+an amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling of the problem by a
+native mandarin in Yen-ping where we visited Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was the presence
+    of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate had a census taken of the
+    coffins above ground in the city and found that they actually numbered
+    sixteen thousand. The city itself is estimated to have only about
+    twenty thousand inhabitants.
+
+    It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily move in
+    such a way as to bring the whole city down about his head. But the
+    Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps the cleverest people on
+    earth. He finally devised a way out. A proclamation was issued levying
+    a tax of fifty cents on every unburied coffin. The Chinese may be
+    superstitious, but they are even more thrifty. For a few weeks Yen-ping
+    devoted itself to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little
+    city, one of the most isolated in China, can truly be said to be on the
+    road to health. [Footnote: "Doctoring China," by Tyler Dennet, _Asia_,
+    February, 1918, p. 114.]
+
+There are very few such progressive cities in China, however, and a
+missionary told us that recently a young child and his grandfather were
+buried on the same day although their deaths had been nearly fifty years
+apart. The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but it is the
+great ambition of every Chinese to have his resting place as near as
+possible to those of his ancestors. That is one of the reasons why they are
+so loath to emigrate.
+
+We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under the load of a heavy
+coffin, transporting a body sometimes a month's journey or more to bury it
+at the dead man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be fastened to the
+coffin for, according to the Yün-nan superstition, the spirit of the man
+enters the bird and is conveyed by it to his home.
+
+There is a strange absence of the fear of death among the Chinese. One
+often sees large planks of wood stored in a corner of a house and one is
+told that these are destined to become the coffins of the man's father or
+mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying the most robust
+health. Indeed, among the poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most
+fitting gift for a son to present to his father.
+
+We established our camp on the porch of the temple at Li-chiang and from
+its vantage point could watch the festivities going on about us. The
+feasting continued until after dark and at daylight the kettles were again
+steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.
+
+By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour later there came a partial
+stillness which was broken by a sudden burst of music (?) from Chinese
+violins and pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests standing about
+an improvised altar. The foot of the coffin was just visible in the midst
+of the paper decorations and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes of
+tempting food. These were meant as an offering to the spirit of the
+departed one, but we knew this would not prevent the sorrowing relatives
+from eating the food with much relish later on.
+
+In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting a figure clothed
+in white with a hood drawn over her face. She was bent nearly to the ground
+and muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her veil as she
+prostrated herself in front of the altar. For more than an hour this chief
+mourner, the wife of the deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure
+shaking with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. This same lady,
+however, moved about later among her guests an amiable hostess, with
+beaming countenance, the gayest of the gay. But every morning while the
+festivities lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate herself
+before the coffin and display heartrending grief in the presence of the
+unmoved spectators in order to satisfy the demands of "custom."
+
+Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities with the Chinese, and such
+a display of feigned emotion is required on certain prescribed occasions.
+As one missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all face and no
+heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night while passing down a deserted
+street in a Chinese village he was startled to hear the most piercing
+shrieks issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone was being murdered,
+he rushed through the courtyard only to find that a girl who was to be
+married the following day, according to Chinese custom, was displaying the
+most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her family, even though
+she probably was enchanted with the idea.
+
+On the third day of the celebration in the temple at Li-chiang the feasting
+ended in a burst of splendor. From one o'clock until far past sundown the
+friends and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any person could
+receive an invitation by bringing a small present, even if it were only a
+bowl of rice or a few hundred cash (ten or fifteen cents).
+
+All during the morning girls and women flocked up the hill with trays of
+gifts. There were many Mosos and other tribesmen among them as well as
+Chinese. The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the sides and
+hanging in long narrow plaits down their backs. They wore white leather
+capes (at least that was the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver
+and coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay with glowing red
+cheeks and laughing eyes they were decidedly attractive. The guests were
+seated in groups of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. Small boys
+acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of vegetables and huge straw
+platters heaped high with rice. As soon as each guest had stuffed himself
+to satisfaction he relinquished his place to someone else and the food was
+passed again. We were frequently pressed to eat with them and in the
+evening when the last guest had departed the "chief mourner" brought us
+some delicious fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that they had fed
+three hundred people during the day and we could well believe it. The next
+morning the coffin was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of
+anguished wails and we were left once more to the peace and quiet of our
+beautiful temple courtyard.
+
+Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for generations to come to
+provide a suitable funeral for one of its members, because to bury the dead
+without the proper display would not only be to "lose face" but subject
+them to the possible persecution of the angered spirits. This is only one
+of the pernicious results of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that
+most of the evils in China's social order today can be traced, directly or
+indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.
+
+A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants to worship at his grave
+and appease his spirit. The more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who
+walk in his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. As a
+missionary humorously says "the only law of God that ever has been obeyed
+in China is to be fruitful and multiply." Craving for progeny has brought
+into existence thousands upon thousands of human beings who exist on the
+very brink of starvation. Nowhere in the civilized world is there a more
+sordid and desperate struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty.
+But fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind breeding. The
+apparent atrophy of the entire race is due to ancestor worship which binds
+it with chains of iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these
+bonds are severed can China expect to take her place among the progressive
+nations of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+In mid-November we left the White Water with a caravan of twenty-six mules
+and horses. Following the road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze, we crossed
+the "Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several tremendous
+wooded ridges, each higher than the last, to the summit of the divide.
+
+The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine and spruce forest. Some
+of the trees were at least one hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped
+with beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from branch to branch and
+hung suspended in delicate streamers yards in length. The forest was choked
+with underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and the hundreds of
+fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss, made ideal conditions for small
+mammal collecting. However, as all the species would probably be similar to
+those we had obtained on the Snow Mountain, we did not feel that it was
+worth while stopping to trap.
+
+At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a beautiful hill in a pine
+forest which was absolutely devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was
+thinly overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso hunter, who
+acted as our guide, assured us that the river was only three miles away, it
+proved to be more than fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half
+past one the next afternoon.
+
+We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in China is, by the
+inaccuracy of the natives, and especially of the Chinese. Their ideas of
+distance are most extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it is to a
+certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen _li_ to go, but thirty
+_li_ when you come back." After a short experience one learns how to
+interpret such an answer, for it means that when going the road is down
+hill and that the return uphill will require double the time.
+
+Caravans are supposed to travel ten _li_ an hour, although they seldom do
+more than eight, and all calculations of distance are based upon time so
+far as the _mafus_ are concerned. If the day's march is eight hours you
+invariably will be informed that the distance is eighty _li_, although in
+reality it may not be half as great.
+
+In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith gives many illuminating
+observations on the inaccuracy of the Chinese. In regard to distance he
+says:
+
+    It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the distance
+    is given in "miles" (_li_), whether the "miles" are "large" or not!
+    That there is _some_ basis for estimates of distances we do not deny,
+    but what we do deny is that these estimates or measurements are either
+    accurate or uniform.
+
+    It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment one
+    leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become "long." If 120 _li_
+    constitute a fair day's journey on the main road, then on country roads
+    it will take fully as long to go 100 _li_, and in the mountains the
+    whole day will be spent in getting over 80 _li_ (p. 51).
+
+    In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of his oxen
+    gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains that he has
+    omitted to estimate the bones! A servant who was asked his height
+    mentioned a measure which was ridiculously inadequate to cover his
+    length, and upon being questioned admitted that he had left out of
+    account all above his shoulders! He had once been a soldier, where the
+    height of the men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of
+    burdens. And since a Chinese soldier is to all practical purposes
+    complete without his head, this was omitted.
+
+    Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who affirmed that
+    he lived "ninety _li_ from the city," but upon cross-examination he
+    consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning both to the city and
+    back, the real distance being as he admitted, only "forty-five _li_ one
+    way!" (p. 49) ...
+
+    The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads to much
+    vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few tens," or perhaps
+    "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate enumeration is one of the
+    rarest of experiences in China.... An acquaintance told the writer that
+    two men had spent "200 strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition,
+    adding a moment later, "It was 173 strings, but that is the same as
+    200--is it not?" (p. 54).
+
+    A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that he himself
+    "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious from his
+    narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city. Upon inquiry, he
+    admitted that he did not _now_ live in the village, and further
+    investigation revealed the fact that the removal took place nineteen
+    generations ago! "But do you not almost consider yourself a resident of
+    the city now?" he was asked. "Yes," he replied simply, "we do live
+    there now, but the old root is in that village."
+
+    ...The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a line of
+    assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed, and they
+    can ill comprehend the mania which seems to possess the Occidental to
+    ascertain everything with unerring exactness. The Chinese does not know
+    how many families there are in his native village, and he does not wish
+    to know. What any human being can want to know this number for is to
+    him an insoluble riddle. It is "a few hundred," "several hundreds," or
+    "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was and never
+    will be. (p. 55.)
+
+After breaking camp on the day following our departure from the "White
+Water" we rode along a broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in
+the late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one of the most
+impressive sights which China has to offer. At the left, and a thousand
+feet below, the mighty Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge
+almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been carved out of the
+solid rock, sharp and clean, with a giant's knife. A few miles to the right
+the mountains widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the river.
+Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys which stretch upward
+between the hills, is under cultivation, giving support for three villages,
+the largest of which is Taku.
+
+The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for miles where the
+river can be crossed. The south bank is so precipitous that the trail from
+the plain twists and turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow
+sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river is a vertical wall of
+rock which slopes back a little at the lower end to form a steep hillside
+covered with short grass. The landing place is a mass of jagged rocks
+fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the face of the
+cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by any loaded animal; therefore
+all the packs must be unstrapped and laboriously carted up the slope on the
+backs of the _mafus_.
+
+At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the boat, which carried only
+two animals and their packs, for the first trip across the river. It was
+difficult to get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved and
+actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the ferrymen first drew the
+craft along the rocks by a long rope, then climbed up the face of what
+appeared to be an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close
+beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the dory was worked well up
+stream and when pushed into the swift current was rowed diagonally to the
+other side.
+
+After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen decided to stop work
+although there was yet more than an hour of daylight and they could not be
+persuaded to cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an
+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do but camp where we were
+even though the greater part of our baggage was on the other side, with
+only the _mafus_ to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.
+
+About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a sandy cornfield on a
+level shelf just above the water, and pitched our tents. A slight wind was
+blowing and before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds, sand in
+our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller went down the river with a bag
+of traps while we set forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of
+goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of the day, we crawled
+into our sandy beds.
+
+At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported that the loads were safe
+but that one of the boatmen had gone to the village and no one knew when he
+would return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as breakfast was over
+and spent an aggravating hour trying by alternate threats and cajoling to
+persuade the remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. But it was
+useless, for the louder I swore the more frightened he became and he
+finally retired into a rock cave from which the _mafus_ had to drag him out
+bodily and drive him into the boat.
+
+The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten o'clock and we felt like
+beating them both, but Wu impressed upon us the necessity for patience if
+we ever expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed our wrath;
+nevertheless, we decided not to leave until the loads and mules were on the
+other side, and we ate a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand.
+
+Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty small mammals (one of which
+was a new rat) that our traps had yielded. We took a good many photographs
+and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of the _mafus_ to get
+the mules aboard. Some of them went in quietly enough but others absolutely
+refused to step into the boat. One of the _mafus_ would pull, another push,
+a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its feet singly over the
+side. With the accompaniment of yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the
+performance was picturesque to say the least.
+
+By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken across the racing green
+water and we had some time before dark in which to investigate the caverns
+with which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. They were of two
+kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves. The latter consist of a long
+central shaft, just high enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens
+into a circular room. Along the sides of the corridor shallow nests have
+been scooped out to serve as beds and all the cooking is done not far from
+the door. The caves, although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living
+quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling as the ordinary
+native house. The mines are straight shafts dug into the cliffs where the
+rock is quarried and crushed by hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+We left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail through an open pine and
+spruce forest along the rim of the Yangtze gorge where the view was
+magnificent. Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand Cañon for
+the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and then immediately begins to
+describe it. Thus it was with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of
+this titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in delicate tints of
+blue and purple; in others, the sides fell away in sheer drops of hundreds
+of feet to the green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand five
+hundred miles away.
+
+The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all day and we were left far
+behind, for at each turn a view more beautiful than the last opened out
+before us, and until every color plate and negative in the holders had been
+exposed we worked steadily with the camera.
+
+We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped region which Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti had skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and
+probably rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost bare
+mountain-sides we passed through a parklike spruce forest and reached
+Habala, a long thin village of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides
+of a narrow valley.
+
+Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after ridge of dense spruce
+forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned peak and cut by deep ravines, the
+gloomy depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky cliffs--a
+veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our camping place was a grassy lawn
+as flat and smooth as the putting green of a golf course. Just below the
+tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably to itself and a
+huge dead tree was lying crushed and broken for the camp fire.
+
+The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in half an hour and, after
+setting a line of traps, we wandered slowly back through the darkness
+guided by the brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow glow
+over our little table spread for dinner.
+
+We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and after dinner four or
+five picturesque Mosos appeared. They said that there were many serow,
+goral, muntjac and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and we
+could well believe it, for there was never a more "likely looking" spot.
+Although the men did not claim to be professional hunters, nevertheless
+they said that they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and other
+animals.
+
+They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about two hours late, which was
+doing fairly well for natives. It was a brilliant day just warm enough for
+comfort in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However it did not
+take many hours to demonstrate that the men knew almost nothing about
+hunting and that their dogs were useless. Because of the dense cover "still
+hunting" was out of the question and, after a hard climb, we returned to
+camp to spend the remainder of the afternoon developing photographs and
+preparing small mammals.
+
+Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver mole as well as a
+number of mice, rats, and meadow voles of species identical with those
+taken on the Snow Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze
+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution of even the
+smallest forms and that the region in which we were now working would not
+produce a different fauna. This was an important discovery from the
+standpoint of our distribution records but was also somewhat disappointing.
+
+The photographic work already had yielded excellent results. The Paget
+color plates were especially beautiful and the fact that everything was
+developed in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality of each
+negative.
+
+For this work the portable dark room was invaluable. It could be quickly
+erected and suspended from a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and
+offered an absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates. The
+moving-picture film required special treatment because of its size and we
+usually fastened in the servants' tent the red lining which had been made
+for this purpose in New York. Even then the space was so cramped that we
+were dead tired at the end of a few hours' work.
+
+One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and sees moving-picture film
+which has been obtained in such remote parts of the world does not realize
+the difficulties in its preparation. The water for developing almost
+invariably was dirty and in order to insure even a moderately clear film it
+always had to be strained. For washing the negative pailful after pailful
+had to be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the film exposed
+for hours to the carelessness or curiosity of the natives. In our cramped
+quarters perhaps a corner of the tent would be pushed open admitting a
+stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to work, leaving us
+in complete darkness to finish the developing "by guess and by gosh," or
+any number of other accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we could not
+develop more than three hundred feet in an afternoon and we never breathed
+freely until it finally was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.
+
+We left Habala, on November 23, for a village called Phete where the
+natives had assured us we would find good hunters with dogs. For almost the
+entire distance the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and there the
+view of the great chasm was even more magnificent than that we had left.
+While its sides are not fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer
+than those of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado, nevertheless its grandeur is
+hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring. If Yün-nan is ever made accessible
+by railroads this gorge should become a Mecca for tourists, for it is
+without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights in the world.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three clusters of houses on a
+tableland which juts into a chasm cut by a tributary of the great river.
+One of them was Phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in half
+an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously around the hillside,
+down to the stream and up again that it was an hour and a half before we
+found a camping place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the nearest
+houses.
+
+Next day we could not go to the village to find hunters until mid-forenoon
+because the natives of this region are very late risers and often have not
+yet opened their doors at ten o'clock. This is quite contrary to the custom
+in many other parts of China where the inhabitants are about their work in
+the first light of dawn.
+
+The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and every available inch
+of level ground is under cultivation with corn and a few rice paddys near
+the creek; the latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected to
+find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly picturesque but
+never have we met people of such utter and hopeless stupidity as its
+inhabitants. They were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a smile
+and salutation, but their brains seemed not to have kept pace with their
+bodies and when asked the simplest question they would only stare stupidly
+without the slightest glimmering of intelligence.
+
+It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more people to glean that
+there were no hunters in the village where they had lived all their lives,
+but Wu, our interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who told us of a
+hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the answer was "Not very
+far."
+
+"Well, is it ten _li_?"
+
+"I don't know how many _li_."
+
+"Have you ever been there?"
+
+"Yes; it is only a few steps."
+
+"How long will it take to get there?"
+
+"About the time of one meal."
+
+We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience with native ideas of
+distance, and we ate our tiffin before starting out on the "few steps." A
+steep trail led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding we
+reached the hunter's village of three large houses on a flat strip of
+cleared ground in the midst of a dense forest.
+
+The people looked much like those of Phete but were rather anemic
+specimens, and five out of eight had enormous goiters. They were
+exceedingly shy at first, watching us with side glances and through cracks
+in the wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons they had ever
+seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness was due to too close
+intermarriage, for these families had little intercourse with the people in
+Phete who were only "a few steps" away.
+
+As we were leaving they began to eat their supper in the courtyard. The
+principal dish consisted of mixed cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and
+green vegetables. All the women were busy husking corn which was hung to
+dry on great racks about the house. These racks we had noticed in every
+village since leaving Li-chiang and they seemed to be in universal use in
+the north.
+
+The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased one for $4.40 (Mexican)
+but there was considerable difficulty in paying for it since these people
+had never seen Chinese money even though living in China itself. For
+currency they used chunks of silver the size of a walnut and worth about
+one dollar (Mexican). The Chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the
+genuineness of our money and we purchased a few eggs and a little very
+delicious wild honey besides the sheep. These people as well as those of
+Phete spoke the Li-chiang dialect but with such variation that even our
+_mafus_ could understand them only with the greatest difficulty.
+
+When we returned to camp we found that the coolie who had been engaged to
+carry the motion-picture camera and tripod had left without the formality
+of saying "good-by" or asking for the money which was due him. We had had
+considerable trouble with the camera coolies since leaving Li-chiang. The
+first one carried the camera to the Taku ferry with many groans, and there
+engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place, for he thought the load too
+heavy. It only weighed fifty pounds, and in the Fukien Province where men
+seldom carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much as one hundred
+and fifty, it would have been considered as only half a burden. In Yün-nan,
+however, animals do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at even
+an ordinary load.
+
+We left Phete in the early morning and camped about five hundred feet above
+the hunter's cabin in a beautiful little meadow. It was surrounded with
+splendid pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a knoll in the
+center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen little streams over the edge of a
+deep ravine where a mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo
+jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered inches deep with green moss,
+and altogether it was an ideal spot for small mammals. Our traps, however,
+yielded no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens every
+night.
+
+There were a few families of Lolos about two miles away and these were
+engaged as hunters. They told us that serow and muntjac were abundant and
+that wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several miles to the
+northward. Although the men had a large pack of good dogs they were such
+unsatisfactory hunters that we gave up in disgust after three days. They
+never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the morning when the sun
+had so dried the leaves that the scent was lost and the dogs could not
+follow a trail even if one were found. Moreover, the camp was a very
+uncomfortable one, due to the wind which roared through the trees night and
+day.
+
+We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us at the Taku ferry to see
+if he could get together a pack of dogs. He brought three hounds with him
+which he praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that they did not
+justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were glad to have Hotenfa back, for he
+was one of the most intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives
+whom we met in all Yün-nan. He was an uncouth savage when he first came to
+us, but in a very short time he had learned our camp ways and was as good a
+servant as any we had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+Since the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved so worthless and the traps
+had yielded no small mammals new to our collection, we decided to cross the
+mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into Tibet.
+
+The head _mafu_ explored the trail and reported that it was impassable but,
+after an examination of some of the worst barriers, we decided that they
+could be cleared away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven
+in the morning.
+
+Before long we found that the _mafus_ were right. The trail was a mass of
+tangled underbrush and fallen logs and led straight up a precipitous
+mountain through a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary to
+stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier or cut a passage
+through the bamboo thickets, and had it not been for the adjustable pack
+saddles we never could have taken the caravan over the trail.
+
+Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals dragged themselves to
+the summit of the mountain, for it was not a pass. In a few hours we had
+come from autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and covered with
+snow. We were at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet and far above all
+timber except the rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low gray
+mass along the ridges. It was difficult to make the slightest exertion in
+the thin air and a bitterly cold wind swept across the peaks so that it was
+impossible to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats.
+
+The servants and _mafus_ suffered considerably but it was too late to go on
+and there was no alternative but to spend the night on the mountain. As
+soon as the tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the fire,
+but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller went in the opposite
+direction. We expected to catch some new mammals during the night, for
+there were great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. The ground was
+frozen so solidly that it was necessary to cut into the little _Microtus_
+tunnels with a hatchet in order to set the traps and we were almost frozen
+before the work was completed. The next morning we had caught twenty
+specimens of a new white-bellied meadow vole and a remarkable shrew with a
+long curved proboscis.
+
+Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it was bitterly cold even in
+our sleeping bags and the men had sat up about the fire in order to keep
+from freezing. There was little difficulty in getting the caravan started
+in the gray light of early dawn and after descending abruptly four thousand
+feet on a precipitous trail to a Lolo village strung out along a beautiful
+little valley we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn.
+
+The natives here had never before seen a white person and in a few moments
+our tents were surrounded by a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. The
+chief of the village presented us with an enormous rooster and we made him
+happy by returning two tins of cigarettes. The Lolo women, the first we had
+seen, were especially surprising because of their graceful figures and
+handsome faces. Their flat turbans, short jackets, and long skirts with
+huge flounces gave them a rather old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony
+with the metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they all wore.
+
+The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque group in their
+gray and brown felt capes which they gather about the neck by a draw string
+and, to the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing. We collected
+all the men for their photographs, and although they had not the slightest
+idea what we were about they stood quietly after Hotenfa had assured them
+that the strange-looking instrument would not go off. But most interesting
+of all was their astonishment when half an hour later they saw the negative
+and were able to identify themselves upon it.
+
+The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race. They are exceedingly
+independent, and although along the frontier of their own territory in
+S'suchuan they wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly
+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless he is under the
+protection of a chief who acts as a sponsor and passes him along to others.
+Mr. Brooke, an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was not properly
+"chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the French expedition lived among them
+safely for some time and gives them unstinted praise.
+
+Whenever we met tribesmen in Yün-nan who had not seen white persons they
+behaved much like all other natives. They were, of course, always greatly
+astonished to see our caravan descend upon them and were invariably
+fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact everything about us, but were
+generally shy and decidedly less offensive in their curiosity than the
+Chinese of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by no means
+unknown. As a matter of fact we have found that our white skins, light
+eyes, and hair are a never failing source of interest and envy to almost
+all Orientals.
+
+Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially among the women, and
+as she wore knickerbockers and a flannel shirt there were times when the
+determination of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion. Her
+long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and when the women had
+decided the question of gender satisfactorily they often made timid, and
+most amusing, advances. One woman said she greatly admired her fair
+complexion and asked how many baths she took to keep her skin so white.
+Another wondered whether it was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost
+everyone wished to feel her clothes and shoes. She always could command
+more attention than anyone else by her camera operations, and a group would
+stand in speechless amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable
+dark room when she was developing photographs or loading plates.
+
+We made arrangements to go with a number of the Lolos to a spot fifteen
+miles away on the Chung-tien road to hunt wapiti (probably _Cervus
+macneilli_) which the natives call _maloo_. Our American wapiti, or elk, is
+a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and is probably a relative
+of the wapiti which is found in Central Asia, China, Manchuria and Korea.
+
+At present these deer are abundant in but few places. Throughout the
+Orient, and especially in China, the growing horns when they are soft, or
+in the "velvet," are considered of great medicinal value and, during the
+summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly by the natives. In
+Yün-nan, when we were there, a pair of horns were worth $100 (Mexican).
+
+Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with occasional flurries of
+haillike snow, but we did not heed the cold, for the trail led over two
+high ridges and along the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the white
+summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically above the
+surrounding peaks and, in the gray light, the colors were beautiful beyond
+description. To the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes
+interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid wapiti country.
+
+Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the Chung-tien road just
+within the edge of a stately, moss-draped forest. That night we celebrated
+with harmless bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded as
+they filled with steam and echoed among the trees like pistol shots. Marco
+Polo speaks of the same phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region
+over six hundred and thirty years ago.
+
+About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps with a lantern and
+besides several mice (_Apodemus_) found two rare shrews and a new mole
+(_Blarina_). I went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except an
+old wapiti track and a little sign. All during the following day a dense
+fog hung close to the ground so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the
+night of December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began bright and clear
+but clouded about ten o'clock and became so bitterly cold that the Lolos
+would not hunt. They really suffered considerably and that night they all
+left us to return to their homes. We were greatly disappointed, for we had
+brilliant prospects of good wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs
+and in an unknown country there was little possibility of successful still
+hunting.
+
+The _mafus_ were very much worried and refused to go further north. They
+were certain that we would not be able to cross the high passes which lay
+between us and the Mekong valley far to the westward and complained
+unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food for their animals.
+It was necessary to visit the Mekong River, for even though it might not be
+a good big game region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the
+fauna and important data on the distribution of small mammals. Therefore we
+decided to leave for the long ride as soon as the weather permitted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The road near which we were camped was one of the great trade routes into
+Tibet and over it caravans were continually passing laden with tea or pork.
+Many of them had traveled the entire length of Yün-nan to S'su-mao on the
+Tonking frontier where a special kind of tea is grown, and were hurrying
+northward to cross the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to the
+"Forbidden Land."
+
+The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to spend the night near our
+camp. As the horses came up, one by one the loads were lifted off, the
+animals turned loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and _tsamba_
+[Footnote: _Tsamba_ is parched oats or barley, ground finely.] each man
+stretched out upon the ground without shelter of any kind and heedless of
+the freezing cold. It is truly the life of primitive man and has bred a
+hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander over the boundless
+steppes and demanding from the outside world only to be let alone.
+
+They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in their swinging walk
+there is a care-free independence and an atmosphere of the bleak Tibetan
+steppes which are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a study for an
+artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat like a Russian blouse
+thrown carelessly off one shoulder and tied about the waist, blue or red
+trousers, and high boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. A
+long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of glass or stones, is
+half concealed beneath his coat, and he is seldom without a gun or a
+murderous looking spear.
+
+In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket, he carries a
+remarkable assortment of things; a pipe, tobacco, tea, _tsamba_, cooking
+pots, a snuff box and, hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him
+from bullets or sickness.
+
+The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique and great strength, and
+are frequently more than six feet in height. They have brick-red
+complexions and some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine way.
+Their straight features suggest a strong mixture of other than Mongolian
+stock and they are the direct antithesis of the Chinese in every
+particular. Their strength and virility and the dashing swing of their walk
+are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving, effeminate Chinaman
+whom one sees being carried along the road sprawled in a mountain chair.
+
+Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the Tibetans were the most
+difficult. It was almost impossible to bribe them with money or tin cans to
+stand for a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera set up
+beside the trail they would make long detours to avoid passing in front of
+it.
+
+What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by stealth and concealed
+ourselves behind bushes with the camera focused on a certain spot upon the
+road. The instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run like a frightened
+deer and in some mysterious way they seemed to have passed the word along
+that our camp was a spot to be avoided. Sometimes a bottle was too great a
+temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly like a bird with
+wings half spread, only to dash away as though the devil were after him,
+when he saw my head disappear beneath the focusing hood.
+
+Wu and a _mafu_ who could speak a little Tibetan finally captured one
+picturesque looking fellow. He carefully tucked the tin cans, given for
+advance payment, inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery allowed
+me to place him where I wished. But the instant the motion picture camera
+swung in his direction he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. Wu tried to
+hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved it wildly about his head and
+took to his heels, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was well-nigh
+frightened to death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in the
+road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails flapping like a sail
+in the wind.
+
+One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture camera unawares. There
+were several women in the party and, as soon as the men realized that there
+was no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping her between him and
+the camera. They were taking no chances with their precious selves, for the
+women could be replaced easily enough if necessary.
+
+The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has the greatest possible
+suspicion and dislike for strangers. The Chinese he loathes and despises,
+and foreigners he knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and
+punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial peace. He is
+confirmed in his attitude by the Church which throughout Tibet has the
+monopoly of all the gold in the country. And the Church utterly declines to
+believe that any foreigner can come so far for any end less foolish than
+the discovery of gold and the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.
+
+Major Davies, who saw much of the Yün-nan Tibetans, has remarked that it is
+curious how little impression the civilization and customs of the Chinese
+have produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal
+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power of absorbing other races,
+but with the Tibetans exactly the reverse takes place. The Chinese become
+Tibetanized and the children of a Chinaman married to a Tibetan woman are
+usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.
+
+Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan from being absorbed is the
+cold, inhospitable nature of his country. There is little to tempt the
+Chinese to emigrate into Tibet and consequently they never are there in
+sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around them. A similar cause
+has preserved some of the low-lying Shan states from absorption, the heat
+in this case being the reason that the Chinese do not settle there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+During the night of December 4, there was a heavy fall of snow and in the
+morning we awoke to find ourselves in fairyland. We were living in a great
+white palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs. The long,
+delicate strands of gray moss which draped themselves from tree to tree and
+branch to branch were each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a
+filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.
+
+It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace, for every vista
+through the forest seemed more lovely than the one before, but we knew that
+another fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from the Mekong
+valley. The _mafus_ even refused to try the direct route across the
+mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted on going southward to the Shih-ku ferry
+and up the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.
+
+It was a long trip and we looked forward with no pleasure to eight days of
+hard riding. The difficulty in obtaining hunters since leaving the Snow
+Mountain had made our big game collecting negligible although we had
+traveled through some excellent country. The Mekong valley might not be
+better but it was an unknown quantity and, whether or not it yielded
+specimens, the results from a survey of the mammal distribution would be
+none the less important, and we felt that it must be done; otherwise we
+should have turned our backs on the north and returned to Ta-li Fu.
+
+As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan after caravan of
+Tibetans with heavily loaded horses, all bound for that land of mystery
+beyond the snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of the
+red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for a color photograph, but
+usually they only shook their heads stubbornly and hurried past with
+averted faces. We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were walking
+together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow and by giving each of them a
+glass jam tumbler they halted a moment. As soon as the photograph had been
+taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us to produce one and was
+thoroughly disgusted when we showed him that it was impossible.
+
+Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river gorge at the upper end of
+which Chung-tien is located and left the forests when we emerged on the
+main road. From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a magnificent
+view down the cañon to the snow-capped mountains, which were beautiful
+beyond description in their changing colors of purple and gold.
+
+Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several hundred horses each
+bearing two whole pigs bent double and tied to the saddles. The animals had
+been denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would be distributed
+among the villages somewhere in the interior of Tibet.
+
+On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned peaks as sharp and
+regular as the teeth of a saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it
+spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into the Yangtze. Here
+the mighty river, flowing proudly southward from its home in the wind-blown
+steppes of the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago found the great Snow
+Mountain range barring its path. Thrust aside, it doubled back upon itself
+along the barrier's base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the
+wall of rock. Far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's side
+again, broke through, and swung south gathering strength and volume from
+hundreds of tributaries as it rushed onward to the sea.
+
+For two days we rode along the river bank and crossed at the Shih-ku ferry.
+There was none of the difficulty here which we had experienced at Taku, for
+the river is wide and the current slow. It required only two hours to
+transport our entire caravan while at the other ferry we had waited a day
+and a half. Strangely enough, although there are dozens of villages along
+the Yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no sign of fishing.
+Moreover, we passed but three boats and five or six rafts and it was
+evident that this great waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its
+mouth influences the trade of China so profoundly, is here used but little
+by the natives.
+
+On the ride down the river we had good sport with the huge cranes (probably
+_Grus nigricollis_) which, in small flocks, were feeding along the river
+fields. The birds stood about five feet high and we could see their great
+black and white bodies and black necks farther than a man was visible. It
+was fairly easy to stalk them to within a hundred yards, but even at that
+distance they offered a rather small target, for they were so largely
+wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were never within shotgun range and indeed
+it would be difficult to kill the birds with anything smaller than BB or
+buckshot unless they were very near.
+
+Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage rifle. He stole upon
+five which were feeding in a meadow and fired while two were "lined up."
+One of the huge birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments and lay
+still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and started off at full speed
+across the fields. Two _mafus_ left the caravan, yelling with excitement,
+and ran for nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. Then they
+were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long beak which is a really
+formidable weapon. As food the cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed
+with chestnut dressing and roasted. Each one provided two meals for three
+of us with enough left over for hash and our appetites were by no means
+birdlike.
+
+Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are not often successful,
+for the birds are very watchful and will not allow a man within a hundred
+yards. Such a distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well be a
+hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we were able to shoot as many
+as were needed for food.
+
+The birds almost invariably followed the river when flying and fed in the
+rice, barley, and corn fields not far from the water. It was an inspiring
+sight to see a flock of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground
+and then launch themselves into the air, their black and white wings
+flashing in the sunlight. They formed into orderly ranks like a company of
+soldiers or strung out in a long thin line across the sky.
+
+When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable feeding grounds they
+would sometimes whirl and circle above the fields, ascending higher and
+higher in great spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices
+coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of happy children.
+
+When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January, cranes were very abundant in
+the fields about the lake. They had arrived in late October and would
+depart in early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often saw the birds on
+sand banks along the Yangtze, but they were usually resting or quietly
+walking about and were not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley,
+corn, or other grain.
+
+This species was discovered by the great traveler and naturalist,
+Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found it in the Koko-nor region of
+Tibet, and it was later recorded by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Tsang in
+the Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Yün-nan have not been
+preserved in museums and the bird was not known to occur in this portion of
+China.
+
+Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a good many mallard ducks
+(_Anas boscas_) and ruddy sheldrakes (_Casarca casarca_); the latter are
+universally known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in Burma and
+Yün-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name is derived from the bird's
+beautiful buff and rufous color which is somewhat like that of the robes
+worn by the Brahmin priests. In America the name "sheldrake" is applied
+erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and much confusion has thus
+arisen, for the two are quite unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct
+groups. The mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks quite unlike
+those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are entirely dissimilar.
+
+The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not bad eating. We usually
+found them feeding in fields not far from the river or in flooded rice
+dykes, and very often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water.
+They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is peculiarly
+fascinating to me and, like the honk of the Canada goose, awakens memories
+of sodden, wind-blown marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot
+through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.
+
+Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes, and we had good
+shooting along the river and in ponds and rice fields. We also saw a few
+teal but they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were scarce. We shot a
+few along the road and near some of our camps, but we found no place in
+Yün-nan where one could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of
+a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea where in a walk over
+the hillsides a dozen or more pheasants can be flushed within an hour.
+
+After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze we turned westward
+toward Wei-hsi and camped on a beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered
+stream. It was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke about the
+fire we all turned in.
+
+Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam of angry exclamations
+and Chinese curses roused the whole camp. In a few moments Wu came to our
+tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered, "Damn fool soldiers come
+try to take our horses; say if _mafu_ no give them horses they untie loads.
+Shall I tell _mafu_ break their heads?" We did not entirely understand the
+situation but it seemed quite proper to give the _mafus_ permission to do
+the head-breaking, and they went at it with a will. After a volley of
+blows, there was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the soldiers
+retired considerably the worse for wear.
+
+When the battle was over, Wu explained matters more fully. It appeared
+that a large detachment of soldiers had recently passed up this road to
+A-tun-tzu and four or five had remained behind to attend to the transport
+of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity for "graft" the soldiers were
+stopping every caravan which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless
+the _mafus_ gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity. Our _mafus_,
+with the protection which foreigners gave them, had paid off a few old
+scores with interest. That they had neglected no part of the reckoning was
+quite evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to apologize for
+their "mistake." One of them had a black and swollen eye and the other was
+nursing a deep cut on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did
+not venture into camp until they had been assured that we would not again
+loose our terrible _mafus_ upon them.
+
+Such extortions are every day occurrences in many parts of China and it is
+little wonder that the military is cordially hated and feared by the
+peasants. The soldiers, taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the
+villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress. If a complaint
+is made a dozen soldiers stand ready to swear that the offense was
+justified or was never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he
+escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment. It is a disgrace
+to China that such conditions are allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped
+that ere many years have passed the country will awake to a proper
+recognition of the rights of the individual. Until she does there never can
+be a national spirit of patriotism in China and without patriotism the
+Republic can be one in name only.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+On December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a twelve thousand foot pass
+in a beautiful snow-covered meadow, from which we could see the glistening
+peaks of the vast mountain range which forms the Mekong-Salween divide. In
+the afternoon we reached Wei-hsi and camped in a grove of splendid pine
+trees on a hill overlooking the city. The place was rather disappointing
+after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and it was difficult to buy rice even
+though the entire valley was devoted to paddy fields, but we did get
+quantities of delicious persimmons.
+
+Wu told us that seven different languages were spoken in the city, and we
+could well believe it, for we recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and
+Tibetans. This region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso tribe
+which appears not to extend across the Mekong River.
+
+The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and proved to be one of the
+most courteous officials whom we met in Yün-nan. We were sorry to learn
+that he was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our visit.
+Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on salt and fifteen hundred
+rebelled, attacked the city, and captured it after a sharp fight. It was
+reported that they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and children,
+and boiled him alive in oil.
+
+Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every way we could obtain
+no information concerning either hunting grounds or routes of travel. The
+flying squirrels which we had hoped to find near the city were reported to
+come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong in Burma, and Wei-hsi was
+merely a center of distribution for the skins. Moreover, the natives said
+it would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of the year, for
+the mountain passes were so heavily covered with snow that neither men nor
+caravans could cross them.
+
+It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong River in order to
+determine whether there would be a change in fauna, and on Major Davies'
+map a small road was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of a day and a
+half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen and snow-covered,
+brought us in sight of the green waters of the Mekong which has carved a
+gorge for itself in an almost straight line from the bleak Tibetan plateaus
+through Yün-nan and Indo-China to the sea.
+
+Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a deep valley, near a
+small village. Wu said that the natives were Lutzus and I was inclined to
+believe he was right, although Major Davies indicates this region to be
+inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in physical appearance
+and dress were quite distinct from the Lisos whom we met later.
+
+They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the chief, accompanied by
+four venerable men, brought a present of rice. I gave him two tins of
+cigarettes and the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles.
+
+The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and quite unlike those of
+the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The women wore a long coat or jacket of blue
+cloth, trousers, and a very full pleated skirt. The men were dressed in
+plum colored coats and trousers.
+
+The natives said that monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_) were often seen when
+the corn was ripe and that even yet they might be found in the forest
+across the river. Heller spent a day hunting them, but found none and we
+obtained only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny mouse (_Micromys_)
+but the remainder of the fauna was essentially the same as that of the
+Yangtze valley and the intervening country.
+
+For three days we traveled down the Mekong River. Although the natives said
+that the trail was good, we discovered when it was too late that it was too
+narrow and difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as ours. It
+was necessary to continually remove the loads in order to lift them around
+sharp corners or over rocks, and the _mafus_ sometimes had to cut away
+great sections of the bank. Usually only six or seven miles could be
+traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work, and we were glad
+when we could leave the river.
+
+The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred yards wide in this
+region and, like the Yangtze, the water is very green from the Tibetan
+snows. The prevailing rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone,
+as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the valley are so
+precipitous that it seems impossible for a human being to walk over them,
+and yet they are patched with brown corn fields from the summit to the
+water. Considering the small area available for cultivation there are a
+considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered into villages and
+seldom live in isolated houses as in the Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream
+comes down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating ditches,
+the ground is beautifully terraced for rice paddys, but in other places,
+corn and peas appear to be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such
+as turnips, squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is rather
+remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the country between the Mekong
+and the Yangtze rivers. In several places the water was spanned by rope
+bridges. The cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end must
+necessarily be higher than the other, there are always two ropes, one to
+cross each way. The traveler is tied by leather thongs in a sitting
+position to a wooden "runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and
+shoots across the river at tremendous speed.
+
+The valley is hopeless from a zoölogical standpoint. It is too dry for
+small mammals and the mountain slopes are so precipitous, thinly forested,
+and generally undesirable, that, except for gorals, no other large game
+would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting. There are no
+cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of mallards which feed in
+the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese.
+
+On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong valley and began to march
+southeast by east across an unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We camped at
+night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees just above a deep
+moist ravine. In the morning our traps contained several rare shrews, five
+silver moles, a number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous spiny
+rat. It was too good a place to leave and I sent Hotenfa to inquire from a
+family of natives if there was big game of any sort in the vicinity. He
+reported that there were goral not far away, and at half past eight we rode
+down the trail for three miles when I left my horse at a peasant's house.
+They told us that the goral were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which
+rose two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour and a half we
+climbed steadily upward.
+
+We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep cañon when Hotenfa
+excitedly whispered, "_gnai-yang_" and held up three fingers. He tried to
+show the animals to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought was a
+goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of rock flew into the
+air while the three gorals disappeared among the trees two hundred feet
+above the spot where I had supposed them to be.
+
+I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started on a run for the other
+side of the gorge. When we arrived, Hotenfa motioned me to swing about to
+the right while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. No sooner had
+he reached the edge of the precipice than I saw him lean far out, fire with
+my three-barrel gun, and frantically wave for me to come. I ran to him and,
+throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked down. There directly
+under us stood a huge goral, but just as I was about to shoot, the earth
+gave way beneath my feet and I would have fallen squarely on the animal had
+Hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me back to safety.
+
+The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt and stones came from
+before I fired hurriedly, breaking his fore leg at the knee. Without the
+slightest sign of injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock. I
+dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running at full speed
+across a narrow open ledge toward a thick mass of cover on the opposite
+side of the cañon. I fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the
+crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the mountain, stone
+dead.
+
+It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly to the bottom of
+the valley and, slipping and rolling in a cloud of red dust, dropped over a
+precipice. The ram brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred feet
+below us, and it required half an hour's hard work to reach the spot.
+
+When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which had been broken in
+the fall slipped through my fingers, and away went the goral on another
+rough and tumble descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven
+hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We returned to camp at
+noon bringing joy with us, for, as my wife had remarked the day before, "We
+will soon have to eat chickens or cans."
+
+Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following day and we left on
+December 23, camping at night on a flat terrace beside a stream at the end
+of a moist ravine. We intended to spend Christmas here for it was a
+beautiful spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration was to be
+on Christmas Eve. The following day dawned bright and clear. There had not
+been a drop of rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm enough
+for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at night the temperature
+dropped to about 15°+ or 20°+ Fahr. The camp proved to be a good one,
+giving us two new mammals and, just after tiffin, Hotenfa came running in
+to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_)
+in a cornfield a mile away.
+
+The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but while we were gone Yvette
+had been busy and, just before dinner, she ushered us into our tent with
+great ceremony. It had been most wonderfully transformed. At the far end
+stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny candles and surrounded by masses
+of white cotton, through which shone red holly berries. Holly branches from
+the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and hung in green waves from
+the ridge pole. At the base of the tree gifts which she had purchased in
+Hongkong in the preceding August were laid out.
+
+Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from the Chinese wine and
+orange juice, and we drank to each other and to those at home while sitting
+on the ground and opening our packages. We had purchased two Tibetan rugs
+in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents for Yvette. These rugs
+usually are blue or red, with intricate designs in the center, and are well
+woven and attractive.
+
+To the servants and _mafus_ we gave money and cigarettes. When the
+muleteers were brought to the tent to receive their gifts they evidently
+thought our blazing tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and
+began to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done before their
+heathen gods.
+
+Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days previously I had shot a
+pair of mallard ducks and they formed the _pièce de résistance_. The dinner
+consisted of soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked
+squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers, coffee and
+cigarettes.
+
+Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon passed through a very
+dirty Chinese town in a deep valley near some extensive salt wells. Red
+clay dust lay thick over everything and the filth of the streets and houses
+was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a mile beyond the village, but
+were greatly annoyed by the Chinese who insisted on swarming into camp.
+Finally, unable longer to endure their insolent stares, I drove them with
+stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in row upon row exactly as in
+the "bleachers" at an American baseball game.
+
+When we left the following day we passed dozens of caravans and groups of
+men and women carrying great disks of salt. Each piece was stamped in red
+with the official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only licensed
+merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover, the importation of salt from
+foreign countries is forbidden. For the purposes of administration, China
+is divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which has its own
+sources of production and the salt obtained in one district may not be sold
+in another.
+
+In Yün-nan the salt of the province is supplied from three regions. The
+water from the wells is boiled in great caldrons for several days, and the
+resulting deposit is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed, mixed
+with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains. After passing a
+village of considerable size called Pei-ping, we began the ascent of an
+exceedingly steep mountain range twelve thousand feet high. All the
+afternoon we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening at a
+pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the way to the summit. During
+the night it snowed heavily and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed
+world.
+
+Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest white and between the
+branches we could look westward across the valley toward the Mekong and the
+purple mountain wall of the Burma border. There were still one thousand
+feet of climbing between us and the summit of the pass. The trail was
+almost blocked, but by slow work we forced our way through the drifts. Some
+of the mules were already weak from exposure and underfeeding, and two of
+them had to be relieved of their loads; they died the next day. Our _mafus_
+did not appear to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from the
+knees down and their feet had no covering except straw sandals. Indeed when
+we discovered, on the summit of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was
+burning, they waited only a few moments to warm themselves.
+
+We met two other caravans fighting their way up the mountain from the other
+side, and by following the trail which they had broken through the drifts
+we made fairly good time on the descent. There had been no snow on the
+broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon and we found that
+its ponds and fields were alive with ducks, geese, and cranes. The birds
+were wild but we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning and
+killed enough to last us several days.
+
+On December 31, our weary days of crossing range after range of tremendous
+mountains were ended, and we stood on the last pass looking down upon the
+great Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the old city, which lies
+on the main A-tun-tzu--Ta-li Fu road, are two large marshy ponds and, away
+to the south, is an extensive lake. We camped just without the courtyard of
+a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette and I went over to the water
+which was swarming with ducks and geese.
+
+Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious afternoon
+sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as we neared the pond and circled
+high above our heads, but now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail"
+would swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out the birds
+would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs or climb higher with
+frightened quacks if the shot went wild. An hour before dark the brahminy
+ducks began to come in. We could hear their melodious plaintive calls long
+before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves out in the grass
+and mud. Soon a thin, black line would streak the sky, and as they drew
+nearer, Yvette would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of wood and
+bone that the flock would swing and dive toward us in a rush of flashing
+wings. When we could see the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit
+up and bang away.
+
+Now and then a big white goose would drop into the pond or an ibis flap
+lazily overhead, seeming to realize that it had nothing to fear from the
+prostrate bodies which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of the marsh
+was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled in the wild,
+sweet clamor so dear to the heart of every sportsman. As the day began to
+die, hung about with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the rice
+fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It was our last camp for the
+year and, as if to bid us farewell as we journeyed toward the tropics, the
+peaks of the great Snow Mountain far to the north, had draped themselves in
+a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky of lavender and gold
+like white cathedral spires.
+
+On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a beautiful little plain
+beside a spring overhung with giant trees at the head of Erh Hai, or Ta-li
+Fu Lake, which is thirty miles long. The fields and marshes were alive with
+ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a glorious day of sport over
+decoys and on the water before we went on to Ta-li Fu.
+
+Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip to the south of the
+province and we took possession of a pretty temple just within the north
+gate of the city. Here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned
+that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered from Hongkong had
+just arrived.
+
+Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager of the Standard Oil
+Company of Yün-nan Fu, their passage through Tonking had been facilitated,
+and he had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu. Mr. Page rendered
+great assistance to the Expedition in numberless ways, and to him we owe
+our personal thanks as well as those of the American Museum of Natural
+History.
+
+All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li Fu but, with the aid
+of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much better personnel for the trip to the Burma
+frontier. The cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was an especially
+fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and competent as the other had
+been lazy and helpless.
+
+Our work in the north had brought us a collection of thirteen hundred
+mammals, as well as several hundred birds, much material for habitat
+groups, and a splendid series of photographic records in Paget color
+plates, black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But what was of
+first importance, we had covered an enormous extent of diverse country and
+learned much about the distribution of the fauna of northern Yün-nan. The
+thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken in a more or less
+continuous line across six tremendous mountain ranges, and furnish an
+illuminating cross section of the entire region from Ta-li-Fu, north to
+Chung-tien, and west to the Mekong River.
+
+It is apparent that in this part of the province, which is all within one
+"life zone," even the smallest mammals are widely spread and that the
+principal factor in determining distribution is the flora. Neither the
+highest mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the Yangtze and the
+Mekong appear to act as effective barriers to migration, and as long as the
+vegetation remains constant, the fauna changes but little.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+During our work in Fukien Province and in various parts of Yün-nan we came
+into intimate personal contact with a great many missionaries; indeed every
+traveler in the interior of China will meet them unless he purposely avoids
+doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the missionary in his native
+habitat because, for the most part, he lives and works where the tourist
+does not go.
+
+Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise traveler from carrying
+back with him from the East a very definite impression of the missionary,
+which he has gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs where he hears him
+"damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously he adopts the popular
+attitude just as he enlarges his vocabulary to include "pidgin English" and
+such unfamiliar phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw."
+
+This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but simply a matter of fair
+play. We feel that in justice we ought to present our observations upon
+this subject, which is one of very general interest, as impartially as upon
+any phase of our scientific work. But it should be distinctly understood
+that we are writing _only_ of those persons whom we met and lived with, and
+whose work we had an opportunity to know and to see; _we are not attempting
+generalizations on the accomplishments of missionaries in any other part of
+China_.
+
+There are three charges which we have heard most frequently brought against
+the missionary: that he comes to the East because he can live better and
+more luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages in lucrative
+trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes little good, either
+religious or otherwise. It is said that his converts are only "rice
+Christians," and treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this
+manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more dishonest and
+unreliable than any others."
+
+It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town will be that of
+the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the mission buildings are imposing
+structures, and are placed upon a hill above and away from the rest of the
+city. Any white person who has traveled in the interior of China will
+remember the airless, lightless, native houses, opening, as they all do, on
+filthy streets and reeking sewers and he will understand that in order to
+exist at all a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean,
+well-ventilated house.
+
+Every missionary in China employs servants--many more servants than he
+could afford at home. So does every other foreigner, whatever his vocation.
+There is no such thing in China as the democracy of the West, and the
+missionary's status in the community demands that certain work in his house
+be done by servants; otherwise he and his family would be placed on a level
+with the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be discounted.
+But the chief reason is that the missionary's wife almost always has
+definite duties to which she could not attend if she were not relieved from
+some of the household cares. She leads in work among the women of the
+community by organizing clubs and "Mutual Improvement Societies" and in
+teaching in the schools or hospitals where young men and women are learning
+English as an asset to medical work among their own people. Servants are
+unbelievably cheap. While we were in Foochow a cook received $3.50 (gold)
+per month, a laundryman $1.75 (gold) per month, and other wages were in
+proportion.
+
+In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two months' vacation. Anyone
+who has lived through a Fukien summer in the interior of the province will
+know why the missionaries are given this vacation. If they were not able to
+leave the deadly heat and filth and disease of the native cities for a few
+weeks every year, there would be no missionaries to carry on the work. The
+business man can surround himself with innumerable comforts both in his
+home and in his office which the missionary cannot afford and, during the
+summer, life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant.
+
+Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the Min River and it is by
+no means the most remote station in the province. Very few travelers reach
+these places during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated.
+Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at one time she saw only one
+foreigner in eight months. Miss Cordelia Morgan is the sole foreign
+resident of Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six days from Yün-nan Fu.
+In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife and two other women, are
+fourteen days' ride from the nearest foreign settlement. In Li-chiang,
+Reverend and Mrs. A. Kok and their three small children live with two women
+missionaries. They are twenty-one days' travel from a doctor, and for four
+years previous to our visit they had not seen a white woman.
+
+These are some instances of missionaries whom we met in China who have
+voluntarily exiled themselves to remote places where they expect to spend
+their entire lives surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population.
+Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this life because it is
+easier or more luxurious than that at home?
+
+Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business positions to take
+up medical or evangelistic work in China where their compensation is
+pitifully small--not one-third of the salary they were commanding at home.
+
+We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging in trade with the
+natives even though in some places there were excellent business
+opportunities.
+
+Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences which
+missionaries bring with them. We saw them in various parts of China doing
+a magnificent work. Dr. Bradley has established a great leper hospital at
+Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the latest and most
+scientific treatment and beginning to look at life with a new hope. In
+Yen-ping, at the time of the rebellion, we saw Dr. Trimble working hour
+after hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of rest. In
+Yün-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was filled with patients suffering from
+almost every known disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw Mr. Hanna and his wife
+dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients waiting by the
+dozen, the fees received being not enough to pay for the cost of the
+medicines. Why is it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of
+China is supposed to be able to cure diseases? Certainly an important
+reason is because of the work done by the medical missionaries who have
+penetrated to the farthest corners of the most remote provinces.
+
+Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in many instances the real
+pioneers of western civilization. They bring to the people new standards of
+living, both morally and physically. They open schools and emancipate the
+Chinese children in mind and body. They fight the barbarous customs of foot
+binding and the killing and selling of girl babies. Until recent years it
+was not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with from two to six
+tiny infants peddling his "goods" from village to village. Not many years
+ago such a man appeared before the mission compound at Ngu-cheng (Fukien)
+with four babies in his basket. Three of these had expired from exposure
+and the kerosene oil which had been poured down their throats to stupefy
+them and drown their cries. The fourth was purchased by the wife of the
+native preacher for ten cents in order to save its life. This child was
+reared and has since graduated from the mission schools with credit. In
+Foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription stands beside a
+stagnant pool: "Hereafter the throwing of babies into this pool will be
+punished by law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.
+
+Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna once remarked, "Yün-nan
+Province has broken the heart of more than one missionary." The Chinese do
+not understand their point of view, and it is difficult to make them see
+it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure altruism does not enter into
+his scheme of life. As a rule he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his
+cash bag. It is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the
+missionary has not come with an ulterior motive--if not to engage in trade,
+perhaps as a spy for his government. Others believe that it is because
+China is so vastly superior to the rest of the world that the missionaries
+wish to live there. Eventually the suspicions of the natives become quieted
+and they accept the missionary at some part of his true worth.
+
+At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw Harry Caldwell, Mr.
+Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save the lives of hundreds of people and the city
+from partial destruction because the Chinese officers of the opposing
+forces would trust the missionaries when they would not trust each other.
+
+An excellent piece of practical missionary work was done in Fukien
+Province, not long after our visit there. As we have related in Chapter
+III, several large bands of brigands were established in the hills about
+Yuchi. Brigandage began there in the following way. During a famine when
+the people were on the verge of starvation, a wealthy farmer, Su Ek by
+name, decided to do his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale
+a quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He approached another man of
+similar wealth who agreed with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price.
+Su Ek accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people and, when he
+had remaining only enough to sustain his own family until the following
+harvest, he sent the peasants to the second man who had also agreed to
+dispose of his grain.
+
+This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price, and the people,
+angered at his treachery, looted his sheds. He immediately went to Foochow
+and reported to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad in
+Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and that they had robbed and
+plundered his property.
+
+Without warning a company of soldiers swooped down upon the community and
+arrested a number of men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek made his
+escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand chief, and was later
+joined by other farmers who had been similarly persecuted. Unable to return
+to their homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order to live.
+
+Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow upon the promise that
+their lives would be spared if they would induce their band to surrender.
+They met the conditions but the government officials broke faith and the
+men were executed. Similar attempts were made to enter into negotiations
+with the brigands and in 1915 two hundred were trapped and beheaded after
+pardons had been promised them. Naturally the robbers refused to trust the
+government officials again.
+
+The months which elapsed between this act of treachery and the spring of
+1916, were filled with innumerable outrages. Many townships were completely
+devastated, either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers. Little will ever
+be known of what actually took place under the guise of settling
+brigandage, behind the mountains which separate Yuchi from the outer world.
+It is well that it should not be known.
+
+During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi. Business called him
+outside the city wall and just beyond the west gate he saw the bodies of
+ten persons who had that day been executed. Among these were two children,
+brothers, the sons of a man who was reported to have "sold rice to the
+brigands." The smaller child had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel
+beside his older brother further up in the row. He was too small to realize
+what it all meant but he wanted to die beside his brother.
+
+In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was partly severed from his
+body and who had been shot through and through by the soldiers. He was
+lying upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of tea or for
+someone to put him out of his misery. The missionary learned the man's
+story. It appeared that years ago a law suit in which his father had been
+concerned had been decided in his favor. In order to square the score
+between the clans, the son of the man who had lost the suit had reported
+that he had seen this man carrying rice to the brigands. He had been
+arrested by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in the glaring
+sun from nine o'clock in the morning until dark suffering the agonies of
+crucifixion. Not one of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the
+parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having administered to a
+brigand.
+
+The missionary returned to the city that night vowing that he would make a
+recurrence of such a thing impossible or he would leave China. He took up
+the matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way and later with the
+military governor in Foochow. He was well known to the brigands by
+reputation and visited several of the chiefs in their strongholds. They
+declared that they had confidence in him but none in the government--or its
+representatives. It was only after assuming full responsibility for any
+treachery that the brigands agreed to discuss terms.
+
+Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township, the missionary was
+escorted out to civilization by twenty-five picked men to whom the chief
+had entrusted an important charge. As the group neared the township the
+missionary sent word ahead to the commander of the northern soldiers to
+prepare to receive the brigands.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF A PARDONED BRIGAND.]
+
+As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit of a hill overlooking
+the city, soldiers could be seen forming into squads outside the barracks.
+Instantly the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their rifles, and
+threw in shells. The missionary realized that they suspected treachery and
+turning about he said, "I am the guarantee for your lives. If a shot is
+fired kill me first."
+
+With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied by the brigands he marched
+into the city, where they were received by the officials with all the
+punctilious ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It had been a
+dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a rifle had been fired by
+mistake, and Chinese are always shooting when they themselves least expect
+to, he would have been instantly killed.
+
+This conference, and others which followed, resulted in several hundred
+pardons being distributed to the brigands by the missionary himself. The
+men then returned to their abandoned homes and again took up their lives as
+respectable farmers. Thus the reign of terror in this portion of the
+province was ended through the efforts of one courageous man. It is such
+applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary and admire his
+work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The last half of the expedition began January 13 when we left Ta-li Fu with
+a caravan of thirty miles for Yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south.
+The _mafus_ although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight" did
+not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence it was necessary to camp at
+Hsia-kuan at the foot of the lake.
+
+We improved our time there in hunting about for skins and finally purchased
+two fine leopards and a tiger. The latter had been brought from the Tonking
+frontier. There were a number of Tibetans wandering about the market place
+and in the morning a caravan of at least two hundred horses followed by
+twenty or thirty Tibetans, passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn.
+They were bringing tea from P'u-erh and S'su-mao in the south of the
+province and although they had already been nearly a month upon their
+journey there was still many long weeks of travel before them ere they
+reached the wind-blown steppes of their native land.
+
+The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful. We crossed a
+succession of dry, thinly forested mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high
+which near their summits were often clothed with a thick growth of
+rhododendron trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like fire balls among
+the green leaves, peach trees were in full blossom and in some spots the
+dry hills seemed about to break forth in the full glory of their spring
+verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called Shia-chai on a
+picturesque chain suspension bridge of a type which is not unusual in the
+southern and western part of the province. Several heavy iron chains are
+firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of the river and the
+roadway formed by planks laid upon them. Although the bridge shakes and
+swings in a rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it is
+perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.
+
+In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the mountain to the great
+Yung-chang plain, and for two hours trotted over a hard dirt road. The
+plain is eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its scattered
+villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy fields. The city itself
+includes about five thousand houses. It is exceedingly picturesque and is
+remarkable for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast
+strongly with those of the usual Chinese town. At the west, but still
+within the city walls, is a picturesque wooded hill occupied almost
+exclusively by temples.
+
+We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard of a large and
+exceptionally clean temple just outside the south gate of the city. It was
+the Chinese New Year and Wu told us that for several days at least it would
+be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect the natives to do any
+work whatever. It was a very pleasant place in which to stay although we
+chafed at the enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in
+photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting birds and
+making various excursions.
+
+Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner and at Yung-chang we
+saw many of the customs attending its celebration. It is a time of feasting
+and merry making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will work on
+that day. Chinese families almost always live under one roof but should any
+male member be absent at this season the circumstances must be exceptional
+to prevent him from returning to his home.
+
+It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's house at New
+Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and for several days after leaving the
+city, we were continually passing young women mounted on mules or horses
+and accompanied by servants returning to their homes. New clothes are a
+leading feature of this season and the dresses of the brides and young
+matrons were usually of the most unexpected hues for, according to our
+conception of color, the Chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous for
+their good taste. Purple and blue, orange and red, pink and lavender clash
+distressingly, but are worn with inordinate pride.
+
+These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the bride's family. Dr. Smith
+says in "Chinese Characteristics":
+
+    When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly business
+    basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of sewing for her
+    husband's family, which the wife's family must help her get through
+    with. She is accompanied on each of these visits by as many of her
+    children as possible, both to have her take care of them and to have
+    them out of the way when she is not at hand to look after them, and
+    most especially to have them fed at the expense of the family of the
+    maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. In regions where
+    visits of this sort are frequent, and where there are many daughters in
+    a family, their constant raids on the old home are a source of
+    perpetual terror to the whole family, and a serious tax on the common
+    resources. [Footnote: "Chinese Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p.
+    200.]
+
+Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous part in the New Year's
+celebration. At this time the "Kitchen God," according to current
+superstition, returns to heaven to render an account of the household's
+behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the lips of the departing
+deity with candy in order to "sweeten" his report of any evil which he may
+have witnessed during the year.
+
+Usually all the members of the family gather before the ancestral tablets,
+or should these be lacking as among many of the laboring classes, a scroll
+with a part of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed
+are appeased and honored by the burning of incense and the mumbling of
+incantations. While strict attention is paid to the religious observance to
+the dead, at New Year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered to the
+living.
+
+After the family have paid their respects to one another the younger male
+members go from house to house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to
+receive them. The following days are devoted to visits to relatives living
+in the neighboring towns and villages, and this continues, an endless
+routine, until fourteen days later the Feast of the Lanterns puts an end to
+the "epoch of national leisure."
+
+The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New Year's they turn feverishly
+to this form of amusement which is almost their only one. But they also
+have to think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely
+necessary for all classes and conditions of men to meet their obligations
+at the end of the year.
+
+Almost everyone owes money in China. According to the clan system an
+individual having surplus cash is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate
+of interest) to any members of his family in need of help. However, a
+Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely obliged to and almost never
+settles a debt until he has been dunned repeatedly.
+
+The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.
+
+    Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in the task of
+    trying to chase down the men who owe money to him, and compel them to
+    pay up, and at the same time in trying to avoid the persons who are
+    struggling to track _him_ down and corkscrew from him the amount of his
+    indebtedness to them! The dodges and subterfuges to which each is
+    obliged to resort, increase in complexity and number with the advance
+    of the season, until at the close of the month, the national activity
+    is at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured then, it will go over
+    till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status of a claim
+    which has actually contrived to cheat the annual Day of Judgment. In
+    spite of the excellent Chinese habit of making the close of a year a
+    grand clearing-house for all debts, Chinese human nature is too much
+    for Chinese custom, and there are many of these postponed debts which
+    are a grief of mind to many a Chinese creditor.
+
+    The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most sentimental of
+    the human race. New Year _must not_ be violated by duns for debts, and
+    the debts _must_ be collected New Year though it be. For this reason
+    one sometimes sees an urgent creditor going about early on the first
+    day of the year carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [=debtor].
+    His artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet
+    risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed....
+
+    We have but to imagine the application of the principles which we have
+    named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we get new light upon the
+    nature of the Chinese New Year festivities. They are a time of
+    rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing so keen as that of a ruined
+    debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd devices in avoiding the most
+    relentless of his creditors and has thus postponed his ruin for at
+    least another twelve months.
+
+    For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year, the debtor
+    finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters, where he cannot
+    be molested. Even should his creditors meet him on New Year's day,
+    there could be no possibility of mentioning the fact of the previous
+    day's disgraceful flight and concealment, or indeed of alluding to
+    business at all, for this would not be "good form" and to the Chinese
+    "Good Form" (otherwise known as custom), is the chief national
+    divinity. [Footnote: "Village Life in China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907,
+    pp. 208-209.]
+
+Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited by Chinese and in no
+part of the province did we see foot-binding more in evidence. Practically
+every woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station in life was
+crippled in this brutal way. The women wear long full coats with flaring
+skirts which hang straight from their shoulders to their knees. When the
+trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles, they look in a
+side view exactly like huge umbrellas.
+
+One day we visited a cave thirty _li_ north of the city where we hoped to
+find new bats. A beautiful little temple has been built over the entrance
+to the cavern which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into the
+rock. But twenty _li_ south of Yung-chang, just beyond the village of
+A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave which is reported to extend entirely
+through the hill. Whether or not this is true we can not say for although
+we explored it in part we did not reach the end. The central corridor is
+about thirty feet wide and at least sixty or seventy high. We followed the
+main gallery for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which led off
+at a sharp angle. We were not equipped with sufficient candles to pursue
+the exploration more extensively and did not have time to visit it again.
+The cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable size, but the
+limestone was a dull lead color. We found only one bat and these animals
+appear not to have used it extensively since there was little sign upon the
+floor.
+
+At Yuang-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first time in Yün-nan but
+found them to be in universal use farther to the south and west. The huge
+brutes are as docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child
+but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better part of valor
+where they are concerned.
+
+Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the rice fields but Chinese
+cows are used as burden bearers in this part of the province. Such caravans
+travel much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals are not
+loaded as heavily. Two or three of the leading cows usually carry upon
+their backs large bells hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no
+means unmelodious when heard at a distance. Marco Polo, the great Venetian
+traveler, refers to Yung-chang as "Vochang." His account of a battle which
+was fought in its vicinity in the year 1272 between the King of Burma and
+Bengal and one of Kublai Khan's generals is so interesting that I am
+quoting it below:
+
+    When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal], in India, who
+    was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory,
+    and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars had arrived at Vochang
+    [Yung-chang] he took the resolution of advancing immediately to attack
+    it, in order that by its destruction the grand khan should be deterred
+    from again attempting to station a force upon the borders of his
+    dominions. For this purpose he assembled a very large army, including
+    a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his country abounds),
+    upon whose backs were placed battlements or castles, of wood, capable
+    of containing to the number of twelve or sixteen in each. With these,
+    and a numerous army of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang,
+    where the grand khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance
+    from it, intended to give his troops a few days of rest.
+
+    As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great a force, was
+    known to Nestardín, who commanded the troops of the grand khan,
+    although a brave and able officer, he felt much alarmed, not having
+    under his orders more than twelve thousand men (veterans, indeed, and
+    valiant soldiers); whereas the enemy had sixty thousand, besides the
+    elephants armed as has been described. He did not, however, betray any
+    sign of apprehension, but descending into the plain of Vochang, took a
+    position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large trees,
+    whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants, which his troops
+    might not be able to sustain, they could retire, and from thence, in
+    security, annoy them with their arrows....
+
+    Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended into
+    the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his ground at
+    the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a disposition of
+    his force, placing the elephants in the front, and the cavalry and
+    infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear, but leaving between
+    them a considerable interval. Here he took his own station, and
+    proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly,
+    assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority of their
+    numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed
+    elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had never before been engaged
+    with such combatants, could by no means resist. Then giving orders for
+    sounding a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly
+    with his whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm,
+    making no movement, but suffering them to approach their entrenchments.
+
+    They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness to
+    engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses, unused to the
+    sight of such huge animals, with their castles, were terrified, and by
+    wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor could their riders by any
+    exertions restrain them, whilst the king, with the whole of his forces,
+    was every moment gaining ground. As soon as the prudent commander
+    perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of
+    mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount
+    and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they were fastened to
+    the trees.
+
+    When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced on foot towards
+    the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge of arrows;
+    whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed in the castles, and
+    the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in return with great
+    activity; but their arrows did not make the same impression as those of
+    the Tartars, whose bows were drawn with a stronger arm. So incessant
+    were the discharges of the latter, and all their weapons (according to
+    the instructions of their commander) being directed against the
+    elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving
+    way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who were thereby
+    thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible for their drivers to
+    manage them, either by force or address. Smarting under the pain of
+    their wounds, and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they
+    were no longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in
+    all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed
+    into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The consequence of
+    this was, that from the closeness of the branches of large trees, they
+    broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or castles that were upon
+    their backs, and involved in the destruction those who sat upon them.
+
+    Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired fresh
+    courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and
+    regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several
+    divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. On the
+    part of the king's troops there was no want of valor, and he himself
+    went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and not to be
+    alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants. But the
+    Tartars by their consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for
+    them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being
+    provided with such armor as was worn by the former.
+
+    The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped their
+    swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other. Then in an
+    instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and
+    multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion
+    of blood as was dreadful to behold. So great also was the clangor of
+    arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise seemed to
+    ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became a valiant
+    chief, was present wherever the greatest danger appeared, animating his
+    soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain their ground with resolution.
+    He ordered fresh squadrons from the reserve to advance to the support
+    of those that were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was
+    impossible any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the
+    impetuosity of the Tartars, the greater part of his troops being either
+    killed or wounded, and all the field covered with the carcasses of men
+    and horses, whilst those who survived were beginning to give way, he
+    also found himself compelled to take to flight with the wreck of his
+    army, numbers of whom were afterwards slain in the pursuit....
+
+    The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the
+    enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled for
+    shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found that the
+    men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in cutting down
+    trees and barricading the passages, with the intent of defending
+    themselves. But their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who
+    slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed to
+    the management of the elephants, they possessed themselves of these to
+    the number of two hundred or more. From the period of this battle the
+    grand khan has always chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which
+    before that time he had not done. The consequences of the victory were,
+    that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of the king
+    of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions. [Footnote: "The
+    Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian." Everyman's Library. J.M. Dent &
+    Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 253-256.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+We left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday, January 28. Our stay there
+would have been exceedingly pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was
+impossible not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the caravan. Traveling
+southward for two days over bare brown mountain-sides, their monotony
+unrelieved except by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended
+abruptly into the great subtropical valley at Shih-tien.
+
+Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in a succession of rice
+paddys and fields of sugar cane interspersed with patches of graceful
+bamboo, their summits drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes;
+the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the surrounding hills is
+delightful. However, we were disappointed in the shooting for, although it
+appeared to be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we killed
+only five teal, and the great ponds were almost devoid of bird life. Even
+herons, so abundant in the north, were conspicuous by their absence and we
+saw no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards.
+
+At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard on the outskirts of the
+town, and with Wu I returned to the village to inquire about shooting
+places. We seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within ten
+minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the room, overflowed through
+the door and windows, and formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which
+completely blocked the street outside. It was a simple way of getting all
+the village together and Wu questioned everyone who looked intelligent.
+
+We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang, five days' travel
+south, and we returned to the temple just in time to receive a visit from
+the resident mandarin. He was a good-looking, intellectual man, with
+charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen whom we met in
+China.
+
+During his visit, and until dinner was over and we had retired to our
+tents, hundreds of men, women and children crowded into the temple yard to
+gaze curiously at us. After the gates had been closed they climbed the
+walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows. Their curiosity was
+insatiable but not unfriendly and nowhere throughout our expedition did we
+find such extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested by the
+people in this immediate region. They were largely Chinese and most of them
+must have met foreigners before, yet their curiosity was much greater than
+that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white persons for the first
+time.
+
+Just before camping the next day we passed through a large village where we
+were given a most flattering reception. We had stopped to do some shooting
+and were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The _mafus_ must have
+announced our coming, for the populace was out _en masse_ to greet us and
+lined the streets three deep. It was a veritable triumphal entry and crowds
+of men and children followed us for half a mile outside the town, running
+beside our horses and staring with saucer-like eyes.
+
+On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high mountain and wound down
+a sharp descent for about 4,000 feet into a valley only 2,300 feet above
+sea level. We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a biting wind
+and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and coats over flannel shirts.
+After going down about 1,000 feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets,
+on the second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the remainder of
+the descent rode with sleeves rolled up and shirts open at the throat. We
+had come from mid-winter into summer in two hours and the change was most
+startling. It was as though we had suddenly ridden into an artificially
+heated building like the rooms for tropical plants at botanical gardens.
+
+Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river where we had a splendid
+view of the wide valley which was like the bottom of a well with high
+mountains rising abruptly on all sides. It was a place of strange
+contrasts. The bushes and trees were in full green foliage but the grass
+and paddy fields were dry and brown as in mid-winter. The thick trees at
+the base of the hills were literally alive with doves but there were few
+mammal runways and our traps yielded no results. That night a muntjac, the
+first we had heard, barked hoarsely behind the tents.
+
+The _yamen_ "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien delivered his
+official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo) which lies farther down the
+valley. The magistrate, who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon after
+with ten or twelve men and we discovered that there was but one man in the
+village who spoke Chinese.
+
+The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to have the responsibility of
+our safety thrust upon him and consequently assured us that there were
+neither game nor hunters in this village. Although his anxiety to be rid of
+us was apparent, he was probably telling the truth, for the valley is so
+highly cultivated (rice), and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited,
+that it is doubtful if much game remains.
+
+In the morning the entire valley was filled with a dense white fog but we
+climbed out of it almost immediately, and by noon were back again in winter
+on the summits of the ridges. The country through which we passed _en
+route_ to Gen-kang was similar to that which had oppressed us during the
+preceding week--cultivated valleys between high barren mountains relieved
+here and there by scattered groves of planted fir trees. It was a region
+utterly hopeless from a naturalist's standpoint and when we arrived at a
+large town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged.
+
+During almost a month of travel we had been guided by native information
+which without exception had proved worthless. It seemed useless to rely
+upon it further, and yet there was no other alternative, for none of the
+foreigners whom we had met in Yün-nan knew anything about this part of the
+province. We were certain to reach a tropical region farther south and the
+fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the market offered
+slight encouragement. These were said to come from a village called
+Meng-ting, "a little more far," to the tune of four or five days' travel,
+over on the Burma frontier.
+
+With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of the weather, we left in a
+pouring rain on February 5, to slip and splash southward through veritable
+rivers of mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the second day the
+country suddenly changed. The trail led through a wide grassy valley,
+bordered by heavily forested hills, into a deep ravine. Along the banks of
+a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered logs and
+dense vegetation made ideal conditions for small mammalian life.
+
+We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky gateway. At the right a
+green-clothed mountain rose out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the
+left wave after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves in the
+low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley filled with stately
+trees which spread into a thick green canopy overhead.
+
+We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the forest. While the tents
+were being pitched, I set a line of traps along the base of the opposite
+mountain and found a "runway" under almost every log. About eight o'clock I
+ran my traps and, with the aid of a lantern, stumbled about in the bushes
+and high grass, over logs and into holes. When I emptied my pockets there
+were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing seven species _and
+all new to our collection_. Heller brought in eight specimens and added two
+new species. We forthwith decided to stay right where we were until this
+"gold mine" had been exhausted.
+
+In the morning our traps were full of mammals and sixty-two were laid out
+on the table ready for skinning. The length, tail, hind foot, and ear of
+each specimen was first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in
+the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our serial number;
+then an incision was made in the belly, the skin stripped off, poisoned
+with arsenic, stuffed with cotton, and sewed up. The animal was then pinned
+in position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden tray which
+fitted in the collecting trunk.
+
+The specimens were put in the sun on every bright day until they were
+thoroughly dry and could be wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight
+trunks or boxes. We have found that the regulation U.S. Army officer's
+fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It measures thirty inches long
+by thirteen deep and sixteen inches wide and will remain quite dry in an
+ordinary rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in water. The
+skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons of some, are numbered like the
+skin, strung upon a wire, and dried in the sun. Also individuals of every
+species are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical study.
+
+Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As soon as the skin has been
+removed and cleaned of flesh and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it
+and the hide rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the water which has
+been extracted by the salt poured off, and the skin hung over a rope or a
+tree branch to dry. If it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may
+be kept in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field conditions
+it should be placed in the sun. Before it becomes too hard, the hide is
+rolled or folded into a convenient package hair side in, tied into shape
+and allowed to become "bone dry." In this condition it will keep
+indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the salt absorbs moisture
+from the air and alternate wetting and drying is fatal.
+
+We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin both large and small
+animals and they became quite expert. They required constant watching,
+however, and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or I
+examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.
+
+On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the village of Mu-cheng ten
+_li_ distant. The men assured us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac
+in the neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no dogs and were
+armed with crossbows, antiquated guns, and bows and arrows, but they showed
+us the skins of two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game.
+
+Like most of the other natives, with the exception of the Mosos on the Snow
+Mountain, these men had no definite plan in hunting. The first day I went
+out with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill not far from
+camp. Without giving me an opportunity to reach a position in front of
+them, they began to work up the hill, and I had a fleeting glimpse of a
+sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the summit.
+
+Two days later while I was out with ten other men who had a fairly good
+pack of dogs, the first party succeeded in killing a female sambur. The
+animal weighed at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our camp
+and we purchased the skin for ten _rupees_. South of Gen-kang the money of
+the region, like all of Yün-nan for some distance from the Burma frontier,
+is the Indian _rupee_ which equals thirty-three cents American gold; in
+that part of the province adjoining Tonking, French Indo-China money is
+current.
+
+My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this camp, which we called
+"Good Hope."
+
+    The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough for comfort
+    and the nights are clear and cold. How we do sleep! It seems hardly an
+    hour from the time we go to bed until we hear Wu rousing the servants,
+    and the crackle of the camp-fire outside the tent. We half dress in our
+    sleeping bags and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our
+    high boots in its comfortable warmth.
+
+    After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I inspect the
+    traps. The ground is white with frost and the trees and bushes are
+    dressed in silver. Every trap holds an individual interest and we
+    follow the line through the forest, resetting some, and finding new
+    mammals in others. Yvette has conquered her feminine repugnance far
+    enough to remove shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring
+    and dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches them.
+
+    We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with the men, the
+    lady of the camp works at her photography. I return in the late
+    afternoon and after tea we wander through the woods together. It is the
+    most delightful part of the day when the sun goes down and the shadows
+    lengthen. We sit on a log in a small clearing where we can watch the
+    upper branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of a great colony of
+    red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus erythraeus_ subsp.) and after a
+    few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along a branch, my gun
+    roars out, and there is a thud upon the ground.
+
+    Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died away in the
+    forest the gun bangs again. We have already shot a dozen squirrels from
+    this tree and yet more are there. Sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk
+    (_Tamiops macclellandi_ subsp.) will appear on the lower branches,
+    searching the bark for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to
+    find him in the brown leaves. When it is too dark to see the squirrels,
+    we wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious broiled
+    deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke and talk of
+    the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps."
+
+    Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a gun we pick our
+    way among the trees until we strike the trail along which the traps are
+    set. On the soft ground our feet are noiseless and, extinguishing the
+    lanterns, we sit on a log to listen to the night sounds. The woods are
+    full of life. Almost beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a
+    scurry among the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite
+    hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. Suddenly there is a
+    sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards away has done its
+    work. Even in the tree tops the night life is active. Dead twigs drop
+    to the ground with an unnatural noise, and soft-winged owls show black
+    against the sky as they flit across an opening in the branches.
+
+    We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into a cuplike
+    hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already half of them are full.
+    In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by the tail as he ran across the
+    trap; another holds a veritable treasure, and at my exclamation of
+    delight Yvette runs up excitedly. It is a rare Insectivore of the genus
+    _Hylomys_ and possibly a species new to science. We examine it beside
+    the lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket by
+    itself.
+
+    The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log. The trap is
+    gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over every inch of ground.
+    Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet away and stifles a scream for
+    in it, caught by the neck and still alive, is a huge rat nearly two
+    feet long; it too is a species which may prove new.
+
+    When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail to the edge
+    of the forest and into the clearing where the tents glow in the
+    darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is delightfully warmed by the
+    charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably on the beds, we write our
+    daily records or read Dickens for half an hour. It is with a feeling of
+    great contentment that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out
+    the candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the
+    moonlight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES
+
+During the eight days in which we remained at the "Good Hope" camp, two
+hundred specimens comprising twenty-one species were added to our
+collection. Although the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was quite
+unlike that of any region in which we had previously collected, and that
+undoubtedly was responsible for the complete change of fauna. We were on
+the very edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the Tonking and
+Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west of the province.
+
+It was already mid-February and if we were to work in the fever-stricken
+valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high time we were on the way southward.
+The information which we had obtained near Gen-kang had been supplemented
+by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to go to Meng-ting as soon as
+possible.
+
+The first march was long and uneventful but at its end, from the summit of
+a high ridge, we could see a wide valley which we reached in the early
+morning of the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly left us on a
+jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly down a steep ravine to lose
+itself in a veritable forest of tree ferns and sword grass. The slanting
+rays of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious depths of the
+mist-filled valley. To the right a giant sentinel peak of granite rose
+gaunt and naked from out the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to
+the left in huge ascending billows.
+
+We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of the bell on the leading
+mule announced the approach of the caravan and then we picked our way
+slowly down the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation. In an hour
+we were breathing the moist warm air of the tropics and riding across a
+wide valley as level as a floor. The long stretches of rank grass, far
+higher than our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos, banana
+palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled vines.
+
+Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled into the grass. The
+bamboo houses, sheltered by trees and bushes, were roofed in the shape of
+an overturned boat with thatch and the single street was wide and clean.
+Could this really be China? Verily, it was a different China from that we
+had seen before! It might be Burma, India, Java, but never China!
+
+Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning. A real Priscilla,
+somewhat strange in dress to be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel
+nut, but Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside her stood
+John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers, hitched far up over one leg to
+show the intricate tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban
+completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun almost as ancient in design
+as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla kept her eyes upon the spinning
+wheel, but John's gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent
+even before we appeared around a corner of the house and the pretty picture
+resolved into its rightful components--a surprised, but not unlovely Shan
+girl and a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide brown
+eyes and open mouth at what must have seemed to him the fancy of a
+disordered brain.
+
+For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and quiet, where every
+day was exactly like the day before, had suddenly ridden two big men with
+white skins and blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a
+broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little one had jumped from the
+horse and pointed a black box with a shiny front at him and his Priscilla.
+At once, but without loss of dignity, Priscilla vanished into the house,
+but John Alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new tin can had been
+thrust into his hand and before he had really discovered what it was the
+little person had smiled at him and turned her attention to the charming
+street of his village. There the great water buffalos lazily chewed their
+cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned natives who played
+trustingly with the calves almost beneath their feet.
+
+Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had ever seen, and
+regretfully we rode away across the plain between the walls of waving grass
+toward the Nam-ting River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and
+tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs were soon across
+the muddy stream and the mules were made to swim to the other bank. Shortly
+after leaving the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank grass on
+to the open rice paddys which stretched away in a gently undulating plain
+from the river to the mountains. Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese,
+but three great flocks of cranes (probably _Grus communis_) rose from the
+fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals above our heads until they were
+lost in the blue depths of the sky.
+
+Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a few wisps of smoke
+curling above its summit, but not until we were well-nigh there did we
+realize that its beautiful trees sheltered the thatched roofs of Meng-ting.
+But this was only the "residential section" of the village and below the
+knoll on the opposite side of a shallow stream lay the shops and markets.
+
+We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of jungle separated us from the
+nearest house. As soon as the tents were up I announced our coming to the
+mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock. Wu and I found the
+_yamen_ to be a large well-built house, delightfully cool and exhibiting
+several foreign articles which evinced its proximity to Burma.
+
+We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who shortly introduced the
+mandarin--a young Shan not more than twenty years old who only recently had
+succeeded his late father as chief of the village. The boy was dressed in
+an exceedingly long frock coat, rather green and frayed about the elbows,
+which in combination with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a
+most extraordinary appearance.
+
+We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who did all the talking was
+the "power behind the throne." He accepted my gift of a package of tea with
+great pleasure, but the information about hunting localities for which we
+asked was not forthcoming. He first said that he knew of a place where
+there were tiger and leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us
+for we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be responsible for
+our deaths; bringing to his attention the fact that tigers had never been
+recorded from the Meng-ting region did not impress him in the slightest.
+
+It did tend to send him off on another track, however, and he next remarked
+that if he sent us to a place where the hunting was disappointing we
+probably would report him to the district mandarin. Assurances to the
+contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that he wished only to get
+us out of his district and thus relieve himself of the responsibility of
+our safety. During the conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the
+young Shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he sat stolidly in
+his chair, hardly winking, and except for the constant supply of cigarettes
+which passed between his fingers there was no evidence that he even
+breathed.
+
+The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman that he would make
+inquiries concerning hunting grounds and communicate with us in the
+morning. We returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives
+arrived from the _yamen_ bearing about one hundred pounds of rice, a sack
+of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three chickens, and a great bundle of fire
+wood. These were deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin.
+
+We were at a loss to account for such generosity until Wu explained that
+whenever a high official visited a village it was customary for the
+mandarin to supply his entire party with food during their stay. It would
+be quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however, for the
+supplies were levied from the inhabitants of the town. We kept the eggs and
+chickens, giving the _yamen_ "runners" considerably more than their value
+in money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and potatoes.
+
+On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan Buddhist monastery, bamboo
+walled and thatched with straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant
+of childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley. All day
+long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the mud walls about the temple
+like a flock of birds peering at us with bright round eyes. They were wild
+as hawks, these little priests and, although they sometimes left the
+shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below the bushy hedge
+about our rice field.
+
+In the village we saw them often, wandering about the streets or sitting in
+yellow groups beneath the giant trees which threw a welcome shade over
+almost every house. They were not all children, and finely built youths or
+men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits of lemon peel, passed to and
+fro to the temple on the hill.
+
+There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the village with male
+children is required to send at least one boy to live a part of his life
+under the tutelage of the Church. He must remain three years, and longer,
+if he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and their clothing is
+not an important item of expenditure as it consists merely of a straw hat
+and a yellow robe. They lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn
+in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness.
+
+The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the weekly market was held, and
+when Wu and I crossed the little stream to the business part of the
+village, we found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque crowd of
+natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It was a group flashing with
+color, and every individual a study for an artist. There were blue-clad
+Chinese, Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and Burmans
+dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned Lisos, flat-faced
+Palaungs, Was, and Kachins in black and red strung about with beads or
+shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of those who did not carry a
+spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked looking daggers peeped from beneath
+their sashes. Every man carried a weapon ready for instant use.
+
+Nine tribes were present in the market that day and almost as many
+languages were being spoken. It was a veritable Babel and half the trading
+was done by signs. The narrow street was choked with goods of every kind
+spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails, knives, swords,
+hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats, crossbows, arrows, pottery,
+tea, opium, and scores of other articles for food or household use.
+
+Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing new goods or
+packing up their purchases; under open, thatched pavilions were silent
+groups of men gambling with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses"
+white-faced natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling "pills" of
+opium and oblivious to the constant stream of passers-by.
+
+It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic mass of life and
+color, where Chinese from civilized Canton drank, and gambled, and smoked
+with wild natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken
+jungles.
+
+After one glimpse of the picture in the market I dashed back to camp to
+bring the "Lady of the Camera." On the way I met her, hot and breathless,
+half coaxing, half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent in
+yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying vainly to photograph a
+priest and had discovered these splendid fellows when all her color plates
+had been exposed. She might have succeeded in bringing them to camp had I
+not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage and rushed away with averted
+faces.
+
+When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried back to the market
+followed by two coolies with the cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work
+alone I set up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less than a minute
+the narrow space in front of us was packed with a seething mass of natives.
+It was impossible to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly
+disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused the camera on the
+irregular line of heads and swung it back and forth registering a variety
+of facial expressions which it would be hard to duplicate. For some time it
+was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even for a moment, but after
+one or two had conquered their fear and been liberally rewarded, there was
+a rush for places. Wu asked several of the natives who could speak Chinese
+if they knew what we were doing but they all shook their heads. None of
+them had ever seen a camera or a photograph.
+
+The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all the tribes as well as the
+most difficult to photograph. Yvette was not able to get them at all, and I
+could do so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two or three squatting
+near their baskets on the ground I moved slowly up behind them keeping in
+the center of the crowd. After the "movie camera" was in position Wu
+suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the women realized what
+was happening they were registered on twenty-five or thirty feet of film.
+
+One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much, suddenly became belligerent
+when I pointed the camera in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn
+knife. I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down in a heap.
+He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine, but it took all of the fight
+out of him for he received no sympathy from the spectators.
+
+Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera operations and a less
+determined person would have given up in despair. The natives were so shy
+and suspicious that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to stand for
+a second and it was only after three hours of aggravating work in the
+stifling heat and dust that she at last succeeded in exposing all her
+plates. Her patience and determination were really wonderful and I am quite
+sure that I should not have obtained half her results.
+
+The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals. They were short,
+and strongly built, with a mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and
+thick lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of a short black
+jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and ornamented with strings of
+beads and pieces of brass or silver. This tribe forms the largest part of
+the population in northern Burma and also extends into Assam. Yün-nan is
+fortunate in having comparatively few of them along its western frontier
+for they are an uncivilized and quarrelsome race and frequently give the
+British government considerable trouble.
+
+There were only a few Burmans in the market although the border is hardly a
+dozen miles to the west, but the girls were especially attractive. Their
+bright pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile and their
+graceful figures draped in brilliant _sarongs_ were in delightful contrast
+to the other, not over-clean, natives.
+
+The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which added to their
+distinction. The lips of virtually every other woman and man were stained
+from the red juice, which is in universal use throughout India, the Malay
+Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Yün-nan we first noted it at the
+"Good Hope" camp, and the Shans are generally addicted to the practice.
+
+The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely Shan, but during the
+winter a good many Cantonese Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The
+drug is smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative trade is
+carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five cents (Mexican) an ounce
+in Burma and sold for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Yün-nan Fu and for
+ten dollars in Shanghai.
+
+Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The drug is cooked over an
+alcohol lamp and when the "pill" is properly prepared it is placed in the
+tiny bowl of the pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. The
+process is a rather complicated one and during it the natives always
+recline. No visible effect is produced even after smoking several pipefuls,
+but the deathly paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate opium
+user.
+
+There can be no doubt that the Chinese government has been, and is,
+genuinely anxious to suppress the use of opium and it has succeeded to a
+remarkable degree. We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in
+Yün-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a guard of soldiers,
+on inspection trips. Indeed, while we were in Meng-ting the district
+mandarin arrived. We were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of
+deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They were like the chimes of
+far away cathedral bells sounding nearer and louder, but losing none of the
+sweetness. Soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the camp
+bearing in their midst a covered chair. The mandarin established himself in
+a spacious temple on the opposite side of the village, where I visited him
+the following day and explained the difficulty we had had at the Meng-ting
+_yamen_. He aided us so effectually that all opposition to our plans ended
+and we obtained a guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting
+River, three miles from the Burma border.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+Every morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled with a thick white mist
+and when we broke camp at daylight each mule was swallowed up in the fog as
+soon as it left the rice field. We followed the sound of the leader's bell,
+but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan visible. For thirty _li_
+the valley is broad and flat as at Meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant
+growth of rank grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved
+its way through a range of hills.
+
+The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through a dense, tropical
+jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved bananas, and giant trees laced
+and interlaced with thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall
+of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel. We followed the
+trail all day, sometimes picking our way among the rocks high above the
+river or padding along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. At
+night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous native had
+fought the jungle and been defeated; his bamboo hut was in ruins and the
+fields were overgrown with a tangle of throttling vegetation.
+
+We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road were fascinating.
+Brilliant green parrots screamed in the tree tops and tiny sun-birds
+dressed in garments of red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail
+like living jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a huge hornbill
+flapping heavily over the river, every beat of his stiff wing feathers
+sounding like the motor of an aëroplane. Bamboo partridges called from the
+bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air.
+
+At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed two thatched huts in a
+little clearing beside the trail and the guide remarked that our camping
+place was not far away. We reached it shortly and were delighted. Two
+enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark shade above a
+sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned rice field. From a patch of
+ground as level as a floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look
+across the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle and up to the
+green mountain beyond. A half mile farther down the trail, but hidden away
+in the jungle, lay a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the
+guide said we should be able to find hunters.
+
+As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with a bag of steel traps
+to set them on the tiny trails which wound through the jungle in every
+direction. Selecting a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center,
+covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body of a bird or a
+chunk of meat by a wire over the pan about three feet from the ground. A
+light branch was fastened to the chain as a "drag." When the trap is pulled
+this invariably catches in the grass or vines and, while holding the animal
+firmly, still gives enough "spring" to prevent its freeing itself.
+
+Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest of wits between the
+trapper and the animal with the odds by no means in favor of the former.
+The trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings may be
+unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands may linger about the bait, or
+there may be numberless other possibilities to frighten the suspicious
+animal.
+
+In the evening our guide brought a strange individual whom he introduced as
+the best hunter in the village. He was a tall Mohammedan Chinese who
+dressed like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He seemed to be
+afflicted with mental and physical inertia, for when he spoke it was in
+slow drawl hardly louder than a whisper, and every movement of his body was
+correspondingly deliberate. We immediately named him the "Dying Rabbit" but
+discovered very shortly that he really had boundless energy and was an
+excellent hunter.
+
+The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for beaters and we drove a
+patch of jungle above camp but without success. There were many sambur
+tracks in the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to be
+difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the open places were so
+few and small that a sambur had every chance to break through without
+giving a shot.
+
+Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying Rabbit" was armed with a
+.45-caliber bolt action rifle into which he had managed to fit a .303 shell
+and several of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875. The guns had
+all been brought from Burma and most were without ammunition, but each man
+had an assortment of different cartridges and used whichever he could force
+into his rifle.
+
+The men worked splendidly under the direction of the "Dying Rabbit." On the
+second day they put up a sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but
+was absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned to camp we
+found that a civet (_Viverra_) had walked past our tent and begun to eat
+the scraps about the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the _mafus_ and
+servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun. After considerable
+difficulty they persuaded him that there really was some cause for their
+excitement and he shot the animal. It was probably ill, for its flesh was
+dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition.
+
+Civets belong to the family _Viverridae_ and are found only in Asia and
+Africa. Although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly
+related to them and their claws are only partly retractile. They are very
+beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with black, a ringed tail,
+and a black and white striped pointed head. A scent gland near the base of
+the tail secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating, is
+not particularly disagreeable. The animals move about chiefly in the early
+morning and evening and at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals,
+fish, and frogs. One which we caught and photographed had a curious habit
+of raising the hair on the middle of its back from the neck to the tail
+whenever it was angry or frightened.
+
+Although there were no houses within half a mile of camp we were surprised
+on our first night to hear cocks crowing in the jungle. The note was like
+that of the ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat more
+abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer and all his harem in a
+deserted rice field, and he flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and
+gold.
+
+I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left of "sixes" and
+found that they were jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) in full plumage. The
+cock was a splendid bird. The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his
+back and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was hardly more
+beautiful than the black of his underparts and green-glossed tail. Picture
+to yourself a "black-breasted red" gamecock and you have him in all his
+glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more pheasant-like in his
+general bearing. The female was a trim little bird with a lilac sheen to
+her brown feathers and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen.
+
+The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard hens and roosters
+which were probably first domesticated in Burma and adjacent countries long
+before the dawn of authentic history. According to tradition the Chinese
+received their poultry from the West about 1400 B.C. and they are figured
+in Babylonian cylinders between the sixth and seventh centuries B.C.;
+although they were probably introduced in Greece through Persia there is no
+direct evidence as to when and how they reached Europe.
+
+The black-breasted jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) inhabit northern India,
+Burma, Indo-Chinese countries, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine
+Islands; a related species, _G. lafayetti_, is found in Ceylon; another,
+_G. sonnerati_, in southern India, and a fourth, _G. varius_, in Java.
+
+We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even where they were seldom
+hunted. During the heat of the day they remain in thick cover, but in
+cloudy weather and in the early morning and evening they come out into
+clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River we could usually put
+up a few birds on the edge of the deserted rice fields which stretched up
+into the jungle, but they were never far away from the edge of the forest.
+
+We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but usually a cock had with
+him six or eight hens. It was interesting to watch such a flock feeding in
+the open. The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a piece of
+gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and industriously ran about
+among his trim little hens, rounding up the stragglers and directing his
+harem with a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually
+tempting food.
+
+It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually would send the
+flock whirring into the jungle while they were well beyond shotgun range.
+When flushed from the open the birds nearly always would alight in the
+first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying deeper into the
+jungle. We caught several hens in our steel traps, and one morning at the
+edge of a swamp I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and left"
+as they flushed together.
+
+We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of the mating season for the
+jungle fowl. It is said that they brood from January to April according to
+locality, laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a bamboo
+clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves have been scratched together
+for a nest. The hen announces the laying of an egg by means of a proud
+cackle, and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep, peep,
+peep" of the domestic birds. After the breeding season the beautiful red
+and gold neck hackles of the male sometimes are molted and replaced by
+short blackish feathers.
+
+There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the cocks are polygamous,
+but our observations tend to show that they are. We never saw more than one
+male in a flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in pairs.
+The cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic birds and their long
+curved spurs are exceedingly effective weapons.
+
+We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting River camp and on
+the second afternoon it contained a splendid polecat. This animal is a
+member of the family Mustelidae which includes mink, otter, weasels,
+skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep yellow throat, and long
+tail is really very handsome. Polecats inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and
+are closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated and used in
+hunting rats and rabbits. We found them to be abundant in the low valleys
+along the Burma border and often saw them during the day running across
+a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The polecat is a
+blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything that comes in its way for
+the pure love of killing, even when its appetite has been satisfied.
+
+On the third morning we found two civets in the traps. The cook told me
+that some animal had stolen a chicken from one of his boxes during the
+night and we set a trap only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading
+into the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook boxes were
+not bothered again.
+
+Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was a delightful part of our
+camp life. It was like opening a Christmas package as we walked up the
+trails, for each one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of the
+region were so varied that surprises were always in store for us. Besides
+civets and polecats, we caught mongooses, palm civets, and other
+carnivores. The small traps yielded a new _Hylomys_, several new rats, and
+an interesting shrew.
+
+We saw a few huge squirrels (_Ratufa gigantea_) and shot one. It was
+thirty-six inches long, coal black above and yellow below. The animals were
+very shy and as they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no
+means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting group confined to
+India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and
+Borneo.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Our most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was hunting monkeys. Every
+morning we heard querulous notes which sounded much like the squealing of
+very young puppies and which were followed by long, siren wails; when the
+shrill notes had reached their highest pitch they would sink into low
+mellow tones exceedingly musical.
+
+The calls usually started shortly after daylight and continued until about
+nine o'clock, or later if the day was dark or rainy. They would be answered
+from different parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen
+places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the cries were made by
+_hod-zu_ (monkeys) and several times we started in pursuit, but they always
+ceased long before we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from
+which they came. At last we succeeded in locating the animals.
+
+We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a trail which led up a
+valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly the puppy-like squealing began, followed
+by a low tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but the trees were
+empty. We stole silently along the trail for a hundred yards and turned
+into a dry creek bed which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. With
+infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we slipped along,
+scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill sitting on a dead branch caught
+sight of us and flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. A flock of
+parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel followed persistently
+scolding at the top of its voice, but the monkeys continued to call.
+
+The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood motionless beside a
+tree. For an instant the countless jungle sounds were hushed in a
+breathless stillness; then, low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which
+swelled into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all the
+forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again and again it floated
+over the tree tops and we listened strangely moved, for it was like the
+music of an exquisite contralto voice. At last it ceased but, ere the
+echoes had reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely
+siren screech.
+
+The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and tense. The trees stretched
+upward full one hundred and fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy
+roof. Long ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant
+growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant trunks in a swaying mass
+of living green. Far above the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the
+forest towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost branches we could just
+discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from which proceeded discordant
+squeals.
+
+It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all in camp. I fired a
+charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey and as the gun roared out the tree
+tops suddenly sprang into life. They were filled with running, leaping,
+hairy forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to branch; not a
+dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow, brown, and gray.
+
+The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and threw itself full twenty
+feet to a horizontal limb, below and to the right. I fired again and he
+stopped, ran a few steps forward and swung to the underside of the branch.
+At the third charge he hung suspended by one arm and dropped heavily to the
+ground stone dead.
+
+We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up the hill where the
+branches were still swaying as the monkeys traveled through the tree tops.
+They had a long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every step our
+clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our hands were torn, and our
+faces scratched and bleeding. In ten minutes they had disappeared and we
+turned about to find the dead animal. Suddenly Yvette saw a splash of
+leaves in the top of a tree below us and a big brown monkey swung out on a
+pendent vine. I fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled
+slowly around and dropped to the ground. Before I had reloaded my gun it
+gathered itself together and dashed off through the woods on three legs
+faster than a man could run. The animal had been hiding on a branch and
+when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered.
+
+We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the creek bed and sat down to
+examine it. It was evidently a gibbon (_Hylobates_), for its long arms,
+round head, and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species with
+which I was familiar the male was black. This one was yellow and we knew it
+to be a prize. That there were two other species in the herd was certain
+for we had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed away among the
+trees, but the gibbons were far more interesting than the others.
+
+Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and teeth of all the
+anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group which also includes the gorilla,
+chimpanzee, and orangutan. They are apparently an earlier offshoot of the
+anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the giant apes and man
+are probably a later branch. Gibbons are essentially Oriental being found
+in India, Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the Islands of Hainan, Sulu,
+Sumatra, and Java.
+
+For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River camp we devoted
+ourselves to hunting monkeys and soon discovered that the three species we
+had first seen were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon, another a
+brown baboon (_Macacus_), and the third a huge gray ape with a long tail
+(_Pygathrix_) known as the "langur." On the first day all three species
+were together feeding upon some large green beans and this happened once
+again, but usually they were in separate herds.
+
+The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although the same troop could
+usually be found in the valley where we had first discovered them, they
+chose hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them because of the
+thorny jungle. Usually when they called, it was from the upper branches of
+a dead tree where they could not only scan every inch of the ground below,
+but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun. Sometimes we climbed upward
+almost on our hands and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing
+ourselves up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs and bushes,
+slipping, falling, scrambling through the indescribable tangle. We went
+forward only when the calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood
+motionless as the wailing ceased. But in spite of all our care they would
+see or hear us. Then in sudden silence there would be a tremor of the
+branches, splash after splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away
+through the trackless tree tops.
+
+The gibbons are well named _Hylobates_ or "tree-walkers" for they are
+entirely arboreal and, although awkward and almost helpless on the ground,
+once their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed as by a
+miracle.
+
+They launch themselves into space, catch a limb twenty feet away, swing for
+an instant, and hurl themselves to another. It is possible for them to
+travel through the trees faster than a man can run even on open ground, and
+when one examines their limbs the reason is apparent. The fore arms are so
+exceedingly long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground when the
+animal stands erect, and the slender hands are longer than the feet.
+
+The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and would never drop until
+stone dead. Once I shot an old male with my 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher rifle at
+about one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone clear through
+his body, he hung for several minutes before he dropped into a tangle of
+vines.
+
+It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work our way through the
+jungle to the spot where the animal had fallen, and we had been searching
+for nearly half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a monkey was
+running along a branch above our heads. I fired with the shotgun at a mass
+of moving leaves and killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the
+thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would sometimes disappear as
+completely as though they had vanished in the air. After being fooled
+several times we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we could
+watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys would try to steal away.
+
+The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild as the gibbons and were
+found in larger herds. Some of the langurs were carrying babies which clung
+to their mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede them in
+the slightest on their leaps through the tree tops.
+
+The young of this species are bright orange-red and strangely unlike the
+gray adults. As they grow older the red hair is gradually replaced by gray,
+but the tail is the last part of the body to change. Heller captured one of
+the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to camp in his coat pocket. The
+little fellow was only a few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless.
+
+When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer little wizened face and
+blue eyes visible it had a startling resemblance to a human baby until its
+long tail would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion. It lived
+only four days in spite of constant care.
+
+There are fifty-five species of langurs (_Pygathrix_) all of which are
+confined to the Orient. In some parts of India the animals are sacred and
+climb about the houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without
+fear. At times they do so much damage to crops that the natives who do not
+dare to kill the animals themselves implore foreigners to do so. The
+langurs are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan mountains range
+far up into the snow and enjoy the cold weather. In the market at Li-chiang
+we saw several skins of these animals which had been brought down by the
+Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was used by the Chinese for rugs
+and coats.
+
+The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River camp, like all others of
+the genus _Pygathrix_, was interesting because of the long hairs of the
+head which form a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never heard the animals
+utter sounds, but it is said that the common Indian langur, _Pygathrix
+entellus_, gives a loud whoop as it runs through the tree tops. Often when
+a tiger is prowling about the jungle the Indian langurs will follow the
+beast, keeping in the branches just above its head and scolding loudly.
+
+The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting was a close
+relative of the species (_Macacus rhesus_) which one sees parading solemnly
+about the streets of Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian cities. In Agra,
+the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey Temple is visited by every
+tourist. A large herd of macaques lives in the grounds and at a few
+chuckling calls from the native attendants will come trooping over the
+walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate. These animals are
+surprisingly tame and make most amusing pets.
+
+On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water hole in the midst of a
+dense jungle where the mud was trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar,
+and other animals. We decided to spend a night watching beside it, but the
+"Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the day time lost his courage as the
+sunlight waned. Very doubtfully he consented to go.
+
+Although the trip netted us no tangible results it was an experience of
+which we often think. We started just at dusk and installed ourselves in
+the bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an hour the forest was
+enveloped in the velvety blackness of the tropic night. Not a star nor a
+gleam of light was visible and I could not see my hand before my face.
+
+We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the breath of the jungle,
+which although without definite sound, was vibrant with life. Now and then
+a muntjac barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag thrilled us like an
+electric shock. Once a wild boar grunted on the opposite bank of the river,
+the sound coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although the
+animal was far away.
+
+Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the leaves and a small animal
+ran across my wife's lap, leaping frantically down the hill as it felt her
+move. For five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. Although no
+animals came to the water hole we were silent with a great happiness as we
+groped our way back to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the
+jungle and were thrilled with the mystery of the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+We saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not only was there a village
+half a mile beyond our camp, but natives were passing continually along the
+trail on their way to and from the Burma frontier. The village was named
+Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when we arrived, but the natives were cordial
+and agreed to hunt with us; when the head man returned, however, he was
+most unfriendly. He forbade the villagers from coming to our camp and
+arguments were of no avail. It soon became evident that only force could
+change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants and _mafus_, we
+visited his house. He was informed that unless he ceased his opposition and
+ordered his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to Meng-ting for
+trial before the mandarin. He grudgingly complied and we had no further
+trouble.
+
+We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and honest people but abnormally
+lazy. During our three weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although
+the natives prized them highly, and often brought to us those in which
+animals had been caught. Shans were continually about our camp where boxes
+were left unlocked, but not an article of our equipment was missed.
+
+The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot poles and built an open
+porch in front of the door, while the dwellings at Meng-ting and farther up
+the valley were all placed upon the ground. The thatched roofs overhung
+several feet and the sides of the houses were open so that the free passage
+of air kept them delightfully cool. Moreover, they were surprisingly clean,
+for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if they wore sandals,
+left them at the door. In the center of the single room, on a large flat
+stone, a small fire always burned, but much of the cooking was done on the
+porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over the hearth.
+
+The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support." The extensive rice
+paddys indicated that in the past there had been considerable cultivation
+but the fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers purchased all
+their vegetables from the Mohammedan hunter and two other Chinese who lived
+a mile up the trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes
+entertained. In all probability they lived upon the sale of smuggled opium
+for they were only a few miles from the Burma border.
+
+Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily tattooed. Usually the
+right leg alone, but sometimes both, were completely covered from the hip
+to the knee with intricate designs in black or red. The ornamentations
+often extended entirely around the body over the abdomen and waist, but
+less frequently on the breast and arms.
+
+All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations and usually
+fastened their wide trousers in such a way as to display them to the best
+advantage. We often could persuade a man to pose before the camera by
+admiring his tattoo marks and it was most amusing to watch his childlike
+pleasure.
+
+The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions, and it is probable
+that at one time it inhabited a large part of China south of the Yangtze
+River; indeed, there is reason to believe that the Cantonese Chinamen are
+chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial resemblance between the two races
+certainly is remarkable.
+
+Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory in Yün-nan before its
+conquest by the Mongol emperors of China in the thirteenth century A.D.,
+and at one time actually subdued Burma and established a dynasty of their
+own, at present the only independent kingdom of the race is that of Siam.
+By far the greatest number of Shans live in semi-independent states
+tributary to Burma, China, and Siam, and in Yün-nan inhabit almost all of
+the southern valleys below an altitude of 4,000 feet.
+
+The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such an extent of fertile
+land is because the low plains are considered unhealthy and the Chinese
+cannot, or will not, live there. Whether or not the malarial fever of
+the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be proved, but the
+Chinese believe it to be so and the result is the same. Where the
+Shans are numerous enough to have a chief of their own they live in a
+semi-independent state, for although their head man is subordinate to the
+district Chinese official, the latter seldom interferes with the internal
+affairs of the tribe.
+
+The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct Mongolian type
+of features and rather fair complexions. Their dress varies decidedly with
+the region, but the men of the southern part of the province on the
+Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so baggy that they are
+almost skirtlike, a white jacket, and a large white or pink turban
+surmounted by a huge straw hat. The women dress in a white jacket and skirt
+of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans are of similar material
+and may be worn in a high cylinder, a low oval, or many other shapes
+according to the particular part of the province in which they live.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one and we left it on March 7,
+with much regret. Its resources seemed to be almost exhausted and the
+Mohammedan hunter assured us that at a village called Ma-li-ling we would
+find excellent shooting. We asked him the distance and he replied, "About a
+long bamboo joint away." It required three days to get there!
+
+Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do not know but we
+eventually found it to be a tiny village built into the side of a hill in
+an absolutely barren country where there was not a vestige of cover. Our
+journey there was not uneventful. We left Nam-ka with high hopes which were
+somewhat dampened after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot where our
+caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.
+
+With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a good trail which led
+through dense jungle where there was not a clearing or a sign of life. In
+the afternoon we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and
+ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and emerged into an
+absolutely treeless valley between high barren hills. We knew that the
+Burma frontier could not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a
+large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the other side the hills
+were covered with bright green stalks and here and there a field glistened
+with white poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we were on the direct
+road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he said was in Burma. On our
+map it was marked well over the border in Chinese territory and we were
+greatly puzzled.
+
+About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were silhouetted against the
+sky on a tiny knoll in the midst of a grove of beautiful trees, and we
+camped at the edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid mud, but we
+were told that it was the only water supply of the village and its cattle.
+As though to prove the statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the
+hill, and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly chewing their
+cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women with buckets in their hands were
+constantly arriving at the pond for their evening supply of water. We had
+no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the filthy liquid but
+there was no alternative and after repeated boiling and several strainings
+we settled it with alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup.
+
+After dinner we questioned the few natives who spoke Chinese, but we became
+only more and more confused. They knew of no such place as Ma-li-ling and
+our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they were familiar with the
+trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther west in Burma and, moreover, they said
+that two hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. We were quite
+certain that they must be native Indian troops but thought that a white
+officer might perhaps be in command.
+
+We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible political
+difficulties since we had no permits to shoot in Burma, but there seemed to
+be no alternative, for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical
+Ma-li-ling. We eventually discovered that there were two villages by that
+name--one in Burma, and the other in China, where it was correctly placed
+on the map which we were using.
+
+While we were discussing the matter a tremendous altercation arose between
+the Chinese _mafus_ and the servants. For some time Roy did not interfere,
+supposing it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance at last became
+unbearable. Calling Wu we learned that because we had been so careful to
+avoid English territory the _mafus_ had conceived the idea that for some
+reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. Since we had inadvertently
+crossed into Burma it appeared to them that it would be an opportune time
+to extort an increase of wages. They announced, therefore, that unless
+extra money was given them at once they would untie the loads and leave us.
+
+They were hardly prepared for what followed, however. Taking his Mannlicher
+rifle, Roy called the _mafus_ together and told them that if any man
+touched a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if they made the
+slightest resistance the gun would be turned on them. A _mafus_' mules
+represent all his property and they did not relish the turn affairs had
+taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads guarded during the
+night. In the morning the _mafus_ were exceedingly surprised when they
+learned that we were going to Ma-li-pa and their change of front was
+laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please as they had been
+belligerent the night before.
+
+The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills through which we had
+passed on the previous afternoon. There was only one village, but it was
+surrounded by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a rather difficult
+matter for a native living in China near the border to understand why he
+should not be allowed to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards
+away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without restriction.
+Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better than on level ground. The plants
+begin to blossom in late February and the petals, when about to fall, are
+collected for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to cover the balls
+of opium. The seed pods which are left after the petals drop off are
+scarified vertically, at intervals of two or three days, by means of a
+sharp cutting instrument. The operation is usually performed about four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form of dried juice, is
+collected the next morning. When China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of
+opium and the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were from
+twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the Empire.
+
+We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon and found it to be a
+straggling village built on two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed
+population of Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly market day
+and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of Indian soldiers in khaki were
+standing about, and I called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of them speak
+English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with cap in hand, and said,
+"Yes, Madame, I speak English."
+
+One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our own language from a
+native in this out-of-the-way spot! He was the "compounder," or medical
+assistant, and told us that the hundred native troops were in charge of a
+white officer whose house was on the opposite side of the river gorge. He
+guided us to a temple and, while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a
+tall, handsome young British officer who introduced himself as Captain
+Clive. He was almost speechless with surprise at seeing me, for he had not
+spoken a sentence in English or seen a white person since his arrival at
+this lonely post five months before.
+
+He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin and we accepted
+gladly. On the way he gave us our first news of the outside world, for we
+had been beyond communication of any sort for months, and we learned that
+the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Germany.
+
+Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo house with a broad veranda
+and thatched with straw. It was delightfully cool and dark after the glare
+of the yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order. The care
+which Britishers take to keep from "letting down" while guarding the
+frontiers of their vast empire is proverbial, and Captain Clive was a
+splendid example of the Indian officer. He was as clean-shaved and
+well-groomed as though he had been expecting us for days and the tiffin to
+which we sat down was as dainty and well served as it could have been in
+the midst of civilization.
+
+The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of our young officer who had
+been temporarily detached from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis, and sent
+on border duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers were in
+active service in East Africa, and he had cried to resign several times,
+but the Indian government would not release him. When we reached Rangoon
+some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined his regiment
+and was at the front. Ma-li-pa was a recently established "winter station"
+and in May would be abandoned when the troop returned to Lashio, ten days'
+journey away. Comfortable barracks, cook houses, and a hospital had been
+erected beside a large space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade
+ground.
+
+Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph with Lashio, at the end of
+the railroad, and received a _résumé_ of world news two or three times a
+week. With mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages were
+flashed from one mountain top to another and, under favorable conditions,
+reached Lashio in seven or eight hours.
+
+We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks in an open field,
+for there was no available shade. Although Captain Clive was perfectly
+satisfied with our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed
+until he had communicated with the Indian government by heliograph. The
+border was being guarded very closely to prevent German sympathizers from
+crossing into Burma from China and inciting the native tribes to rebellion.
+
+In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among the Kachins in the
+Myitkyina district on the upper waters of the Irawadi River had been
+incited by a foreigner, I believe, and Clive had assisted in suppressing
+it. The Indian government was taking no further chances and had given
+strict orders to arrest and hold anyone, other than a native, who crossed
+the border from China.
+
+Very fortunately H.B.M. Consul-General Goffe at Yün-nan Fu had communicated
+with the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma concerning our Expedition and we
+consequently expected no trouble, but Captain Clive could not let us
+proceed until he had orders to do so from the Superintendent of the
+Northern Shan States. Through a delayed message this permission did not
+reach him for five days and in the meantime we made the most of the limited
+collecting resources which Ma-li-pa afforded.
+
+Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma. He rose at six
+o'clock and after coffee and rolls had drill for two hours. At half past
+ten a heavy meal took the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with
+sandwiches and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at eight. His
+company was composed of several different native tribes, and each religious
+caste had its own cook and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not
+prepare meals for men of another. It is an extraordinary system but one
+which appears to operate perfectly well under the adaptable English
+government. Certainly one of the great elements in the success of the
+British as colonizers is their respect for native customs and
+superstitions!
+
+The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised to hear all commands
+given in English although none of the men could understand that language.
+This is done to enable British and Indian troops to maneuver together.
+Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to his officers. In the evening
+the men played football on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had
+suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic carpet of the
+Arabian Nights.
+
+Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned about nine o'clock.
+Conditions were not favorable for small mammals and although we could
+undoubtedly have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats we did not set a
+line of steel traps for we expected to leave at any time. Our attention was
+mostly devoted to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred
+interesting specimens.
+
+We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain Clive and he dined with
+us in the evening. He had brought with him from Lashio a large quantity of
+supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done at home. Although
+the days were very warm, the nights were cold and a camp fire was most
+acceptable.
+
+Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese authorities and,
+while we were there, a very old mandarin, blind and infirm, called to
+present his compliments. He had been an ardent sportsman and was especially
+interested in our guns; had we been willing to accept the commission he
+would have paid us the money then and there to purchase for him a Savage
+.250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old gentleman always had
+been very loyal to the British and had received several decorations for his
+services.
+
+A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman crawled into camp with
+his throat terribly cut. He had been attacked by brigands only a few miles
+over the border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The company
+"compounder" took him in charge and, when Clive asked him about the
+patient, his evasive answers were most amusing; like all Orientals he would
+not commit himself to any definite statement because he might "lose face"
+if his opinion proved to be wrong.
+
+Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman will die?" Looking
+very judicial the native replied, "Sir, he _may_ die, and yet, he may
+live." "But," said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "Yes," was the
+answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That was all the satisfaction he
+was able to get.
+
+Clive told us of another native who formerly had been in his company. He
+had been transferred and one day the Captain met him in Rangoon. When asked
+if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical, "Sir, it is good, but
+not _s-o-o_ good!"
+
+On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a heliograph from Rangoon
+announced that "The Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of
+Natural History is especially commended to His Majesty's Indian Government
+and permission is hereby granted to carry on its work in Burma wherever it
+may desire." This was only one of the many courtesies which we received
+from the British.
+
+The morning following the receipt of the heliogram we broke camp at
+daylight. When the last mule of the caravan had disappeared over the brown
+hills toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode away. If we are
+ever again made "prisoners of war" we hope our captor will be as delightful
+a gentleman as Captain Clive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+From Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the Salween River. The
+country through which we passed was a succession of dry treeless hills,
+brown and barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of the third day
+we reached the Salween at a ferry a few miles from the village of Changlung
+where the river begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across the
+border from China into Burma.
+
+The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself through the mountains and
+the sides are so precipitous that the trail doubles back upon itself a
+dozen times before it reaches the river 3,500 feet below. The upper half of
+the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees, but in the lower part the
+grass is long and rank and a thin dry jungle straggles along the water's
+edge. The Salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide, but
+narrows to half that distance below the ferry and flows in a series of
+rapids between rocky shores.
+
+The valley is devoid of human life except for three boatmen who tend the
+ferry, but the deserted rice fields along a narrow shelf showed evidence of
+former cultivation. On the slopes far up the side of the cañon is a Miao
+village, a tribe which we had not seen before. Probably the valley is too
+unhealthy for any natives to live close to the water's edge and, even at
+the time of our visit in early March, the heated air was laden with
+malaria.
+
+The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with opium, and assured us
+that there were no mammals near the river. They admitted that they
+sometimes heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched on a steep
+sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird catlike call of a peacock echoed
+up the valley. It was answered by another farther down the river, and the
+report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth a wild "pe-haun,"
+"pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a dozen places.
+
+The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles lashed together with vines
+and creepers. It floated just above the surface and was half submerged when
+loaded. The natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in place of oars.
+It consisted of a piece of tightly woven bamboo matting three feet long and
+two feet wide at right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle. With
+these the men nonchalantly raked the water toward them from the bow and
+stern when they had poled the raft well into the current. The invested
+capital was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers" needed
+repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed to build an entirely new
+outfit.
+
+All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the river from our camp
+where the jungle was thickest. On the first morning my wife and I floated
+down the river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a peacock
+which had called frequently from a rocky point near the water's edge. We
+picked our way through the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old
+cock either saw or heard us before we were within range, and I caught just
+a glimpse of a brilliant green neck as he disappeared into the bushes. A
+second bird called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused to
+come into the open and as we started to stalk it in the jungle we heard a
+patter of feet among the dry leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw
+the bird sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a bush-clad
+hill.
+
+This was the only peacock which we were ever able to flush when it had
+already gained cover. Usually the birds depend entirely upon their ability
+to hide or run through the bushes. After several attempts we learned that
+it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully. The jungle was so
+crisp and parched that the dry leaves crackled at every step and even small
+birds made a loud noise while scratching on the ground.
+
+The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for them at the river when
+they came to drink in the early morning and evening. Between two rocky
+points where we had first seen the birds there was a long curved beach of
+fine white sand. One morning Heller waited on the point nearest camp while
+my wife and I posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river. We had
+been sitting quietly for half an hour when we heard a scratching in the
+jungle. Thinking it was a peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water
+and sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. Meanwhile, Heller witnessed
+an interesting little drama enacted behind us.
+
+An old male peacock with a splendid train stole around the point close to
+the water, jumped to a high stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a
+full minute craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view as we
+kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his presence. After he had
+satisfied his curiosity he hopped off the observation pinnacle and, with
+his body flattened close to the ground, slipped quietly away. It was an
+excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had Heller not witnessed
+the scene we should never have known how the clever old bird had fooled us.
+
+The following morning we got a peahen at the same place. Heller had
+concealed himself in the bushes on one side of the point while I watched
+the other. Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the jungle on
+set wings and alighted at the water's edge. She saw Heller almost
+instantly, although he was completely covered by the vines, and started to
+fly, but he dropped her with a broken wing. Recovering herself, she darted
+around the rocky point only to meet a charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was
+a beautiful bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow and
+blue face patch and a green neck and back, but her plumes were short and
+inconspicuous when compared with those of the male.
+
+Probably these birds had never before been hunted but they were exceedingly
+shy and difficult to kill. Although they called more or less during the
+entire day and we could locate them exactly, they were so far back in the
+jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made a stalk impossible. We
+tried to drive them but were unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush
+unless they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover. Apparently
+realizing that their brilliant plumage made them conspicuous objects, the
+birds relied entirely upon an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful
+sight and hearing to protect themselves from enemies.
+
+They usually came to the river to drink very early in the morning and just
+before dusk in the afternoon, but on cloudy days they might appear at
+almost any hour. If undisturbed they would remain near the water's edge for
+a considerable time or strut about the sand beach just at the edge of the
+jungle. At the sound of a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks
+would answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the domesticated
+birds will do.
+
+The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is poison and our
+servants were horrified when they learned that we intended to eat it. They
+fully expected that we would not survive the night and, even when they saw
+we had experienced no ill effects, they could not be persuaded to touch any
+of it themselves. An old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds
+are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and roasted they are almost
+the equal of turkey.
+
+The species which we killed on the Salween River is the green peafowl
+(_Pavo munticus_) which inhabits Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay
+Peninsula. Its neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common
+Indian peacock (_Pavo cristatus_), and it is said that it is the most
+beautiful bird of the world.
+
+The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are dropped about August
+and the birds assume more simple barred plumes, but the molt is very
+irregular; usually the full plumage is resumed in March or even earlier.
+The train is, of course, an ornament to attract the female and, when a cock
+is strutting about with spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar
+rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.
+
+The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush in the dense
+jungle, are dull brownish white and nearly three inches long. The chicks
+are sometimes domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said
+they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The birds are omnivorous,
+feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles, flower buds, young shoots, and grain.
+
+The common peafowl (_Pavo cristatus_) is a native of India, Ceylon, and
+Assam. It is held sacred by some religious castes and we saw dozens of the
+birds wandering about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra, and
+Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable pets because they often
+attack infirm persons and children and kill young poultry.
+
+In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so abundant and easily
+killed that they do not furnish even passable sport, but in other places
+they are as wild and difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the
+Salween River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen that
+wherever peafowls are common, there tiger will be found.
+
+A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen abruptly in
+domestication is the so-called "japanned" or black-shouldered peacock named
+_Pavo nigripennis_ by Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is intermediate
+between _P. munticus_ and _P. cristatus_ and apparently "breeds true" but
+never has been found in a wild state. Albino specimens are by no means
+unusual and are a feature of many zoölogical gardens.
+
+Peacocks have been under domestication for many centuries and are mentioned
+in the Bible as having been imported into Palestine by Solomon; although
+the bird is referred to in mythology, the Greeks probably had but little
+knowledge of it until after the conquests of Alexander.
+
+In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from our camp on the Salween
+River I put up a silver pheasant (_Euplocamus nycthemerus_), one of the
+earliest known and most beautiful species of the family Phasianidae. Its
+white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black, extends like a wedding
+veil over the head, back and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black
+underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs.
+
+This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon the heart and back
+badges of the official dresses of civil mandarins to denote the rank of the
+wearer, and is found only in southern and western China. It is by no means
+abundant in the parts of Yün-nan which we visited and, moreover, lives in
+such dense jungle that it is difficult to find. The natives sometimes snare
+the birds and offer them for sale alive.
+
+We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween River, but were not
+successful in killing any. They were probably the Indian baboon (_Macacus
+rhesus_) and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most
+extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and sometimes came down to
+the water to skip and dance along the sand and play among the rocks. The
+monkeys invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river from us and
+by the time we hunted up the boatmen and got the clumsy raft to the other
+shore the baboons had disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running
+through the trees up the mountain-side.
+
+The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping ground for either
+small or large mammals, but the birds were interesting and we secured a
+good many species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were abundant and
+pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks along the river and only two
+cormorants.
+
+Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay, for it is a long way
+from the main road and the climb out of the gorge is too formidable to be
+undertaken if the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where the
+valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped at the river the heat was
+most uncomfortable during the middle of the day and was but little
+mitigated by the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer the valley
+at this point must be a veritable furnace and doubtless reeks with fever.
+We slept under nets at night and in the early evening, while we were
+watching for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+It is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley. We left on March 24 and
+all day crawled up the steep sides on a trail which doubled back and forth
+upon itself like an endless letter S. From our camp at night the river was
+just visible as a thin green line several thousand feet below, and for the
+first time in days, we needed a charcoal fire in our tents.
+
+We were _en route_ to Lung-ling, a town of considerable size, where there
+was a possibility that mail might be awaiting us in care of the mandarin.
+Although ordinarily a three days' journey, it was more than four days
+before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack of malaria shortly after
+leaving the Salween River and we had to travel half stages.
+
+When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude of 5,000 feet, we
+arrived at a Chinese town. Its dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together
+in a crowded mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged children and
+foot-bound women, were in unpleasant contrast to the charming little Shan
+villages which we had seen in the low country. The inhabitants themselves
+appeared to no better advantage when compared with their Shan neighbors,
+for their stares and insolent curiosity were almost unbearable.
+
+The region between the Salween River at Changlung and Lung-ling is as
+uninteresting to the zoölogist as it could possibly be, for the hills are
+dry and bare and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical Chinese town
+except that the streets are wide and it is not as dirty as usual. The
+mandarin was a jolly rotund little fellow who simulated great sympathy when
+he informed me that he had received no mail for us. We had left directions
+to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang and in the event that he did not
+find our camp to proceed to Lung-ling with the mail. We learned some weeks
+later that the runner had been frightened by brigands and had turned back
+long before he reached Meng-ting.
+
+We had heard from our _mafus_ and other natives that black monkeys were to
+be found on a mountain pass not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu, on the
+main Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain that they would
+prove to be gibbons, we decided to make that our next hunting camp. It was
+three stages from Lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we again
+descended to the Salween River.
+
+The valley at this point is several miles wide and is so dry that the few
+shrubs and bushes seem to be parched and barely able to live. At the upper
+end a picturesque village is set among extensive rice fields. Although a
+few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly Shans who are in a
+transitory state and are gradually adopting Chinese customs. The houses are
+joined to each other in the Chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with
+straw. In shape as well as in composition they are quite unlike the
+dwellings of the southern Shans. The women wore cylindrical turbans, about
+eighteen inches high, which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the
+men were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of Chinese blue. I believe
+that some of the Shan women also had bound feet but of this I cannot be
+certain.
+
+We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree at the far end of the
+village street, and a short time after the tents were up we had a visit
+from the Shan magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow wearing
+foreign dress and quite _au courant_ with foreign ways. He even owned a
+breech-loading shotgun, and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. He
+presented us with the usual chickens and I returned several tins of
+cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman and directed us to a place
+on the mountain above the village where he said monkeys were abundant.
+
+We left early in the morning with a guide and, after a hard climb, arrived
+at a little village near the forest to which the magistrate had directed
+us. Not only did the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys but
+we discovered for ourselves that the only water was more than a mile away,
+and that camping there was out of the question.
+
+The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu. It is a tiny village built
+into the mountain-side with hardly fifty yards of level ground about it,
+but commanding a magnificent view over the Salween valley. Although we
+reached there at half past two in the afternoon the _mafus_ insisted on
+camping because they swore that there was no water within fifty _li_ up the
+mountain. Very unwillingly I consented to camp and the next morning found,
+as usual, that the _mafus_ had lied for there was a splendid camping place
+with good water not two hours from Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for
+the Chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small matters, and the
+head _mafu_ blandly admitted that he knew there was a camping place farther
+on but that he was tired and wanted to stop early.
+
+As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted with a ringing
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the forest five hundred feet below us; they
+were the calls of gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those of
+the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once and, after considerable
+prospecting, chose a flat place beside the road. It was by no means ideal
+but had the advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from either side
+of the ridge which for its entire length was scarcely two hundred feet in
+width. The sides fell away for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad
+slopes and, as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of mountains
+rolled outward in a great sea of green.
+
+Our camp would have been delightful except for the wind which swept across
+the pass night and day in an unceasing gale. My wife and I set a line of
+traps along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge, while
+Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced with the forest. The
+trees were immense spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed a
+solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft moss carpet underneath. Every
+trunk was clothed in a smothering mass of vines and ferns and parasitic
+plants and, from the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers swayed
+back and forth with every breath of wind. Below, the forest was fairly open
+save for occasional patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so
+close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more than a somber
+twilight beneath the trees.
+
+Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale which howled up
+the valley from the south and swept across the ridge in a torrent of wind.
+The huge trees around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed about to be
+torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of branches and the roar of the wind it
+was impossible to hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question.
+We lay in our bags expecting every second to have the covering torn from
+above our heads, but the tough cloth held, and at midnight the gale began
+to lull. In the morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind
+never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was a breathless calm
+among the trees a few hundred feet below.
+
+My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our line of traps about
+nine o'clock in the morning when the forest suddenly resounded with the
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off at
+first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At the first note we
+seized our guns and dashed down the mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and
+falling. The animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet below
+the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we moved cautiously from tree
+to tree, going forward only when they called. It was one of the most
+exciting stalks I have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed always
+close above our heads.
+
+We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black monkey leaped out of a
+tree top just as I stepped from behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. For
+a full half minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head thrust
+forward staring intently; then launching himself into the air as though
+shot from a catapult he caught a branch twenty feet away, swung to another,
+and literally flew through the tree tops. Without a sound save the swish of
+the branches and splash after splash in the leaves, the entire herd
+followed him down the hill. It was out of range for the shotgun and my wife
+was ten feet behind me with the rifle, but had I had it in my hand I doubt
+if I could have hit one of those flying balls of fur.
+
+We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but two days later we
+redeemed ourselves and brought in the first new gibbons. We were sitting on
+a bed of fragrant pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been
+chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when suddenly the wild
+call of the monkeys echoed up the mountain-side.
+
+They were far away to the left, and we ran toward them, stumbling and
+slipping on the moss-covered rocks and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa"
+sounding louder every moment. They seemed almost under us at times and we
+would stand motionless and silent only to hear the howls die away in the
+distance. At last we located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge
+filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny plants. It was an
+impossible place to cross, and we sat down, irresolute and discouraged. In
+a few moments a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black apes
+swinging along through the trees, two hundred yards away. Finally they
+stopped and began to feed. They were small marks at that distance but I
+rested my little Mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot while Yvette
+watched them with the glasses. One big fellow swung out on a branch and
+hung with one arm while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other.
+Yvette saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did not move, and
+at the roar of the second he dropped heavily into the vines below. A brown
+female ran along the branch a few seconds later and peered down into the
+jungle where the first monkey had fallen. I covered her carefully with the
+ivory head of the front sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong
+off the tree.
+
+For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of leaves and three huge
+black males leaped into full view from the summit of a tall tree. They were
+silhouetted against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick succession
+registering two clean misses. The bullets must have whizzed too close for
+comfort and they faded instantly into the forest like three black shadows.
+
+For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense foliage hoping to catch
+a glimpse of a swaying branch. Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling in the low
+tree beneath which we were sitting and seized me violently by the arm,
+screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above us. Quick, quick, he's
+going!"
+
+I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not twenty feet away hung
+a huge brown monkey half the size of a man. Almost in a daze I fired with
+the shotgun. The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long arm and a pair
+of eyes blazing like living coals, stared into mine. I fired again point
+blank as the huge mouth, baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a
+bloodcurdling howl. The monkey slowly swung back again, its arm relaxed and
+the animal fell at my feet, stone dead.
+
+It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance we had chosen, from all
+the trees in the forest, to sit under the very one in which the gibbon had
+been hiding and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.
+
+While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of the gorge, I climbed down
+into the jungle to try and make my way up the opposite side where the other
+monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the rocks were covered with
+a thin layer of earth which supported a dense growth of vegetation. If I
+tried to let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern it would
+almost invariably strip away with a long layer of dirt and send me
+headlong.
+
+After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine where a mountain
+torrent leaped and foamed over the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade
+to a pool fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite side was
+more difficult than the descent and twice I had to return after finding the
+way impassable.
+
+A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated me from the spot
+where the gibbons had fallen. I skirted the rock face and had laboriously
+worked my way around and above it when a vine to which I had been clinging
+stripped off and I began to slide. Faster and faster I went, dragging a
+mass of ferns and creepers with me, for everything I grasped gave way.
+
+I thought it was the end of things for me because I was hardly ten feet
+above the precipice which fell away to the jagged rocks of the stream bed
+in a drop of seventy feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my life.
+Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me flattened out against
+the cliff. But even then I was far from safe, as I realized when I tried to
+twist about to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from a bush
+above my head.
+
+How I managed to crawl back to safety among the trees I can remember only
+vaguely. I finally got down to the bottom of the cañon, but felt weak and
+sick and it was half an hour before I could climb up to the place where my
+wife was waiting. She was already badly frightened for she had not seen me
+since I left her an hour before and, when I answered her call, she was
+about to follow into the jungle where I had disappeared. We left the two
+monkeys to be recovered from above and went slowly back to camp.
+
+The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of the Nam-ting River. They
+represent a well-known species called the "hoolock" (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+which is also found in Burma.
+
+The males, both old and young, are coal black with a fringe of white hairs
+about the face, and the females are light brown. Their note is totally
+unlike the Nam-ting River gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the
+top of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle for an hour
+or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes as they swing through
+the branches and are silent during the remainder of the day. They called
+most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom heard them during cloudy
+weather.
+
+Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every day,
+but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons
+of the Nam-ting River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops at
+almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things which I have
+ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw themselves from one
+tree to another with unerring precision.
+
+On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three months and our share
+amounted to 105 letters besides a great quantity of magazines. Wu had
+ridden to Teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had a
+basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Reuter's cablegrams which
+were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of
+the Chinese Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen also sent a
+note telling us of a good hunting ground near Teng-yueh.
+
+We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers and,
+through them, began to get in touch with the world again. It is strange how
+little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its reach and
+has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. And it is just as strange
+how essential it all seems immediately one is again within reach of such
+adjuncts of civilization.
+
+On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water fell in torrents,
+and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant that we could
+barely hear each other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp had
+not been made with reference to weather and during the night I waked to
+find that we were in the middle of a pond with fifteen inches of water in
+the tent. Shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface of
+the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our cots. This was the
+beginning of a ten days' rain after which we had six weeks of as delightful
+weather as one could wish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+
+TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village
+called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride
+along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed through grove
+after grove of rhododendrons in full blossom. The trees were sometimes
+thirty feet in height and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living
+coals among their dark green leaves. In the northern part of Yün-nan the
+rhododendrons grow above other timber line on mountains where it is too
+high even for spruces.
+
+It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu. I had another attack
+of the Salween malaria and for five or six days could do little work.
+Heller, however, made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned
+pheasant, Temmick's tragopan (_Ceriornis temmincki_), besides half a dozen
+langurs of the same species as those we had collected on the Nam-ting
+River. He also was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels
+(_Petaurista yunnanensis_) which we had hoped to get at Wei-hsi. He saw the
+animal in the upper branches of a dead tree on the first evening we were in
+Tai-ping-pu but was not able to get a shot. The next night he watched the
+same spot and killed the squirrel with a charge of "fours." It measured
+forty-two and one-quarter inches from the nose to the end of the tail and
+was a rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the underparts were
+cream white. As in all flying squirrels, the four legs were connected by a
+sheet of skin called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body. This
+acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail from tree to tree for,
+of course, it cannot fly like a bat. As these huge squirrels are strictly
+nocturnal, they are not often seen even by the natives. We were told by the
+Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building huge fires in the woods they
+could attract the animals and shoot them with their crossbows.
+
+A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel from a native and
+kept it for several days in the hope that it might become tame. The animal
+was exceedingly savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at
+anyone who approached its basket. It could not be tempted to eat or drink
+and, as it was a valuable specimen, we eventually chloroformed it.
+
+Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half dozen families
+of Lisos were living, and we hired the men to hunt for us. They were
+good-natured fellows, as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and
+worked well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck which had been
+killed with their crossbows and poisoned darts. The arrows were about
+twelve inches long, made of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece
+of the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels were sharpened to
+a needle point, but the hunting darts were tipped with steel or iron. The
+poison they extracted from a plant, which I never saw, and it was said that
+it takes effect very rapidly.
+
+The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot in the side with a single
+arrow and they assured us that only the flesh immediately surrounding the
+wound had been spoiled for food. These natives like the Mosos, Lolos, and
+others carried their darts in a quiver made from the leg skin of a black
+bear, and none of the men wished to sell their weapons; I finally did
+obtain a crossbow and quiver for six dollars (Mexican).
+
+Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the Lisos guided my wife and
+me to a large cave where they said there was a colony of bats. The cavern
+was an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult and dangerous
+place in the side of a cliff just above a swift mountain stream. We strung
+our gill net across the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to
+stir up the animals while we caught them as they flew out. In less than
+half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown bats, but our fingers were cut
+and bleeding from the vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. They all
+represented a widely distributed species which we had already obtained at
+Yün-nan Fu.
+
+From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu asking him to
+forward to Teng-yueh the specimens which we had left in his care, and the
+day following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing our cases
+passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves, were about ready to leave and two
+days later at ten o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain
+summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh plain which lay before us
+like a relief map. It is as flat as a plain well can be and, except where a
+dozen or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley is one vast
+watery rice field. Far in the distance, outside the gray city walls, we
+could see two temple-like buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds,
+and Wu told us they were the houses of the Customs officials.
+
+Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting" or second-class Chinese
+city, is one of the most important places in the province, for it stands as
+the door to India. All the trade of Burma and Yün-nan flows back and forth
+through the gates of Teng-yueh, over the great caravan road to Bhamo on the
+upper Irawadi.
+
+An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs, which are administered by
+the British government as security for the Boxer indemnity, is situated in
+this city, and we were looking forward with the greatest interest to
+meeting its white population. At the time of our visit the foreigners
+included Messrs. H.G. Fletcher and Ralph C. Grierson, respectively Acting
+Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Customs; Messrs. W.R. Palmer and
+Abertsen, also of the Customs; Mr. Eastes, H.B.M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian
+Medical Officer, and Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the China Inland Mission;
+Mr. Eastes, accompanied by the resident mandarin, was absent on a three
+months' opium inspection tour so that we did not meet him.
+
+We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and camped in a temple outside the
+city walls. Immediately after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson and went
+with him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and Palmer were
+living. We found there a Scotch botanist, Mr. Forrest, an old traveler in
+Yün-nan who was _en route_ to A-tun-zu on a three-year plant-hunting
+expedition for an English commercial firm. We had heard much of Forrest
+from Messrs. Kok and Hanna and were especially glad to meet him because of
+his wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province. Mr. Forrest
+was interested chiefly in primroses and rhododendrons, I believe, and in
+former years obtained a rather remarkable collection of these plants.
+
+From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United States had declared war
+on Germany. It had been announced only a week before, and the information
+had reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately. It came as
+welcome news to us Americans who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to
+ourselves and others our country's lethargy in the face of Teuton
+insolence, and made us feel that once again we could acknowledge our
+nationality with the pride we used to feel.
+
+On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his guests and to move our
+caravan and belongings to his beautiful home. We were charmed with it and
+our host. The house was built with upturned, temple-like gables, and from
+his cool verandah we could look across an exquisite flower-filled garden to
+the blue mountains from which we had had our first view of Teng-yueh the
+day before. The interior of the dwelling was as attractive as its
+surroundings, and the beautifully served meals were as varied and dainty as
+one could have had in the midst of a great city.
+
+Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their sport with them.
+Just beyond the city walls an excellent golf course had been laid out with
+Chinese graves as bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind the
+Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent polo ponies, besides
+three trained pointer dogs, and riding and shooting over the beautiful
+hills gave him an almost ideal life. We found that Mr. Fletcher had a
+really remarkable selection of records and an excellent Victrola. After
+dinner, as we listened to the music, we had only to close our eyes and
+float back to New York and the Metropolitan Opera House on the divine
+harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or Caruso's matchless voice. But none of
+us wished to be there in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and
+the music already brought with it a lingering sadness because our days in
+the free, wild mountains of China were drawing to a close.
+
+During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we dried and packed all our
+specimens in tin-lined boxes which were purchased from the agent of the
+British American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were just the right
+size to carry on muleback and, after the birds and mammals had been wrapped
+in cotton and sprinkled with napthalene, the cases were soldered and made
+air tight. The most essential thing in sending specimens of any kind
+through a moist, tropical climate such as India is to have them perfectly
+dry before the boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their
+destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined.
+
+On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased from a native two bear
+cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_) about a week old. Each was coal black except for a
+V-shaped white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When they first came to
+us they were too young to eat and we fed them diluted condensed milk from a
+spoon.
+
+The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the story of their amusing
+ways as they grew older is a book in itself. After a month one of the cubs
+died, leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only lived and
+flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.
+
+He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the Irawadi River to Rangoon,
+and across the Bay of Bengal to Calcutta. He then visited many cities in
+India, and at Bombay boarded the P. & O.S.S. _Namur_ for Hongkong and
+became the pet of the ship. From China we took him to Japan, across the
+Pacific to Vancouver, and finally to our home at Lawrence Park, Bronxville,
+New York. After an adventurous career as a house pet, when his exploits had
+made him famous and ourselves disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully
+sent him to the National Zoölogical Park, Washington, D.C., where he is
+living happily at the present time. He was the most delightful little pet
+we have ever owned and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his
+early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can see him still as he
+came to us the first week. He might well have been the model for the
+original "Teddy Bear" for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears
+and sparkling little eyes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+A few months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen had discovered a
+splendid hunting ground near the village of Hui-yao, about eighty _li_ from
+Teng-yueh. He had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while passing
+through the village, the natives told him that a large herd of _gnai-yang_
+or "wild goats" lived on the side of a hill through which a branch of the
+Shweli River had cut a deep gorge.
+
+Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the accuracy of the report
+he spent two days hunting and with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover,
+he saw twenty-five others. We examined the two skins and realized at once
+that they represented a different species from those of the Snow Mountain.
+Therefore, when we left Teng-yueh our first camp was at Hui-yao.
+
+Heller and I started with four natives shortly after daylight. We crossed a
+tumbledown wooden bridge over the river at a narrow cañon where the sides
+were straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for about two
+miles. On the way Heller, who was in front, saw two muntjac standing in the
+grass on an open hillside, and shot the leader. The deer pitched headlong
+but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off into the thick cover
+at the edge of the meadow. It had disappeared before Heller reached the
+clearing but he saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock.
+Although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal ran a quarter of a
+mile, and he finally discovered her several hours later in the bushes
+beside the river.
+
+In a short time we reached an open hillside which rose six or seven hundred
+feet above the river in a steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall
+of rock bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We separated at this
+point. Heller, with two natives, keeping near the river, while I climbed up
+the hill to work along the cliffs half way to the summit.
+
+In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort and, looking up, saw
+three gorals standing on a ledge seventy-five yards above him. He fired
+twice but missed and the animals disappeared around a corner of the hill. A
+few hundred yards farther on he saw a single old ram but his two shots
+apparently had no effect.
+
+Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far from the summit for a
+mile or more without seeing an animal. Fresh tracks were everywhere and
+well-cut trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass. I had
+reached an impassable precipice and was returning across a steep slope when
+seven gorals jumped out of the grass where they had been lying asleep. I
+was in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick succession as
+the animals appeared through the branches, but missed both times.
+
+I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then nearly two hundred yards
+away. One big ram had left the herd and was trotting along broadside on. I
+aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his head appeared in
+the peep sight. He turned a beautiful somersault and rolled over and over
+down the hill, finally disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water.
+
+The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds later I saw a small one
+slowly skirting the rocks on the very summit of the hill. The first shot
+kicked the dirt beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran behind
+a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher on the trunk of a tree,
+covering the edge of the rock with the ivory head of the front sight and
+waited. I was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal out, and in
+two or three minutes his head appeared. I fired instantly, boring him
+through both shoulders, and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging
+against a rock not fifty yards from where we stood.
+
+The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling at the top of their
+lungs, ran up the hill like goats to bring the animal down to me. It was a
+young male in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches long. Our
+pleasure was somewhat dampened, however, when we went to recover the first
+goral for we found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge of the
+river it had either rolled or crawled into the water. We searched along the
+bank for half a mile but without success and returned to Hui-yao just in
+time for tiffin.
+
+In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little grove on the
+opposite side of the river behind the hunting grounds. Heller, instead of
+going over with the caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the
+pine forest where he could look across the river to the hill on which we
+had hunted in the morning. With his field glasses he discovered five gorals
+in an open meadow, and opened fire. It was long shooting but the animals
+did not know which way to run, and he killed three of the herd before they
+disappeared. Our first day had, therefore, netted us one deer and four
+gorals which was better than at any other camp we had had in China.
+
+We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao would prove to be a
+wonderful hunting ground, and the two weeks we spent there justified all
+our hopes. At other places the cover was so dense or the country so rough
+that it was necessary to depend entirely upon dogs and untrained natives,
+but here the animals were on open hillsides where they could be still
+hunted with success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn something
+about the habits of the animals for we could watch them with glasses from
+the opposite side of the river when they were quite unconscious of our
+presence.
+
+There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that we did not bring in one
+or more gorals and even after we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens
+were left. Shooting the animals from across the river was rather an
+unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very effective method of
+collecting the particular specimens we needed for the Museum series. The
+distance was so great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the
+bullets were coming and almost any number of shots might be had before the
+animals made for cover. It became simply a case of long range target
+shooting at seldom less than three hundred yards.
+
+Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter, however, and was
+as good sport as I have ever had. The rocks and open meadow slopes were so
+precipitous that there was very real danger every moment, for one misstep
+would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to the bottom where he would
+inevitably be killed.
+
+The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the sheerest cliffs or to
+hide in the rank grass, and it took close work to find them. I used most
+frequently to ride from camp to the river, send back the horse by a _mafu_,
+and work along the face of the rock wall with my two native boys. Their
+eyesight was wonderful and they often discovered gorals lying among the
+rocks when I had missed them entirely with my powerful prism binoculars.
+Their eyes had never been dimmed by study and I suppose were as keen as
+those of primitive man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives
+thousands of years ago over these same hills.
+
+There were many glorious hunts and it would be wearisome were I to describe
+them all, but one afternoon stands out in my memory above the others. It
+was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away from camp, across
+the rice fields and up the grassy valley to the long sweep of open meadow
+on the rim of the river gorge.
+
+Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter, and I crawled carefully
+to a jutting point of rocks and lay face down to inspect the cliffs above
+and to the left. With my glasses I scanned every inch of the gray wall, but
+could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi I saw him gazing
+intently at the rock which I had just examined, and in a moment he
+whispered excitedly "_gnai-yang_." By putting both hands to the side of his
+head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and although he pointed
+with my rifle, it was full five minutes before I could discover the goral
+flat upon his belly against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore
+legs doubled beneath his body. He was sound asleep in the sun and looked as
+though he might remain forever.
+
+By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up above and circle around
+the cliff to a ragged promontory which jutted into space within a hundred
+yards of the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour before we
+peered cautiously between two rocks opposite the ledge where the goral had
+been asleep. The animal was gone. We looked at each other in blank
+amazement and then began a survey of the ground below.
+
+Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the ram feeding in an open
+meadow and we began at once to make our way down the face of the cliff. It
+was dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety and worked
+cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the goral had been standing. Again we
+crawled like snakes among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving
+grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared, and even Achi could not
+discover a sign of life upon the meadow.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and looked around.
+Instantly there was a rattle of stones and a huge goral leaped out of the
+grass thirty yards away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle and
+shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the animal. Swearing
+softly at my carelessness, I threw in another shell, selected a spot in
+front of the ram, and fired. The splendid animal sank in its tracks without
+a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.
+
+I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized me by the arm,
+whispering "_gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang, na, na, na, na_," and
+pointing to the cliffs two hundred yards above us. I looked up just in time
+to see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit of the ridge.
+An instant later he appeared again and stopped broadside on with his noble
+head thrown up, silhouetted against the sky. It was a perfect target and,
+resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the animal with the white bead
+and centered it in the rear sight. As I touched the hair trigger and the
+roar of the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the cliff, the
+animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling over and over down the
+meadow and bringing up against a boulder not twenty yards from the first
+goral.
+
+That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk I would not have
+changed my lot with any man on earth. The breathless excitement of the
+stalk and the wild thrill of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid
+rams were still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley and across
+the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette ran to the edge of the
+grove, her hands filled with wet photographic negatives. "How many?" she
+called. "Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many for you?" "Fourteen
+color plates," she sung back happily, "and all good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+We had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during our first week in camp.
+He rode out on Thursday afternoon and remained until Sunday, bringing us
+mail, war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with goral meat for all
+the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the afternoon of his visit I had killed
+three monkeys which represented a different species from any we had
+obtained before. They were the Indian baboon (_Macacus rhesus_) and were
+probably like those of the Salween River at Changlung.
+
+I found two great troupes of the monkeys running along the opposite river
+bank. The first herd was climbing up the almost perpendicular rock walls,
+swinging on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in the tufts of
+grass. I could not approach nearer than one hundred and fifty yards and did
+some very bad shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at that
+distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires a much better shot
+than I am to register more hits than misses. I did kill two, but both
+dropped into the river and promptly sank, so that I gave it up.
+
+Less than a half mile farther on another and larger troupe appeared among
+the boulders just at the water's edge. Profiting by my experience, I kept
+out of sight among the bushes and watched the animals play about until one
+hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant. I got six in this way, but
+we were able to recover only three of them from the water.
+
+Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the doe which he killed on
+the first day. One of the largest bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers
+three and one half inches long from the burr to the tip. The skin-covered
+projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the summits of which
+the antlers grow, measured two and one-half inches from the skull to the
+burrs. Evidently the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for,
+although they were all in full summer pelage, two already had lost their
+antlers while the other had not. I can think of no more delicious meat than
+the flesh of these little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by
+the English sportsmen of India as they are by the foreigners of China.
+
+I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was fortunate in killing a
+splendid coal-black serow which represents a sub-species new to science;
+although the natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick
+jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen for years. Heller
+and I had gone to this part of the gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys
+which he had located on the previous day. We had separated, Heller keeping
+close to the water while I skirted the cliffs near the summit not far from
+the road which led through the pine forest.
+
+I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when suddenly with a snort a
+large animal dashed out of a thicket below and to the left. I caught a
+glimpse of a great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns as the
+beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized that it was a serow. A
+few seconds later it reappeared, running directly away from me along the
+upper edge of the gorge. I fired and the animal dropped, gave a convulsive
+twist, rolled over, and plunged into the cañon.
+
+As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited yells from below, and
+it was evident that some natives near the water had seen it fall. I had
+slight hope that they might have rescued it from the river, but my heart
+was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying to find a place where it was
+possible to descend. A wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away
+guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible for a human being
+to walk along it, and in proof I slid the last half of the way to the rocks
+at the river's edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck.
+
+When we reached the stream it was only to find a flat wall against which
+the water surged in a mass of white foam, separating us from the place
+where the serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock but in two
+steps the water was above my waist. It was evident that we would have to
+swim, and I began to undress, inviting Achi and the wood cutter to follow;
+the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few clothes with
+considerable hesitation.
+
+It was a swim of only about forty feet around the face of the cliff but the
+current was strong and it was no easy matter to fight my way to the other
+side. After I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood cutter to
+follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently the current was more than
+he had bargained for and a look of fear crossed his face, but he went
+manfully at it.
+
+He had almost reached the rock on which I was standing with outstretched
+hand when his strength seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. I
+jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one hand and letting my
+legs float out behind. The wood cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to
+which he clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning man
+and I dragged him up stream until, to my intense relief, he could grasp the
+rocks.
+
+We picked our way among the boulders for a few yards and suddenly came upon
+the serow lying partly in the water. I felt like dancing with delight but
+the sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations and I merely
+yelled to Achi who understood from the tone, if not from my words, that the
+animal was safe.
+
+The men who had shouted when the animal fell over the cliff were only fifty
+feet away, but they too were separated from it by a wall of rock and
+surging water. They said that there was an easier way up the cliff than the
+one by which we had descended, and prepared a line of tough vines, one end
+of which they let down to us. We made it fast to the serow and I kept a
+second vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as they dragged it
+to the other shore. It was landed safely and the wood cutter was hauled
+over by the same means.
+
+I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered that Achi had
+disappeared, taking my garments and those of the wood cutter with him. He
+evidently intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in the rather
+awkward predicament of making our way through the thick brush with only the
+proverbial smile and minus even the necktie.
+
+The men fastened together the serow's four legs, slipped a pole beneath
+them and toiled up the steep slope preceded by a naked brown figure and
+followed by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with vines and
+creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing through them with no bodily
+protection was far from comfortable.
+
+When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge I was dismayed to find
+that Achi was not there with my clothes. The wood cutter did not appear to
+be greatly worried and indicated that we would find him farther up the
+road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every second to meet some person,
+and sure enough, a Chinese woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. I
+dived into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a rabbit, and
+from the frightened way in which she hurried past, she must have thought
+she had seen one of her ancestral spirits stalking abroad. We eventually
+found the boy, and, decently dressed, I faced the world again with
+confidence and happiness.
+
+On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the cliffs across the river. It
+was high up and fully three hundred and fifty yards away but, of course,
+quite unconscious of our presence. My first two shots struck close beside
+the animal, but at the third it rolled over and over down the hill, lodging
+among the rocks just above the river.
+
+Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half the village acted as an
+escort to the serow, an animal which few had ever seen. It was a female,
+and probably weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The mane was short
+and black and strikingly unlike the long white manes of the Snow Mountain
+serows; the horns were almost smooth. Getting this specimen was one of the
+lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman, for one might hunt for
+weeks in the same place without ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is
+exceedingly dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk
+except in a few spots. The animal had been feeding on the new grass just at
+the edge of the heavy cover and probably had been sleeping under a bush
+when she was disturbed.
+
+Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good collection of reptiles and
+lizards at Hui-yao, but in all other parts of the province which we visited
+they were exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in a place where
+there were so few reptiles and batrachians. We obtained only one species of
+poisonous snake here. It was a small green viper which we sometimes saw
+coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass. Several species of
+nonpoisonous snakes were more common but were nowhere really abundant.
+
+We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for a village called
+Wa-tien where there was a report of sambur. None of us had any real hope of
+finding the huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we camped in
+the early afternoon on an open hilltop five miles from Wa-tien where the
+natives assured us the animals often came to eat the young rice during the
+night.
+
+We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters, but awoke to find a dense
+fog blanketing the valley and mountains. It was not until half past nine
+that the gray mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough for
+us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly behind the camp and skirted
+the edge of a heavily forested ravine which the men wished to drive.
+
+Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed to a sharp ridge
+above and beyond him. In less than half an hour the dogs began to yelp in
+an uncertain way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to the ground,
+and a few seconds later Heller fired twice in quick succession. Two sambur
+had skirted the edge of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he
+had missed with both shots.
+
+The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense underbrush. In a few
+moments the dogs began to yelp again and, while Heller remained on the
+hillside to watch the open fields, I followed the hounds along the creek
+bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 250-300 rifle sounded five
+times in quick succession just above our heads, and we climbed hurriedly
+out of the gorge.
+
+Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur running along the edge of
+a bean field but the animal showed no sign of being hit. We easily picked
+up the trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found several drops of
+blood, showing that at least one bullet had found its mark. The blood soon
+ceased and we began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely scratched.
+
+Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine, a branch of the one
+out of which it had first been driven, and while he watched the upper side
+I worked my way to the bottom to look for tracks. A few moments later the
+natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and Heller called out that
+they had found the deer, which was lying stone dead half way down the side
+of the gorge in a mass of thick ferns. The sambur had been hit only once
+but the powerful Savage bullet had crashed through the shoulder into the
+lungs; it was quite sufficient to do the work even on such a huge animal
+and the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the place where it
+had been shot.
+
+It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair of antlers which
+measured twenty-seven inches in length. The deer was about the size of an
+American wapiti, or elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred
+pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese hunters were wild
+with excitement, but especially so when we began to eviscerate the animal,
+for they wished to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal
+value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every receptacle which
+they could find after each man had drunk all he could possibly force down
+his throat and had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax.
+
+When the sambur was brought to camp a regular orgy was held by our
+servants, _mafus_, and dozens of villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or
+steal some of the blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his
+perquisite, carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a basin. The
+liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum, and in fact every part of
+the viscera was saved. Because the antlers were hard they were not
+considered of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we should
+have had to guard them closely; then they would have been worth about one
+hundred dollars (Mexican).
+
+We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that it would not be
+difficult to get sambur, and indeed, Heller did see another in the
+afternoon but failed to kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of the
+hunters died suddenly during the night and all the men went off with their
+dogs to the burial feast which lasted several days, and we were not able to
+find any other good hounds.
+
+There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity of our camp but they
+fed entirely during the night and spent the day in such thick cover that it
+was impossible to drive them out except with good beaters or dogs. We
+hunted faithfully every morning and afternoon but did not get another shot
+and, after a week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain range six
+miles away near a Liso village.
+
+The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain range is the same
+on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu and reaches a height of 11,000 feet near
+Wa-tien. It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests must shelter
+a good deal of game.
+
+The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded ridges rising out of
+open cultivated valleys, which often run into the jungle-filled ravines in
+which the sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this particular region
+and not in the neighboring country is a mystery unless it is the proximity
+of the great forested mountain range. But in similar places only a few
+miles away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives said the
+animals had never been seen, and neither were they known on the opposite
+side of the mountain range where the Teng-yueh--Tali-Fu road crosses the
+Salween valley.
+
+On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three or four days hunting
+monkeys before we returned to Teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the
+field work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I became separated
+from the caravan but as we had one of our servants for a guide we were not
+uneasy.
+
+The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang (which we had changed
+to "Leaping Frog" because he never did leap for any cause whatever), and
+before long he had us hopelessly lost.
+
+It would appear easy enough to ask the way from the natives, but the
+Chinese are so suspicious that they often will intentionally misdirect a
+stranger. They do not know what business the inquirer may have in the
+village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on general principles,
+they send him off in the wrong direction.
+
+Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer of whom we inquired
+the way directed us to a road at nearly right angles to the one we should
+have taken, and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found the
+caravan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+It was of paramount importance to pack our specimens before the beginning
+of the summer rains. They might be expected to break in full violence any
+day after June 1, and when they really began it would be impossible to get
+our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually all caravan travel ceases during the wet
+season. Therefore our second stay at Hui-yao was short and we returned to
+Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field work of the Expedition exactly
+a year from the time it began with our trip up the Min River to Yeng-ping
+in Fukien Province.
+
+Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become his guests and no place
+ever seemed more delightful, after our hot and dusty ride, than his
+beautiful garden and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served.
+Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the specimens were packed
+and the boxes sealed it was necessary to wrap them in waterproof covers;
+moreover, the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded, a caravan
+engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of motion-picture film developed. This
+was done in the spacious dark room connected with Mr. Grierson's house
+which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters of the tent which
+we had used for so many months.
+
+Much of the success of our motion film lay in the fact that it was
+developed within a short time after exposure, for had we attempted to bring
+or send it to Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such
+work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic changes.
+Although cinematograph photography requires an elaborate and expensive
+outfit and is a source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an
+actual moving record of the life of such remote regions is worth all the
+trouble it entails.
+
+The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently satisfactory and were
+among the most interesting results of the expedition. The stereoscopic
+effects and the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric shading
+in the photographs are remarkable. Although the plates had been subjected
+to a variety of climatic conditions and temperatures by the time the last
+ones were exposed in Burma, a year and a half after their manufacture, they
+showed no signs of deterioration even when the ordinary negatives which we
+brought with us from America had been ruined. The other photographs, some
+of which are reproduced in this book, speak for themselves.
+
+The entire collections of the Expedition were packed in forty-one cases and
+included the following specimens:
+ 2,100 mammals
+   800 birds
+   200 reptiles and batrachians
+   200 skeletons and formalin preparations for anatomical study
+   150 Paget natural color plates
+   500 photographic negatives
+10,000 feet of motion-picture film.
+
+Since the Expedition was organized primarily for the study of the mammalian
+fauna and its distribution, our efforts were directed very largely toward
+this branch of science, and other specimens were gathered only when
+conditions were especially favorable. I believe that the mammal collection
+is the most extensive ever taken from China by a single continuous
+expedition, and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to represent
+species new to science. Our tents were pitched in 108 different spots from
+15,000 feet to 1,400 feet above sea level, and because of this range in
+altitudes, the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably varied.
+Moreover, during our nine months in Yün-nan we spent 115 days in the
+saddle, riding 2,000 miles on horse or mule back, largely over small roads
+or trails in little known parts of the province.
+
+In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably and the leisure hours were
+made delightful by golf, tennis, riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson was a
+charming host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants, at our
+disposal, utter strangers though we were, and we shall never forget his
+welcome.
+
+We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because of the rain which was
+expected every day, and the coolies made us very comfortable upon our
+sleeping bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and covered with a
+strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the regulation Chinese "mountain
+schooner," at which we had so often laughed, but they proved to be
+infinitely more desirable than riding in the rain.
+
+With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh on June 1, behind a
+caravan of thirty mules for the eight-day journey to Bhamo on the outskirts
+of civilization. Our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of humanity.
+They were from S'suchuan Province and were all unmarried which alone is
+almost a crime in China. Every cent of money, earned by the hardest sort of
+work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and smoking opium. As Wu tersely
+put it "they make how much--spend how much!"
+
+About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously in the midst of
+a filthy village and disappear into some dark den in spite of our
+remonstrances. We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out of our
+chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we would see them huddled on
+a "kang" over tiny yellow flames sucking at their pipes. At tiffin each one
+would stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and his broad
+straw hat propped up to screen him from the wind. With infinite care he
+would extract a few black grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little
+water, and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium bubbled and was
+almost ready to drop. Then placing it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe
+he would hold it against the flame and draw in long breaths of the
+sickly-sweet smoke. The men could work all day without food, but opium was
+a prime necessity.
+
+It was almost impossible to start them in the morning and it became my
+regular duty to make the rounds of the filthy holes in which they slept,
+seize them by the collars and drag them into the street. Force made the
+only appeal to their deadened senses and we were heartily sick of them
+before we reached Bhamo.
+
+The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five thousand feet to almost
+sea level. Because of the fever the valleys are largely inhabited by
+"Chinese Shans" who differ in dress and customs from the Southern Shans of
+the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were tattooed and the women all wore the
+enormous cylindrical turban which we had seen once before in the Salween
+Valley.
+
+At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Yün-nan border into Burma. It is a
+beautiful spot where a foaming mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in
+a series of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall of
+green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron bridge from which a fine
+wide road of crushed stone leads all the way to Bhamo.
+
+What a difference between the country we were leaving and the one we were
+about to enter! It is the "deadly parallel" of the old East and the new
+West. On the one side is China with her flooded roads and bridges of
+rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a nation still living in
+the Middle Ages, fighting progress, shackled by the iron doctrines of
+Confucius to the long dead past. Across the river is English Burma, with
+eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of her people, her iron
+bridges and macadam roads representing the very essence of modern thought
+and progress.
+
+With paternal care of her officials the British government has provided
+_dâk_ (mail) bungalows at the end of each day's journey which are open to
+every foreign traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on piles.
+Each one has a spacious living room, with a large teakwood table and
+inviting lounge chairs. In a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and
+glass, all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are provided with
+adjoining baths and a covered passageway connects the kitchen with the
+house. All is ready for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a
+trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such comforts can only be
+appreciated when one has journeyed for months in a country where they do
+not exist.
+
+Our last night on the road was spent at a _dâk_ bungalow near a village
+only a few miles from Bhamo. We were seated at the window, when, with a
+rattle of wheels, the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by. That
+cart brought to us more forcibly than any other thing a realization that
+the Expedition was ended and that we were standing on the threshold of
+civilization.
+
+As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and a
+lump had risen in my throat. Not all the pleasures of the city, the love of
+friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild, free life of the
+year gone by. Silently we left the house and walked across the sunlit road
+into a grove of graceful, drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between
+the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled the air.
+
+The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy East; the East which,
+like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves a mystic spell about the wanderer whom
+she has loved and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. And when
+he would cast her off and return to his own again she knows full well that
+her subtle charm will bring him back once more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of low, cool houses, wide
+lawns and tree-decked streets built on the bank of the muddy Irawadi River.
+Only a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and palatial steamers run
+to Mandalay and Rangoon. We called upon Mr. Farmer, the Deputy
+Commissioner, who offered the hospitality of the "Circuit House" and in the
+evening took us with him to the Club.
+
+A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed women, and
+officers in uniform strolled about or sipped iced drinks beside the tennis
+court. We felt strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange to them
+for we were newly come from a far country which they saw only as a mystic,
+unknown land.
+
+On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile journey to Rangoon,
+exactly nine months after we had ridden away from Yün-nan Fu toward the
+Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need not be related here.
+When we reached civilization we expected that our transport difficulties
+were ended; instead they had only begun. India was well-nigh isolated from
+the Pacific and to expose our valuable collection to the attacks of German
+pirates in the Mediterranean and Atlantic was not to be considered even
+though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the world to reach
+America safely.
+
+We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with all our baggage to Bombay,
+and after a seemingly endless wait eventually succeeded in arriving at
+Hongkong by way of Singapore. There we separated from our faithful Wu and
+sent him to his home in Foochow. It was hard to say "good-by" to Wu, for
+his efficient service, his enthusiastic interest in the work of the
+Expedition, and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed to be
+done, had won our gratitude and affection. We ourselves went northward to
+Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver, and overland to New York, arriving
+on October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen months from the time we left. We were
+never separated from our collections for, had we left them, I doubt if they
+would ever have reached America. It was difficult enough to gather them in
+the field, but infinitely more so to guide the forty-one cases through the
+tangled shipping net of a war-mad world.
+
+They reached New York without the loss of a single specimen and are now
+being prepared in the American Museum of Natural History for the study
+which will place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zoölogical
+Expedition before the public.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The story of our travels is at an end. Once more we are indefinable units
+in a vast work-a-day world, bound by the iron chains of convention to the
+customs of civilized men and things. The glorious days in our beloved East
+are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems not far away, for the miles of
+land and water can be traversed in a thought. Again we stand before our
+tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us, watching the
+glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain turn purple and gold in the setting
+sun; again, we feel the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet
+tones of a gibbon's call. We have only to shut our eyes to bring back a
+picture of the bleak barriers of the Forbidden Land or the sunlit streets
+of a Burma village. Thank God, we saw it all together and such blessed
+memories can never die.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
+Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of;
+    discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao;
+    killed two gorals
+Africa
+Akeley, Carl E.
+Alaska
+Allen, Dr. J.A.
+American flags
+American Legation, Peking
+American Museum Journal
+American Museum of Natural History;
+    trustees of, specimens being prepared at
+Americans
+Ammunition, loss of
+Amoy
+_Anas boscas_ (Mallard ducks)
+Anglo-Chinese College
+Animal life, lack of
+Annamits
+Antlers
+Ape, gray (_Pygathrix_)
+_Apodemus_ (white-footed mouse)
+Asia
+_Asia_ Magazine, quoted from
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition;
+    members of
+Assam
+Assistants
+A-tun-zu
+
+Babies, killing and selling of
+Baboon, brown (_Macacus_)
+Baboon, Indian (_Macacus rhesus_)
+Bamboo chickens
+Bandits, attack of
+Bankhardt, Mr.
+Bat apartment house
+Bat cave, description of;
+    experience of girl in
+Bats, method of killing
+Batrachians
+Bear cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_), purchased at Teng-yueg
+Bedding
+Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to
+Bering Strait
+Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L.
+Betel nut
+Bhamo;
+    railroad from;
+    road to;
+    description of
+Big Ravine, description of;
+    temples near
+Birds, game
+_Blarina_
+Boat, Chinese, eye on
+Bode, Mr.
+Bohea Hills
+Bound feet
+Bowdoin, George
+Bradley, Dr.;
+    established leper hospital at Paik-hoi
+Brahmin priests
+Brahminy ducks;
+    habits of
+Bridge, suspension, description of
+Bridges, rope
+Brigand, seal of a pardoned
+Brigandage
+Brigands; beheading of;
+    infest Yün-nan;
+    description of
+British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong
+British East Africa
+Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos
+Buffaloes;
+    water
+Bui-tao
+Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of
+Burial, expenses of
+Burma;
+    border of;
+    girls of;
+    mammals caught near;
+    frontier of;
+    boundary of
+Burmans
+
+Calcutta
+Caldwell, Rev. Harry R.;
+    letter from;
+    house of;
+    stationed at Futsing;
+    tiger hunting, method of;
+    obtains serows at Yen-ping;
+    purchases serow skins in Fukien
+California
+_Callosciurus erythraeus_
+Camera equipment
+Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of
+Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock
+_Capricornulus crispus_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_
+Caravan, robbing of;
+    buying of;
+    renting of
+Caravan ponies
+Caravans, distance traveled by
+Cary, F.W., Commissioner of Customs
+_Casarca casarca_ (ruddy sheldrake)
+Caverns
+Central Asia
+Central Asian plateau
+_Cervus macneilli_
+Chair-coolies
+Chairs, description of
+Chang, Dr.
+Chang-hu-fan;
+    night at
+Changlung;
+    ferry at
+Chien-chuan
+Chi-li
+China;
+    aboriginal inhabitants of;
+    press;
+    inland mission
+Chinaman, Cantonese
+Chinese, Republic;
+    army of;
+    face saving;
+    Foreign Office;
+    screaming, habit of;
+    lack of sympathy of;
+    not affected by sun;
+    love of companionship;
+    bride of;
+    wedding of;
+    dress of;
+    Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with;
+    education of;
+    villages, description of;
+    etiquette of;
+    New Year;
+    collecting debts of
+Chipmunk (_Tamiops macclellandi_)
+Chi-yuen-kang
+Chou Chou
+Christians, native, persecution of
+Christianity, lesson in
+Christmas;
+    celebration of
+Chu-hsuing Fu
+Chung-tien
+Civet (_Viverra_)
+Clive, Captain
+Clothing
+Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M.
+Collecting case
+Color plates
+Confucius, rules of
+Cook, difficulty in obtaining;
+    description of
+Coolies
+Cormorants
+Corn
+Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese
+Cranes;
+    habits of
+Crossbows
+Cui-kau;
+    description of
+
+Da-Da
+Daing-nei
+_Dâk_ (mail) bungalows
+Da-Ming
+Darjeeling
+Davies, Major H.R.;
+    quoted
+Dead, burying of
+Deer
+Deer, barking
+Denby, Hon. Charles
+Dennet, Tyler, quoted
+D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition
+D'Orleans, Prince Henri
+Dog, red, death of
+Dogs, description of;
+    for food
+Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China
+Duai Uong
+Ducks brahminy;
+    shooting of
+Dupontès, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition
+
+Eastes, Mr., Consul
+Education, foreign
+_Elaphodus_
+Elephants
+Elk
+Ellsworth, Lincoln
+Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of
+Empress Dowager;
+    issued edict prohibiting opium growing
+Equipment, purchase of
+Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake
+Etiquette
+Europe
+European war
+Evans, H.G.;
+    assistance of
+Expedition, announcement of;
+    applicants for positions on;
+    results of
+Expeditions, preliminary
+Eye on Chinese boat
+
+Farmer, Mr.
+Fauna, mammalian
+_Felis temmicki_
+_Felis uncia_
+Ferry
+Fletcher, H.G.
+Flying squirrel
+Foochow;
+    foreign residents of;
+    streets of;
+    mail from;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    woman's college at
+Food box
+Foot binding, origin of;
+    method of;
+    Natural Foot Society of;
+    agitation against
+Forbidden City
+Ford, James B.
+Foreign Office
+Forest conservation, lack of
+Formosa
+Forrest, Mr.
+Fossil animals;
+    beds
+Francolins
+French Consul
+Frick, Childs
+Frick, Henry C.
+Fukien Province, China;
+    deforestation of;
+    mammals of;
+    climate and temperature of;
+    collecting in summer at;
+    birds of;
+    herpetology of;
+    trapping for small mammals at;
+    zoölogical study of;
+    language of;
+    travel in;
+    servants in;
+    serows hunted in;
+    missionary work in
+Funeral customs
+Futsing;
+    blue tiger hunting at
+
+Galápagos Islands
+_Gallus gallus_
+_Gallus lafayetti_
+_Gallus sonnerati_
+_Gallus varius_
+Gamblers
+Geese
+Gen-kang
+Gibbon (_Hylobates_);
+    description of;
+    hunting of
+Goffe, Consul-General at Yün-nan Fu
+Goitre, prevalence of
+Gorals;
+    first hunt for;
+    ceremonies at death of;
+    collecting for groups;
+    color of;
+    invisibility of;
+    description of;
+    horns of;
+    distribution of;
+    hunting of;
+    fighting of;
+    habits of;
+    feet of;
+    hunting of, at Hui-yao
+Great Invisible
+Grierson, Ralph C.
+_Grus communis_
+_Grus nigricollis_
+
+Habala;
+    hunting at
+Hainan, description of;
+    fauna of
+Haiphong;
+    arrival at
+Hanna, Rev. William J.
+Hanoi, description of
+_Harper's Magazine_
+Hartford, Mabel
+Heller, Edmund
+Himalaya Mountains
+Hoi-hau
+Homes
+Ho-mu-shu;
+    monkeys found near
+Hongkong, purchase of supplies at
+Hoolock (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+Hornbill
+Horses, size of
+Hospital attendants
+Hotenfa
+Hsia-kuan, description of
+Hui-yao;
+    reptiles and lizards found at
+Hunan
+Hung-Hsien
+Hunters
+Hutchins, Commander Thomas
+Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at
+_Hylobates_
+_Hylomys_
+_Hystrix_
+
+India
+Inns
+Irawadi River
+
+Japan
+Japanese newspaper reporters
+Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman
+Jungle fowl;
+    habits of
+
+Kachins;
+    women, appearance of
+Katha
+Kellogg, C.R.
+Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A.;
+    Pentecostal missionary;
+    assistance of
+Koko-nor
+Koo, Wellington
+Korea;
+    pheasants found in
+Kraemer, M.
+Kucheng
+Kwang-si
+Kwei-chau Province
+
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong
+Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by
+Languages and dialects, number of;
+    reason for
+Langur
+Langurs (_Pygathrix_)
+Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad
+Lapwings
+Las
+Lashio
+Legge, Prof. J., quoted
+Leopards
+Leper hospital
+_Li_, length of
+Li-chang;
+    animal life on route to;
+    arrival at;
+    camp in;
+    collecting in;
+    mammals of;
+    important fur market at;
+    inhabitants of;
+    return to
+Li-Hung Chang
+Ling-suik, monastery of;
+    description of;
+    priests at;
+    collecting at
+Lisos
+Livingstone, H.W.
+Loads, weight of
+Lolos;
+    depredations of;
+    independence of;
+    dress of;
+    capes worn by
+London Zoölogical Society's Garden
+Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at
+Lucas, Dr. F.A., acknowledgment to
+Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Tsia-kuan
+Lung-ling
+Lung-tao
+Lutzus
+
+McMurray, J.V.A.
+_Macacus rhesus_
+_Mafus_, description of
+Mail
+Malaria
+Malay Peninsula
+Ma-li-ling
+Ma-li-pa;
+    poppy fields at
+Mallard ducks
+Mammals, small, importance of;
+    preparing of
+Man, primitive, migrations of
+Man-eater, killing of
+Mandalay
+Mandarins, relations with
+Ma-po-lo, low valley at;
+    game at;
+    fog in
+Marco Polo
+Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+Mazzetti-Haendel, Baron
+Meadow vole (_Microtus_)
+Mekong
+Mekong river, description of
+Mekong-Salween divide
+Mekong valley;
+    vegetables in;
+    zoölogy of
+Meng-ting;
+    description of;
+    mandarin of;
+    Buddhist monastery at;
+    market at;
+    Cantonese visit and buy opium at;
+    fog at;
+    valley at;
+    birds at
+Mergansers
+Methodist mission
+Mexico
+Miao village
+Mice
+_Micromys_
+_Microtus_, meadow vole
+Min River;
+    life on
+Mission hospital;
+    China Inland
+Missionaries;
+    servants of;
+    natives trading with;
+    civilizing influence of
+Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan
+Mohammedan hunter
+Mohammedan war
+Mole
+Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to
+Money, carrying of;
+    transmitting of
+Monkey
+Monkey temple
+Moose
+Morgan, Cordelia
+Mosos;
+    description of;
+    capes worn by
+Motion pictures;
+    developing of
+Mountain goat
+"Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from
+Mouse (_Micromys_)
+Moving picture film
+Mu-cheng
+Muntjac, description of
+Museum authorities
+Mustelidae
+Myitkyina district
+
+_Naemorhedus griseus_
+Nam-ka, Shans at;
+    description of;
+    camp at
+Nam-ting River, ferry at;
+    camping at;
+    hunters at;
+    camp on;
+    polecat trapped at;
+    monkeys, hunting at;
+    hornbill, seen at;
+    monkeys found at;
+    Shans seen at;
+    caravan crossed
+_Namur_, S.S.
+Natives;
+    inaccuracy of
+New York, return to
+Ngu-cheng
+Non-Chinese tribes
+North America
+Northern soldiers
+Northern troops
+
+Opium;
+    growing of;
+    inspection of;
+    scandal;
+    smuggling of;
+    smoking of
+Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted
+
+Pack saddle, description of
+Pack, weight of
+Page, Howard
+Paget color plates
+Pagoda Anchorage
+Paik-hoi;
+    leper hospital at
+Palaungs
+Palmer, Mr.
+Pandas, coats of
+Pangolin, scales of
+Parrots
+Partridges, bamboo
+Passports
+_Pavo cristatus_
+_Pavo munticus_
+Peacock, black-shouldered
+Peacock, hunting of;
+    habits of;
+    eggs of;
+    domestication of
+Peacock, Indian
+Peafowl, killed on Salween River;
+    flesh of
+Peking
+_Petaruista yunnanensis_
+Phasiandae
+Pheasants, shooting of;
+    Lady Amherst's;
+    silver;
+    horned
+Phete;
+    country about;
+    natives of
+Photographic work
+Photographs in natural colors
+Photography, cinematograph
+Pigeons
+Pigs, killing of;
+    wild;
+    treatment of
+Pin-tail
+Pleistocene
+Pocock, Mr.
+Polecat
+Polo, Marco;
+    quoted
+Poppy blossoms
+Poppy fields
+Porcupine, description of
+Portable dark room
+Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel
+P'u-erh
+_Pygathrix_ (monkeys)
+
+Railroad, Hanoi to Yün-nan;
+    description of
+Rain, last of the season
+Rainey, Paul J.
+Rangoon
+_Ratufa gigantea_
+Rebellion of 1913
+Reinsch, Hon. Paul
+Republic
+Rhododendrons
+Rice
+Rice fields
+Rifle, Mannlicher;
+    Savage;
+    Winchester
+Riot in Shanghai
+Roads, descriptions of
+Rocky Mountain sheep
+Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore
+_Rupicapra_
+Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of
+
+Salt, preparation of
+Salween River;
+    heat of
+Sambur;
+    hunting of;
+    blood of
+Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General
+Sampans, first night in
+San Francisco
+Scandinavian steamer
+Schools for native girls
+Sclater, Mr.
+Screaming, Chinese habit of
+Sedan chairs
+Serows;
+    hunt for;
+    habits of;
+    hunting for;
+    description of;
+    color variation of;
+    Japanese;
+    difference from gorals;
+    horns of;
+    relationship of;
+    appearance of;
+    killed on Snow Mountain;
+    obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping;
+    distribution of;
+    habits of;
+    weight of;
+    hunting of at Hui-yao
+Servants, wages of
+Shanghai;
+    riot in
+Shans;
+    description of village of;
+    houses of;
+    heavily tattooed;
+    tribes of;
+    description of
+Sheldrakes
+Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by
+Shia-chai
+Shie-tien;
+    bird life at;
+    natives, curiosity of
+Shih-ku ferry
+Shoverling, Daly & Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by
+Shrew
+Shwelie River
+Singapore
+Slave raiding
+Smith, Arthur H., quoted
+Snow Mountain, camp at;
+    traveling to;
+    description of hunters at;
+    mammalogy of;
+    camp on slopes of;
+    mammals collected at;
+    serows killed on
+Soldiers, guard of;
+    guns of;
+    expense of;
+    use of;
+    treatment by natives of;
+    fight with;
+    extortions of
+South America
+Specimens, packing of
+Squirrel, flying (_Petaurista yunnanensis_);
+    _Ratufa gigantea_;
+    red-bellied (_Callosciurus erythraeus_)
+S'suchuan Province
+S'su-mao
+Standard Oil Co.;
+    launch of
+Su Ek
+Sun-birds
+_Sung-kiang_, S.S.
+
+Tablets, ancestral, description of
+Tai-ping-pu
+Taku
+Taku ferry
+Ta-li Fu;
+    soldiers guard to;
+    road to;
+    graves at;
+    lake at;
+    mandarin at;
+    pagodas at
+Ta-li Fu Lake, description of
+_Tamiops macclellandi_
+Taoist temple
+_Tao-tai_
+Tartars
+Temple, camp in
+Teng-yueh;
+    return to
+Tents
+_Tenyo Maru_
+Thompson, Dr.
+Tibet;
+    monopoly of gold in
+Tibetan plateaus
+Tibetans, description of;
+    photographing of;
+    dislike for strangers of;
+    influence of Chinese on
+Tiger;
+    man-eating;
+    lairs of;
+    stalking a goat;
+    habits of;
+    daring of;
+    strength of;
+    excitement of hunting;
+    weight of;
+    blood of;
+    skins in temples of;
+    food of;
+    hunting in lair of;
+    flesh and bones of;
+    marking trees by;
+    skins of
+Tiger, blue;
+    description of;
+    hunting of;
+    trying to trap
+Tonking
+Tragopan, Temmick's
+Transportation, difficulties of
+Trapping, methods of
+Traps, steel;
+    method of setting
+Trees, marking of, by tiger
+Tribes, non-Chinese, description of
+Trimble, Dr.;
+    house of
+Trowbridge, Captain Harry
+Tsai-ao, General
+_Tsamba_
+Tsang mountains
+Tsinan-fu
+_Tupaia belangeri chinensis_
+
+United States
+Universal Camera
+_Ursus tibetanus_
+
+Vegetarians
+_Viverra_
+Viverridae
+Vochang
+Vole
+Von Hintze, Admiral
+
+Wapiti
+War, Mohammedan
+Was
+Waterhole
+Wa-tien
+Wei-hsi
+White Water;
+    camp at;
+    weather at
+Wild boar
+Wilden, Henry M., French Consul
+Wolves
+Woman's college at Foochow
+Women, position of, in China
+Worship, ancestor
+Wu-Hung-tao, interpreter
+
+_Yamen_
+Yangtze River;
+    road to;
+    crossing of;
+    barrier to mammals
+Yangtze gorge, description of
+Yen-ping;
+    climate of;
+    description of;
+    residence of Mr. Caldwell at;
+    Methodist Mission at;
+    trapping at;
+    rebellion in;
+    refugees from;
+    fighting in;
+    attacked by rebels in;
+    wounded in;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    Chinese wedding at;
+    missionary buildings of
+Yokohama
+Yuan
+Yuan-Shi-kai;
+    death of
+Yuchi;
+    brigands at
+
+Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at;
+    road to;
+    water buffaloes at;
+    battle at
+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road
+Yün-nan;
+    size of;
+    topography of;
+    boundaries of;
+    fauna of;
+    natives of;
+    language of;
+    infested with brigands;
+    zoölogical study of;
+    meaning of;
+    summer climate of
+Yün-nan Fu;
+    foreign residents of;
+    foreign office at;
+    Dr. Thompson's hospital at
+
+Zoölogical Garden, Berlin
+Zoölogical Park, Calcutta
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
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+      Camps and Trails in China, by Roy Chapman Andrews&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook

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+<body>

+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Camps and Trails in China
, by Roy Chapman Andrews
</p>

+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and

+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions

+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms

+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online

+at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you

+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the

+country where you are located before using this eBook.

+</div>

+

+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Camps and Trails in China
</p>

+<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-known China
</p>

+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Roy Chapman Andrews
</p>

+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Yvette Andrews
</p>

+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 29, 2021 [eBook #12296]</p>

+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English
</p>

+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Tom Cosmas produced from materials made available by the Hathi Trust and are placed in the Public Domain.
</p>

+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
 ***</div>

+

+

+

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="cover" style="width: 287px;">

+  <img src="images/cover.png" width="287" height="439" alt="Camps and Trails in China, by Roy Chapman Andrews" />

+</div>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">- i -</span></p>

+

+

+

+

+

+

+<h1>CAMPS AND TRAILS<br />

+

+IN CHINA</h1>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ii">- ii -</span></p>

+

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="frontispiece" style="width: 250px;">

+  <img src="images/frontispiece.png" width="219" height="591" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Our Camp on the Snow Mountain

+at an Altitude of 12,000 Feet</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">- iii -</span></p>

+

+<h1 class="nobreak" id="CAMPS_AND_TRAILS">CAMPS AND TRAILS<br />

+IN CHINA</h1>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdc">A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT<br />

+IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA</p>

+

+

+<h2>ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.</h2>

+

+<p class="tdc smaller">ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND<br />

+LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZO&Ouml;LOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917;<br />

+FELLOW NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER<br />

+ZO&Ouml;LOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON; MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL<br />

+SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON; AUTHOR "WHALEHUNTING<br />

+WITH GUN AND CAMERA"</p>

+

+<p class="tdc">AND</p>

+

+<h2>YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS</h2>

+

+<p class="tdc smaller">PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZO&Ouml;LOGICAL EXPEDITION</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="logo" style="width: 59px;">

+  <img src="images/logo.png" width="59" height="72" alt="" />

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdc">ILLUSTRATED</p>

+

+

+<p class="tdc larger">D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br />

+NEW YORK<span style="letter-spacing: 2em;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>LONDON<br />

+1918</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">- iv -</span></p>

+

+<p  class="pmt4 pmb4 tdc smcap">Copyright, 1918, by<br />

+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</p>

+

+

+

+<p class="tdc pmt4 pmb4">Printed in the United States of America</p>

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">- v -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="tdc pmt4">THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO</p>

+

+<p class="tdc larger">PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN</p>

+

+<p class="tdc pmb4">AS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE<br />

+AND ADMIRATION</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">- vii -</span></p>

+

+

+<div class="poetry-container">

+<div class="poetry">

+  <div class="stanza">

+    <div class="verse indent0">"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;</div>

+    <div class="verse indent1">Let us journey to a lonely land I know.</div>

+    <div class="verse indent1">There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,</div>

+    <div class="verse indent1">And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."</div>

+  </div>

+</div>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr">&mdash;<i>Service</i>.<br /></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">- viii -</span></p>

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">- ix -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2>

+</div>

+

+

+<p>The object of this book is to present a popular narrative

+of the Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical Expedition of the American Museum

+of Natural History to China in 1916-17. Details of a purely

+scientific nature have been condensed, or eliminated, and emphasis

+has been placed upon our experiences with the strange

+natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the

+hope that the book will be interesting to the general reader.</p>

+

+<p>The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon

+the technical reports of its work which will be published in due

+course by the American Museum of Natural History. To

+these reports we would refer those readers who desire more

+complete information concerning the results of our researches.

+At the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press

+the collections were still undergoing preparation and the study

+of the different groups had just begun.</p>

+

+<p>Although the book has been largely written by the senior

+author, his collaborator has contributed six chapters marked

+with her initials; all the illustrations are from her photographs

+and continual use has been made of her daily journals; she has,

+moreover, materially assisted in reference work and in numerous

+other ways.</p>

+

+<p>The information concerning the relationships and distribution

+of the native tribes of Y&uuml;n-nan is largely drawn from

+the excellent reference work by Major H. R. Davies and we

+have followed his spelling of Chinese names.</p>

+

+<p>Parts of the book have been published as separate articles

+in the <i>American Museum Journal</i>, <i>Harper's Magazine</i>, and

+<i>Asia</i> and to the editors of the above publications our acknowledgments

+are due.</p>

+

+<p>That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">- x -</span>

+collection of small mammals is owing in a great measure

+to the efforts of Mr. Edmund Heller, our companion in the

+field. He worked tirelessly in the care and preservation of the

+specimens, and the fact that they reached New York in excellent

+condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill

+and thoroughness with which they were prepared.</p>

+

+<p>Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely

+to the success of the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic

+devotion to our interests and his tact and resourcefulness

+under trying circumstances won our lasting gratitude and affectionate

+regard.</p>

+

+<p>The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among

+the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our

+deepest gratitude to the Trustees of the American Museum of

+Natural History, and especially to President Henry Fairfield

+Osborn, whose enthusiastic endorsement and loyal support

+made the Expedition possible. Director F. A. Lucas, Dr. J. A.

+Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in furthering

+our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.</p>

+

+<p>To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions

+materially assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we

+wish to acknowledge our great personal indebtedness as well

+as that of the Museum; Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer,

+Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Messrs. George Bowdoin,

+Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford, Henry C. Frick, Childs

+Frick, and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.</p>

+

+<p>The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field

+from the following gentlemen, without whose co&ouml;peration it

+would have been impossible to have carried on the work successfully.

+Their services have been referred to individually in

+subsequent parts of the book: The Director of the Bureau of

+Foreign Affairs of the Province of Y&uuml;n-nan; M. Georges

+Chemin Dupont&egrave;s, Director de l'Exploration de la Compagnie

+Fran&ccedil;aise des Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Y&uuml;n-nan,

+Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai;

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">- xi -</span>

+M. Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong; Mr. Howard

+Page, Standard Oil Co., Y&uuml;n-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch,

+Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the

+Chinese Republic, Mr. J. V. A. McMurray, First Secretary of

+the American Legation, Peking; Mr. H. G. Evans, British-American

+Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna,

+Ta-li Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chiang Fu; Ralph Grierson,

+Esq., Teng-yueh; Herbert Goffe, Esq., H. B. M. Consul General,

+Y&uuml;n-nan Fu; Messrs. C. R. Kellogg, and H. W. Livingstone,

+Foochow, China; the General Passenger Agent, Canadian

+Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H. R.

+Caldwell, Yen-ping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript

+and who through his criticisms has afforded us the

+benefit of his long experience in China.</p>

+

+<p>To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger

+we wish to express our appreciation of editorial and other assistance

+during the preparation of the volume.</p>

+

+<p class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Roy Chapman Andrews</span><br />

+    <span class="smcap">Yvette Borup Andrews</span></p>

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Justamere Home</span>,<br />

+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Lawrence Park,<br />

+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bronxville, N. Y.</i><br />

+<i>May 10, 1917.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiii">- xiii -</span></p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>

+</div>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER I</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Object of the Expedition</p>

+

+<p class="tdr smaller">PAGE</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The importance of the scientific exploration of Central

+Asia&mdash;The region which the Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical

+Expedition investigated&mdash;Personnel of the

+Expedition&mdash;Equipment&mdash;Applicants for positions upon the

+Expedition</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1-6</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER II</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">China in Turmoil</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Yuan Shi-kai&mdash;Plot to become emperor of China&mdash;The Rebellion&mdash;Our

+arrival in Peking&mdash;Passports for Fukien Province&mdash;Admiral

+von Hintze, the German Minister&mdash;<i>En

+route</i> to Shanghai&mdash;Death of Yuan Shi-kai</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">7-14</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER III</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Up the Min River</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Arrival at Foochow&mdash;Foochow&mdash;We leave for Yen-ping&mdash;The

+Min River&mdash;Our first night in a <i>sampan</i>&mdash;Miss Mabel

+Hartford&mdash;Brigands at Yuchi&mdash;Yen-ping&mdash;Trapping at

+Yen-ping</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">15-25</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER IV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">A Bat Cave in the Big Ravine</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The Temple in the Big Ravine&mdash;Hunting serow&mdash;A bat apartment house</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">26-81</a></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiv">- xiv -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER V</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Yen-ping Rebellion</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>A message from Mr. Caldwell&mdash;Refugees from Yen-ping&mdash;Situation

+in the city&mdash;Fighting on Monday morning&mdash;Wounded

+men at the hospital&mdash;We do Red Cross work&mdash;More

+fighting&mdash;A Chinese puzzle&mdash;The missionaries save

+the city&mdash;The narrow escape of a young Chinese&mdash;The

+mission cook&mdash;Return to Foochow</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">82-48</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER VI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Hunting the Great Invisible</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Tiger lairs&mdash;Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting&mdash;His first

+tiger&mdash;Habits of tigers&mdash;Experiences with the Great

+Invisible&mdash;Killing a man-eater&mdash;Chinese superstitions&mdash;Hunting

+in the lair</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">44-58</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER VII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Blue Tiger</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Arriving at Lung-tao&mdash;The blue tiger&mdash;Mr. Caldwell's first

+view of the beast&mdash;The lair in the Long Ravine&mdash;Bad luck

+with the tiger&mdash;A meeting in the dark&mdash;Ling-suik monastery&mdash;Life

+at the temple&mdash;Fukien Province as a collecting ground</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">54-66</a></p>

+

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER VIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Women of China</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Schools for girls&mdash;Position of women&mdash;The Confucian rules&mdash;Woman's

+life in the home&mdash;Foot binding&mdash;Early marriage&mdash;A

+Chinese wedding</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">67-73</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xv">- xv -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER IX</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Voyaging to Y&uuml;n-nan</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Outfitting in Hongkong&mdash;Food&mdash;Guns&mdash;Cameras&mdash;<i>En route</i>

+to Tonking&mdash;The Island of Hainan&mdash;We engage a cook

+at Paik-hoi&mdash;Arrival in Haiphong&mdash;Loss of our Ammunition&mdash;Hanoi&mdash;The

+railroad to Y&uuml;n-nan Fu&mdash;Y&uuml;n-nan&mdash;The

+Chinese Foreign Office endorses our plans</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">74-83</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER X</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">On the Road to Ta-li Fu</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Oar caravan&mdash;The Y&uuml;n-nan pack saddle&mdash;Temple camps&mdash;Chinese

+<i>mafus</i>&mdash;Roads&mdash;Country&mdash;Ignorance of a Chinese

+scholar&mdash;New mammals&mdash;Village life&mdash;Opium

+growing&mdash;An opium scandal&mdash;Goitre&mdash;The Chinese

+"Mountain schooner"&mdash;Horses&mdash;Miss Morgan&mdash;Brigands&mdash;Our

+guard of soldiers</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">84-98</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Ta-li Fu</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Hsia-kuan&mdash;Summer temperature&mdash;Lake&mdash;Graves&mdash;Pagodas&mdash;Mr.

+H. G. Evans&mdash;Foreigners of Ta-li Fu&mdash;Chinese

+mandarins&mdash;Mammals at Ta-li&mdash;Caravan horses and

+mules&mdash;The cook becomes ill</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">99-106</a></p>

+

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Li-chiang, and the "Temple of the Flowers"</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Traveling to Li-chiang&mdash;Our entrance into the city&mdash;The

+surprise of the foreigners&mdash;The temple&mdash;Excellent collecting&mdash;Small

+mammals&mdash;The Moso natives&mdash;Customs&mdash;The

+Snow Mountain&mdash;Baron Haendel-Mazzetti</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">107-113</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvi">- xvi -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Camping in the Clouds</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Moso hunters&mdash;Primitive guns&mdash;Crossbows and poisoned

+arrows&mdash;Dogs&mdash;porcupine&mdash;New mammals&mdash;We find a

+new camp on the mountain</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">114-119</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XIV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The First Goral</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Killed near camp&mdash;A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt&mdash;Small

+mammals&mdash;The second goral</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">120-125</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">More Gorals</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Gorals almost invisible&mdash;Heller shoots a kid&mdash;Collecting material

+for a Museum group&mdash;A splendid hunt&mdash;Two

+gorals&mdash;A crested muntjac</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">126-188</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XVI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Snow Mountain Temple</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The first illness in camp&mdash;Serow&mdash;Death of the leading dog&mdash;Rain&mdash;Two

+more serows&mdash;Lolos&mdash;Non-Chinese tribes of Y&uuml;n-nan</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">184-189</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XVII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Gorals and Serows</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Relationship&mdash;Appearance of the serow&mdash;Habits&mdash;Gorals</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">140-148</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvii">- xvii -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XVIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The "White Water"</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Our new camp&mdash;serow&mdash;We go to Li-chiang&mdash;A burial ceremony&mdash;Ancestor

+worship</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">140-156</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XIX</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Across the Yangtze Gorge</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Traveling to the river&mdash;Inaccuracy of the Chinese&mdash;First view

+of the gorge&mdash;The Taku ferry&mdash;Cares</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">157-163</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XX</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Through Unmapped Country</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Along the rim of the gorge&mdash;A beautiful camp at Habala&mdash;New

+mammals&mdash;Photographic work&mdash;Phete village&mdash;Stupid

+inhabitants&mdash;Strange natives&mdash;The "Windy Camp"&mdash;Hotenfa</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">164-171</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Traveling Toward Tibet</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>A hard climb&mdash;Our highest camp&mdash;A Lolo village&mdash;Thanksgiving

+with the Lolos</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">172-177</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Stalking Tibetans with a Camera</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Caravans&mdash;Tibetans&mdash;Dress&mdash;Appearance&mdash;Photographing

+frightened natives&mdash;Reason for suspicion</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">178-181</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xviii">- xviii -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Westward to the Mekong River</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Snow&mdash;Photographing natives&mdash;The Snow Mountain again&mdash;The

+Shih-ku ferry&mdash;Cranes&mdash;"Brahminy ducks"&mdash;A

+well-deserved beating&mdash;Chinese soldiers</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">182-189</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXIV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Down the Mekong Valley</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Arrival at Wei-hsi&mdash;The Mekong River&mdash;Lutzu natives&mdash;Difficulties

+in the valley&mdash;An unexpected goral&mdash;Christmas&mdash;The

+salt wells&mdash;A snow covered pass&mdash;Duck shooting&mdash;Return

+to Ta-li Fu</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">190-201</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Missionaries We Have Known</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Y&uuml;n-nan

+Provinces&mdash;Mode of living&mdash;Servants&mdash;Voluntary

+exile&mdash;Medical missionaries&mdash;A missionary's experience

+with the brigands at Yuchi</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">202-211</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXVI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Chinese New Year at Yung-chang</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Traveling to Yung-chang&mdash;New Year's customs&mdash;Inhabitants

+of the city&mdash;Foot-binding&mdash;Caves&mdash;Water buffaloes&mdash;Chinese

+cow-caravans&mdash;Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">212-222</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xix">- xix -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXVII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Traveling Toward the Tropics</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Shih-tien plain&mdash;Curious inhabitants of the city&mdash;A tropical

+valley at Ma-po-lo&mdash;"A little more far"&mdash;A splendid

+camp&mdash;Many new mammals&mdash;Preparing specimens

+Sambur&mdash;Trapping</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">223-232</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXVIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Meng-ting: a Village of Many Tongues</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The first Shan Village&mdash;Priscilla and John Alden&mdash;Meng-ting&mdash;The

+Shan mandarin&mdash;Young priests&mdash;The market&mdash;Photographing

+under difficulties&mdash;Suppression of opium growing</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">233-343</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXIX</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Camping on the Nam-ting River</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>A beautiful camp&mdash;The "Dying Rabbit"&mdash;Sambur hunting&mdash;Jungle

+fowl&mdash;Civets&mdash;Pole cats and other animals</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">244-251</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXX</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Monkey Hunting</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Strange calls in the jangle&mdash;Our first gibbons&mdash;Relationship

+and habits&mdash;Langurs and baboons&mdash;A night in the jungle</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">252-259</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Shans of the Burma Border</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>An unfriendly chief&mdash;Honest natives&mdash;Houses at Nam-ka&mdash;Tattooing&mdash;Shan

+tribe&mdash;Dress</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">260-263</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xx">- xx -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Prisoners of War in Burma</p>

+

+<p class="caption4">Y. B. A.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The mythical Ma-li-ling&mdash;Across the frontier into Burma&mdash;The

+<i>mafus</i> rebel&mdash;Ma-li-pa&mdash;Captain Clive&mdash;Guarding

+the border&mdash;Life at Ma-li-pa</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">264-272</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Hunting Peacocks on the Salween River</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The Valley at Changlung&mdash;The ferry&mdash;Peacocks&mdash;The stalker

+stalked&mdash;Habits of peafowls</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">273-280</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXIV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">The Gibbons of Ho-mu-shu</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Climbing out of the Salween Valley&mdash;A Shan Village&mdash;Ho-mu-shu&mdash;Camping

+on a mountain pass&mdash;Gibbons&mdash;An exciting

+hunt and a narrow escape&mdash;Habits of the "hoolock"</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">281-290</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXV</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Teng-yueh: a Link with Civilization</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Tai-ping-pu&mdash;Flying squirrels&mdash;Lisos&mdash;A bat cave&mdash;Mail&mdash;Teng-yueh&mdash;Mr.

+Ralph Grierson&mdash;Tibetan bear cubs</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">291-297</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXVI</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">A Big Game Paradise</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Gorals at Hui-yao&mdash;Deer&mdash;Splendid hunts</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI">298-304</a></p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxi">- xxi -</span></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXVII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Serow and Sambur</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Monkeys at Hai-yao&mdash;Muntjacs&mdash;A new serow&mdash;We move

+camp to Wa-tien&mdash;A fine sambur</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII">305-314</a></p>

+

+

+<p class="caption2">CHAPTER XXXVIII</p>

+

+<p class="caption3 smcap">Last Days in China</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Return to Teng-yueh&mdash;Packing the specimens&mdash;Results of

+the Expedition&mdash;On the road to Bhamo&mdash;The chair

+coolies&mdash;Burma <i>vs.</i> China&mdash;In civilisation again&mdash;Farewell

+to the Orient</p>

+</div>

+

+<p class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII">315-322</a></p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxiii">- xxiii -</span></p>

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>

+</div>

+

+

+<table summary="LOI">

+<tr>

+  <td></td>

+  <td class="tdr smaller">FACING<br />PAGE</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet</td>

+  <td></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>

+  <td></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Y&uuml;n-nan squirrel</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f4a">4</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Edmund Heller</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f4b">4</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f4c">4</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Chinese hunter and a muntjac</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f28a">28</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f28b">28</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The Ling-suik monastery</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f62a">62</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A priest of Ling-suik</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f62b">62</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Chinese mother with her children</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f70a">70</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f70b">70</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Cormorant fishers on the lake at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f84a">84</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f84b">84</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f96a">96</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The dead of China</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f96b">96</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f102a">102</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f102b">102</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f108a">108</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Moso herder</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f112a">112</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Moso woman</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f112b">112</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The Snow Mountain</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f116a">116</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A cheek gun used by one of our hunters</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f118a">118</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f118b">118</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Hotenfa, one of oar Moso hunters, bringing in a goral

+    <span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxiv">- xxiv -</span></td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f120a">120</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Another Moso hunter with a porcupine</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f120b">120</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f132a">132</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A serow killed on the Snow Mountain</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f140a">140</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The head of a serow</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f140b">140</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The "white water"</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f152a">152</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f162a">162</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The chief of our Lolo hunters</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f162b">162</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Lolo village</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f174a">174</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f174b">174</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Travelers in the Mekong valley</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f180a">180</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Two Tibetans</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f180b">180</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The gorge of the Yangtze River</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f184a">184</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A quiet curve of the Mekong River</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f190a">190</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f200a">200</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A crested muntjac</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f200b">200</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The south gate at Yung-chang</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f210a">210</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f210b">210</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Chinese patriarch</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f224a">224</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Young China</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f224b">224</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Shan village</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f234a">234</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Shan woman spinning</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f234b">234</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f240a">240</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f240b">240</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Our camp on the Nam-ting River</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f246a">246</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The Shan village at Nam-ka</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f246b">246</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f254a">254</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A civet</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f254b">254</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Shan girl<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxv">- xxv -</span></td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f260a">260</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A Shan boy</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f260b">260</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A suspension bridge</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f288a">288</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f288b">288</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A sambur killed at Wa-tien</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f302a">302</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The head of a muntjac</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f302b">302</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">A mountain chair</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f312a">312</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">The waterfall at Teng-yueh</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#img_f312b">312</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Map I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#map_i_sm">318</a></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdl">Map II. Route of the Expedition in Y&uuml;n-nan</td>

+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#map_ii_sm">320</a></td>

+</tr>

+</table>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">- 1 -</span></p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<h1 class="nobreak">CAMPS AND TRAILS<br />

+IN CHINA</h1>

+</div>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> earliest remains of primitive man probably will

+be found somewhere in the vast plateau of Central

+Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains. From this

+region came the successive invasions that poured into

+Europe from the east, to India from the north, and to

+China from the west; the migration route to North

+America led over the Bering Strait and spread fanwise

+south and southeast to the farthest extremity of South

+America. The Central Asian plateau at the beginning

+of the Pleistocene was probably less arid than it is today

+and there is reason to believe that this general region

+was not only the distributing center of man but also of

+many of the forms of mammalian life which are now

+living in other parts of the world. For instance, our

+American moose, the wapiti or elk. Rocky Mountain

+sheep, the so-called mountain goat, and other animals

+are probably of Central Asian origin.</p>

+

+<p>Doubtless there were many contributing causes to

+the extensive wanderings of primitive tribes, but as

+they were primarily hunters, one of the most important

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">- 2 -</span>

+must have been the movements of the game upon which

+they lived. Therefore the study of the early human

+races is, necessarily, closely connected with, and dependent

+upon, a knowledge of the Central Asian mammalian

+life and its distribution. No systematic pal&aelig;ontological,

+arch&aelig;ological, or zo&ouml;logical study of this region on

+a large scale has ever been attempted, and there is no

+similar area of the inhabited surface of the earth about

+which so little is known.</p>

+

+<p>The American Museum of Natural History hopes in

+the near future to conduct extensive explorations in

+this part of the world along general scientific lines.

+The country itself and its inhabitants, however, present

+unusual obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the

+region one of vast intersecting mountain ranges, the

+greatest of the earth, but the climate is too cold in winter

+to permit of continuous work. The people have a

+natural dislike for foreigners, and the political events

+of the last half century have not tended to decrease

+their suspicions.</p>

+

+<p>It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the

+plans for extensive research must be carefully prepared.

+One of the most important steps is the sending

+out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge

+of the natives and fauna and of the conditions to

+be encountered. For the first reconnaissance, which was

+intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the Asiatic

+Zo&ouml;logical Expedition left New York in March, 1916.</p>

+

+<p>Its destination was Y&uuml;n-nan, a province in southwestern

+China. This is one of the least known parts

+of the Chinese Republic and, because of its southern

+latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and

+faunal range is very great. It is about equal in size to

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">- 3 -</span>

+the state of California and topographically might be

+likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the greater

+part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain

+waves which divide and cross one another in hopeless

+confusion.</p>

+

+<p>Y&uuml;n-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and

+S'suchuan, on the west by Burma, on the south by Tonking,

+and on the east by Kwei-chau Province. Faunistically

+the entire northwestern part of Y&uuml;n-nan is essentially

+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks

+range from altitudes of 8,000 feet to 20,000 feet above

+sea level. In the south and west along the borders of

+Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys,

+the climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native

+life, as well as the fauna and flora, is of a totally different

+type from that found in the north.</p>

+

+<p>The natives of Y&uuml;n-nan are exceptionally interesting.

+There are about thirty non-Chinese tribes in the

+province, some of whom, such as the Shans and Lolos,

+represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it is

+safe to say that in no similar area of the world is there

+such a variety of language and dialects as in this region.</p>

+

+<p>Although the main work of the Expedition was to be

+conducted in Y&uuml;n-nan, we decided to spend a short time

+in Fukien Province, China, and endeavor to obtain a

+specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been

+seen twice by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary

+and amateur naturalist, who has done much

+hunting in the vicinity of Foochow.</p>

+

+<p>The white members of the first Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical

+Expedition included Mr. Edmund Heller, my wife

+(Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A Chinese

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">- 4 -</span>

+interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and

+ten muleteers, completed the personnel.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His

+early work, which was done in the western United States

+and the Galapagos Islands, was followed by many years

+of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America, and

+Africa. He first visited British East Africa with Mr.

+Carl E. Akeley, next with ex-President Theodore

+Roosevelt, and again with Mr. Paul J. Rainey. During

+the Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical Expedition Mr. Heller devoted

+most of his time to the gathering and preparation

+of small mammals. He joined our party late in July

+in China.</p>

+

+<p>Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition.

+She had studied photography as an amateur in

+Germany, France, and Italy, as well as in New York,

+and had devoted especial attention to the taking of

+photographs in natural colors. Such work requires

+infinite care and patience, but the results are well worth

+the efforts expended.</p>

+

+<p>Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and

+studied English at the Anglo-Chinese College in that

+city. He lived for some time in Teng-yueh, Y&uuml;n-nan,

+in the employ of Mr. F. W. Carey, Commissioner of

+Customs, and not only speaks mandarin Chinese but

+also several native dialects. He acted as interpreter,

+head "boy," and general field manager. My own work

+was devoted mainly to the direction of the Expedition

+and the hunting of big game.</p>

+

+<table summary="plates">

+<tr>

+  <td><div class="figcenter" id="img_f4a" style="width: 178px;">

+    <img src="images/img_f4a.png" width="178" height="299" alt="" />

+    <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Yvette Borup Andrews

+    with a Pet Y&uuml;n-nan Squirrel</span></div>

+    </div></td>

+  <td><div class="figcenter" id="img_f4b" style="width: 171px;">

+    <img src="images/img_f4b.png" width="171" height="298" alt="" />

+    <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Edmund Heller</span></div>

+  </div></td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td colspan="2"><div class="figcenter" id="img_f4c" style="width: 362px;">

+    <img src="images/img_f4c.png" width="362" height="288" alt="" />

+    <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Roy Chapman Andrews and a Goral</span></div>

+  </div></td>

+</tr>

+</table>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">- 5 -</span></p>

+

+<p>In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges

+we purchased only such equipment in New York as

+could not be obtained in Shanghai or Hongkong.

+Messrs. Shoverling, Daly &amp; Gales furnished our guns,

+ammunition, tents, and general camp equipment, and

+gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the minor details

+which often assume alarming importance when an

+expedition is in the field and defects cannot be remedied.

+All food and commissary supplies were purchased in

+Hongkong (<i>see</i> Chapter IX).</p>

+

+<hr class="tb" />

+

+<p>When the announcement of the Expedition was made

+by the American Museum of Natural History it received

+wide publicity in America and other parts of the

+world. Immediately we began to discover how many

+strange persons make up the great cities of the United

+States, and we received letters and telegrams from hundreds

+of people who wished to take part in the Expedition.

+Men and boys were the principal applicants, but

+there was no lack of women, many of whom came to the

+Museum for personal interviews.</p>

+

+<p>Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme.

+One was from a butcher who thought he might be of

+great assistance in preparing our specimens, or defending

+us from savage natives; another young man offered

+himself to my wife as a personal bodyguard; a third

+was sure his twenty years' experience as a waiter would

+fit him for an important position on the Expedition,

+and numerous women, young and old, wished to become

+"companions" for my wife in those "drear wastes."</p>

+

+<p>Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we

+stopped on our way across the continent and in San

+Francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of Mardi

+28 on the S. S. <i>Tenyo Maru</i> for Japan.</p>

+

+<p>Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as

+the great vessel drew in toward the wharf in Yokohama

+she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives. We

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">- 6 -</span>

+were standing at the rail when three Japanese approached

+and, bowing in unison, said, "We are report

+for leading Japanese newspaper. We wish to know

+all thing about Chinese animal." Evidently the speech

+had been rehearsed, for with it their English ended

+abruptly, and the interview proceeded rather lamely,

+on my part, in Japanese.</p>

+

+<p>Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when

+we arrived and for a person interested in color photography

+it was a veritable paradise. We stayed three

+weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea.

+But before we continue with the story of our further

+travels, we would like briefly to review the political

+situation in China as a background for our early work

+in the province of Fukien.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">- 7 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">CHINA IN TURMOIL</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the time the Expedition was preparing to

+leave New York, China was in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai

+was president of the Republic, but the hope of his heart

+was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had

+plotted for the throne; he had been emperor for one

+hundred miserable days; and now he was watching,

+impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet.

+Yuan was the strong man of his day, with more power,

+brains, and personality than any Chinese since Li-Hung

+Chang. He always had been a factor in his political

+world. His monarchical dream first took definite form

+as early as 1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li, the

+province in which Peking is situated.</p>

+

+<p>It was then that he began to modernize and get control

+of the army which is the great basis of political

+power in China. Properly speaking, there was not, and

+is not now, a Chinese national army. It is rather a collection

+of armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general,

+and he who secures the support of the various commanders

+controls the destiny of China's four hundred

+millions of people regardless of his official title.</p>

+

+<p>Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of

+the leading generals, and in 1911, when the Manchu

+dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues began

+to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and

+Manchus he managed to get himself elected president

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">- 8 -</span>

+of the new republic, although he did not for a moment

+believe in the republican form of government. He was

+always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing

+to declare himself an ardent republican so long as such

+a declaration could be used as a stepping stone to the

+throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.</p>

+

+<p>As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1918

+there was a rebellion in protest against his official acts

+but he defeated the rebels, won over more of the older

+generals, and solidified the army for his own interests,

+making himself stronger than ever before.</p>

+

+<p>At this time he might well have made a <i>coup d'&eacute;tat</i>

+and proclaimed himself emperor with hardly a shadow

+of resistance, but with the hereditary caution of the

+Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. He

+wanted his position to be even more secure and to have

+it appear that he reluctantly accepted the throne as a

+patriotic duty at the insistent call of the people.</p>

+

+<p>Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment

+were typically Chinese but entirely effective, and

+he was making splendid progress, when in May, 1915,

+Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage

+of the European war and presenting the historical

+twenty-one demands, to most of which China

+agreed.</p>

+

+<p>This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's

+agents pushed the work of making him emperor more

+actively than ever, with the result that the throne was

+tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people."

+To "save his face" he declined at first but at the second

+offer he "reluctantly" yielded and on December 12,

+1916, became emperor of China.</p>

+

+<p>But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">- 9 -</span>

+tidings of unrest in Y&uuml;n-nan reached Peking. General

+Tsai-ao, a former military governor of the province, appeared

+in Y&uuml;n-nan Fu, the capital, and, on December

+28, sent an ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must

+repudiate the monarchy and execute all those who had

+assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise Y&uuml;n-nan

+would secede; which it forthwith did on December 25.</p>

+

+<p>Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese

+who had intimated to Yuan that the change from

+a republican form of government would not meet with

+their approval The rebellion spread rapidly. On January

+21, Kwei-chau Province, which adjoins Y&uuml;n-nan,

+seceded, and, on March 18, Kwang-si also announced its

+independence.</p>

+

+<p>About this time the Museum authorities were becoming

+somewhat doubtful as to the advisability of proceeding

+with our Expedition. We had a long talk with

+Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United

+States, at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo,

+while certain that the rebellion would be short-lived,

+strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until

+conditions became more settled. He offered to cable

+Peking for advice, but we, knowing how unwelcome

+to the government of the harassed Yuan would be a

+party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed

+area, gratefully declined and determined to proceed

+regardless of conditions. We hoped that Yuan

+would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he

+had that of 1918, but day by day, as we anxiously

+watched the papers, there came reports of other provinces

+dropping away from his standard.</p>

+

+<p>On the <i>Tenyo Maru</i> we met the Honorable Charles

+Denby, an ex-American Consul-General at Shanghai

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">- 10 -</span>

+and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he was viceroy

+of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining

+a road concession near Peking and was then on his

+way to see Yuan. His anxiety over the political situation

+was not less than ours and together we often paced

+the decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless

+report told of more desertions to the ranks of the

+rebels.</p>

+

+<p>It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan

+had lost his nerve. He had decided to quit, and one

+hundred days after he became emperor elect he issued

+a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the

+republic. But the rebellious provinces were not satisfied

+and demanded that he get out altogether.</p>

+

+<p>About this time we reached Peking, literally blown

+in by a tremendous dust storm which seemed an elemental

+manifestation of the human turmoil within the

+grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins,

+Naval Attach&eacute; of the American Legation, was

+awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat with one

+hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other.</p>

+

+<p>The news we received from him was by no means

+comforting for in the Legation pessimism reigned supreme.

+The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch, was not

+enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions,

+but nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain

+the necessary vis&eacute; for our passports.</p>

+

+<p>We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province,

+where we were to hunt tiger until Mr. Heller

+joined us in July for the expedition into Y&uuml;n-nan.

+Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese

+influence in this province, which is directly opposite the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">- 11 -</span>

+island of Formosa, was causing considerable uneasiness

+in Peking.</p>

+

+<p>We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C. R.

+Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we

+were to stay while in Foochow, assuring us that all was

+quiet in the province, and through the influence of Dr.

+Reinsch, the Chinese Foreign Office vis&eacute;d our passports.

+The huge red stamp which was affixed to them

+was an amusing example of Chinese "face saving."

+First came the seal of Yuan's impotent dynasty of Hung-Hsien,

+signifying "Brilliant Prosperity," and directly

+upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese Republic.

+One was almost as legible as the other and thus the

+Foreign Office saved its face in whichever direction the

+shifting cards of political destiny should fall.</p>

+

+<p>At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy

+in Peking, we met Admiral von Hintze, the German

+Minister, who had recently completed an adventurous

+trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to

+Mexico at the beginning of the war but had returned

+to Berlin incognito through England to ask the Kaiser

+for active sea service. The Emperor was greatly elated

+over von Hintze's performance and offered him the

+appointment of Minister to China if he could reach

+Peking in the same way that he had traveled to Berlin.

+Von Hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a Scandinavian

+tramp steamer and arrived safely at Shanghai,

+where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign diplomat

+and proceeded to the capital.</p>

+

+<p>The Americans were in a rather difficult position at

+this time because of the international complications,

+and social intercourse was extremely limited. Dinner

+guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">- 12 -</span>

+was very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever

+one went.</p>

+

+<p>Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who

+has shared its social life. In the midst of one of the

+most picturesque, most historical, and most romantic

+cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community

+that enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is all of horses,

+polo, racing, shooting, dinners, and dances, with the

+interesting background of Chinese politics, in which

+things are never dull. There is always a rebellion of

+some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never

+can tell when a new political bomb will be projected

+from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden City.</p>

+

+<p>We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by

+rail for Shanghai. <i>En route</i> we passed through Tsinan-fu

+where the previous night serious fighting had occurred

+in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the

+rebels against Yuan's troops. On every side there was

+evidence of Japan's efforts against him. In the foreign

+quarter of Shanghai just behind the residence of Mr.

+Sammons, the American Consul-General, one of Yuan's

+leading officers had been openly murdered, and Japanese

+were directly concerned in the plot. We were told

+that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in

+the foreign concession because wealthy Chinese who

+feared the wrath of one party or the other were eager

+to pay almost any rent to obtain the protection of that

+quarter of the city.</p>

+

+<p>A short time later it became known to a few that

+Yuan was seriously ill. He was suffering from Bright's

+disease with its consequent weakness, loss of mental

+alertness, and lack of concentration. French doctors

+were called in, but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">- 13 -</span>

+him with concoctions of their own, and on June 6, shortly

+after three o'clock in the morning, he died.</p>

+

+<p>Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his

+face before the country, and his last words were a reiteration

+of what he knew no one believed. The story of

+his death is told in the China Press of June 7, 1916:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>According to news from the President's palace the condition

+of Yuan became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan

+asked for his old confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came

+immediately. On the arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak,

+but entirely conscious.</p>

+

+<p>With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he

+had never had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown;

+he had been deceived by his <i>entourage</i> over the true state of

+public opinion and thus had sincerely believed the people wished

+for the restoration of the monarchy. The desire of the South

+for his resignation he had not wished to follow for fear that

+general anarchy would break out all over China. Now that

+he felt death approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words

+known to the public.</p>

+

+<p>In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung,

+situated it, the Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly

+owned by Yang Tu, the prominent monarchist, the formal

+transfer of the power to Li Yuan-hung took place this morning

+at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui, Secretary of State and Premier,

+as well as all the members of the cabinet. Prince Pu Lun

+as chairman of the State Council, and other high officials were

+present.</p>

+

+<p>The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by Li-Yuan-hung

+in the main hall and made three bows to the new

+president, which were returned by the latter. The same ceremony

+will take place at two o'clock, when all the high military

+officials will assemble at the President's residence.</p>

+

+<p>The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">- 14 -</span>

+provinces that Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance

+with the constitution, has become president of the Chinese Republic

+(Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the seventh instance.</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself

+an emperor over four hundred millions of people, a

+plot which could only have been carried out in China.

+He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation

+of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children

+and his country in political chaos.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">- 15 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">UP THE MIN RIVER</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Three</span> days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at

+Pagoda Anchorage at the mouth of the Min River,

+twelve miles from Foochow.</p>

+

+<p>We boarded a launch which threaded its way through

+a fleet of picturesque fishing vessels, each one of which

+had a round black and white eye painted on its crescent-shaped

+bow. When asked the reason for this decoration

+a Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly

+for a moment and then said: "No have eye. No

+can see." How simple and how entirely satisfactory!</p>

+

+<p>The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of

+coolies swarmed like flies over it, fighting madly for

+our luggage. One seized a trunk, the other end of

+which had been appropriated by another man and, in

+the argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen

+the other by his screams. The habit of yelling to enforce

+command is inherent with the Chinese and appears to

+be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary tone

+of voice, pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems

+a psychological impossibility.</p>

+

+<p>There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival

+at Foochow, and we were two days earlier than

+we had been expected, so that Mr. C. R. Kellogg, of

+the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">- 16 -</span>

+stay, was not on the jetty to meet us. We were at a

+loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos and confusion

+until a customs officer took us in charge and,

+judiciously selecting a competent looking woman from

+among the screaming multitude, told her to get two

+sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. She disappeared

+and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. Dashing

+about among the crowd in front of us, she chose

+the baggage for such men as met with her approval

+and after the usual amount of argument the loads were

+taken.</p>

+

+<p>We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently

+all Foochow following us. As far as we could see

+down the narrow street were the heads and shoulders of

+our porters. We felt as if we were heading an invading

+army as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred

+pounds of luggage, we descended upon the homes

+of people whom we did not know and who were not

+expecting us. But our sudden arrival did not disturb

+the Kelloggs and our welcome was typical of the warm

+hospitality one always finds in the Far East.</p>

+

+<p>No matter how long one has lived in China one remains

+in a condition of mental suspense unable to decide

+which is the filthiest city of the Republic. The

+residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to

+the senses no town can compare with theirs, and although

+Amoy and several other places dispute this questionable

+title, we were inclined to grant it unreservedly

+to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its narrow,

+ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze.

+They are usually roofed over so that by no accident

+can a ray of purifying sun penetrate their dark comers.

+With no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">- 17 -</span>

+with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming

+houses.</p>

+

+<p>In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow

+alleys are literally choked with every form of industrial

+obstruction. Countless workmen plant themselves in the

+tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and

+women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones.

+There is a common saying that the Chinese do little

+which is not at some time done on the street.</p>

+

+<p>The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,

+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of

+the city on a hilltop. Their houses are built with very

+high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the occupants

+seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have

+"punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible

+during the intense heat of summer.</p>

+

+<p>A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry

+Caldwell, with whom we were to hunt, asking us to

+come to his station two hundred miles up the river, and

+we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit

+while Mr. Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking

+cook.</p>

+

+<p>One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but

+when he learned that we were going "up country," he

+shook his head with an assumption of great filial devotion

+and said that he did not think his mother would

+let him go. Another was afraid the sun might be too

+hot. Finally on the eve of our departure we engaged

+a stuttering Chinese who assured us that he was a remarkable

+cook and exceptionally honest</p>

+

+<p>If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you

+have something to live for, and although we discovered

+that our cook was a shameless rascal he was worth all

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">- 18 -</span>

+he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted

+to utter a word we became almost hysterical. He sounded

+exactly like a worn-out phonograph record buzzing

+on a single note, and when he finally did manage to

+articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was screamingly

+funny.</p>

+

+<p>One day he came to the <i>sampan</i> proudly displaying a

+piece of beef and, after a series of vocal gymnastics,

+eventually succeeded in shouting: "Missie, this meat

+no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which

+meant that this particular piece of beef was not from

+an animal which had died from disease.</p>

+

+<p>The first stage of our trip began before daylight.

+We rode in four-man sedan chairs, followed by a long

+procession of heavily laden coolies with our cameras,

+duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through

+green rice fields between terraced mountains, and we

+jogged along first on the crest of a hill, then in the

+valley, passing dilapidated temples with the paint flaking

+off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the

+reeds of the winding river. It was a relief to get into

+the country again after passing down the narrow village

+streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed with

+honeysuckle.</p>

+

+<p>A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the

+beginning of the rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in

+the morning and is literally crowded to overflowing

+with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over every available

+inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries

+strongly advised us against taking it. The passengers

+not infrequently are pushed off into the water. One

+of the missionaries witnessed an incident which illustrates

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">- 19 -</span>

+in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the

+average Chinese.</p>

+

+<p>A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard,

+and although a friend was able to grasp his hand

+and hold him above the surface, no one offered to help

+him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally

+weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. This

+is by no means an isolated case. Some years ago a

+foreign steamer was burned on the Yangtze River, and

+the crowds of watching Chinese did little or nothing

+to rescue the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast as

+they made their way to shore many of them were robbed

+even of their clothing and some were murdered outright.</p>

+

+<p>Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious

+of the entire Expedition, for we were fortunate

+in obtaining the Standard Oil Company's launch

+through the kindness of Mr. Livingstone, their agent.

+It was large and roomy, and the trip, which would

+have been worse than disagreeable on the public boat,

+was most delightful. The Min is one of the most beautiful

+rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains

+rising a thousand feet or more straight up from the

+water and often terraced to the summits.</p>

+

+<p>Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little

+gentleman with a pigtail wrapped around his head, who

+said he was a pilot, but as he inquired the channel of

+everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen times

+or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain,

+we felt that his claim was not entirely justified.</p>

+

+<p>The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture.

+One moment we would pass a <i>sampan</i> so loaded

+with branches that it seemed like a small island floating

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">- 20 -</span>

+down the stream. Next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed

+sails projecting at impossible angles drifted by,

+followed by innumerable smaller crafts, the monotonous

+chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water to

+us as they passed.</p>

+

+<p>When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The

+<i>sampans</i> in which we were to spend eight days were

+drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others.

+Right above us was the straggling town looking very

+much like the rear view of tenement houses at home.

+Darkness blotted out the filth of our surroundings but

+could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down

+from the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.</p>

+

+<p>Our beds were spread in the <i>sampans</i> which we shared

+in common with the four river men who formed the

+crew. There was only a mosquito net to screen the

+end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange

+that this was but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots

+we could look up at the stars framed in the half oval

+of the <i>sampan's</i> roof and listen to the sounds of the

+water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the

+river men beached their boats for the night. It seemed

+only a few minutes later when we were roused by a

+rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had

+reached the first of the rapids which separated us from

+Yen-ping, one hundred and twenty miles away.</p>

+

+<p>In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan

+where Mr. Caldwell stood on the shore waving his hat

+to us amidst scores of dirty little children and the explosion

+of countless firecrackers. Wherever we went

+crackers preceded and followed us&mdash;for when a Chinese

+wishes to register extreme emotion, either of joy or sorrow,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">- 21 -</span>

+its expression always takes the form of firecrackers.</p>

+

+<p>There had been a good deal of persecution of the

+native Christians in the district, and only recently a band

+of soldiers had strung up the native pastor by the

+thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host that

+night and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man

+but quite deaf as a result of his cruel treatment. He

+never recovered and died a few weeks later. Mr. Caldwell

+had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries

+are invested by the people themselves with a good

+deal of authority.</p>

+

+<p>We spent that night in the parish house just behind

+the little church, a bare schoolroom being turned over

+to us for our use, and it seemed very luxurious after we

+had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but the

+house was in the center of the town and the high walls

+shut out every breath of pure air. The barred windows

+opened on a street hardly six feet wide, and while we

+were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued

+whispers outside. We switched on a powerful electric

+flashlight and there stood at least forty men, women

+and children gazing at us with rapt attention, but they

+melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a

+June sun.</p>

+

+<p>That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was

+intense, the mosquitoes worse, and every dog and cat

+in the village seemed to choose our court yard as a

+dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax

+was reached at four o'clock in the morning, when

+directly under our windows there came a series of ear-splitting

+squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. The

+neighbors had chosen that particular spot and how to

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">- 22 -</span>

+kill the family pig, and the entire process which followed

+of sousing it in hot water and scraping off the hair was

+accompanied by unceasing chatter. Boiling with

+rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to

+spend another night in the place but to sleep in the

+<i>sampans</i>.</p>

+

+<p>On the whole our river men were nice fellows but

+they had the love of companionship characteristic of

+all Chinese and the inherent desire to huddle together

+as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way

+up the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on

+stopping at some foul-smelling village, and it was difficult

+to induce them to spend the night away from a town.

+Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would invariably

+ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where

+the sun beat down like a blast furnace.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun

+and go bareheaded at all seasons of the year, shading

+their eyes with one hand or a partly opened fan. A

+fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to

+see coolies almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy

+load and with the perspiration streaming from their

+naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves meanwhile.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Caldwell was <i>en route</i> to Yuchi, one of his mission

+stations far up a branch of the Min River, and as

+there was a vague report of tiger in that vicinity we

+joined him instead of proceeding directly to Yen-ping.

+The tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but

+our trip was made interesting by meeting Miss Mabel

+Hartford, the only foreign resident of the place. She

+has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one time did

+not see a white person for eight months with the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">- 23 -</span>

+exception of Mr. Caldwell who was in the vicinity for

+three days. It requires four weeks to obtain supplies

+from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are

+very irregular, but she enjoys the isolation and is passionately

+fond of her work.</p>

+

+<p>She has had an interesting life and one not devoid

+of danger. In 1895 she was wounded and barely escaped

+death in the Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain) massacre

+in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered

+by a mob of fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians."

+The Chinese Government was required to pay

+a considerable indemnity to Miss Hartford, which she

+accepted only under protest and characteristically devoted

+to missionary work in Kucheng where the massacre

+occurred.</p>

+

+<p>Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled

+and for some months there had been a veritable

+"reign of terror." A large band of brigands was established

+in the hills not far from the city, and we were

+warned by the mandarin not to attempt to go farther

+up the river. A few months earlier several companies

+of soldiers had been sent from Foochow, and the result

+of turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to

+make "the remedy worse than the disease."</p>

+

+<p>The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants,

+accusing them of being brigands or aiding the

+bandits, and shooting them without a hearing. At one

+time accurate information concerning the camp of the

+robbers was received and the soldiers set bravely off,

+but when within a short distance of the brigands the

+commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns

+were fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must

+always "save his face," however, and when they returned

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">- 24 -</span>

+to Yuchi they arrested dozens of people on mere suspicion

+and executed them without the vestige of a trial.

+Finally conditions became so intolerable that no one

+was safe, and after repeated complaints by the missionaries,

+a new mandarin of a somewhat better type was

+sent to Yuchi.</p>

+

+<p>As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up

+the river because of the bandits, we left for Yen-ping

+two days after arriving at Yuchi. Yen-ping is a wonderfully

+picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a fork

+of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced

+and loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little

+use against artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable

+obstacle to anything less than field guns as we ourselves

+were destined to discover.</p>

+

+<p>The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable

+area on the very summit of the hill, backed by

+the city wall, and besides the four dwelling houses, comprises

+two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's

+residence commands a wonderful view down the

+river and in the late afternoon sunlight when the hills

+are bathed in pink and lavender and purple a more

+beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.</p>

+

+<p>But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered

+by the abominable weather. In summer the heat is almost

+unbearable and the air is so nearly saturated from

+continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except

+over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost

+as bad in the opposite extreme for the cold is damp

+and penetrating; but the early fall is said to be delightful.</p>

+

+<p>The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces

+in China, has been denuded of forests, and the groves

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">- 25 -</span>

+of pine which remain have all been planted. This deforestation

+consequently has driven out the game, and

+except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and

+gorals, none of the large species is left. However, the

+dense growth of sword grass and the thorny bushes

+which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to

+muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small

+cats, civets, and other Viverines. These animals come

+to the rice paddys, which fill every valley, to hunt for

+frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because

+of the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.</p>

+

+<p>We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although

+we caught a good many animals they were almost

+always stolen together with the traps. We had this

+same difficulty in Y&uuml;n-nan as well as in Fukien. None

+of us had ever seen natives in any part of the world who

+were such unmitigated thieves as the Chinese of these

+two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more

+abundant than the larger ones for the natives wage an

+unceasing war on those about the rice paddys and have

+exterminated nearly all but a few widely distributed

+forms.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">- 26 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">A few</span> days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went

+with Mr. Caldwell and his son Oliver to a Taoist temple

+seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as Chi-yuen-kang.

+The walk to the temple in the early morning

+was delightful. The "bamboo chickens" and francolins

+were calling all about us and on the way we shot

+enough for our first day's dinner. Both these birds

+are abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means

+easy to kill them for they live in such thick cover that

+they can only be flushed with difficulty.</p>

+

+<p>Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins

+crowing in the trees or on the top of a hill and

+when a cock had taken possession of such a spot the intrusion

+of another was almost sure to cause trouble

+which only ended when one of them had been driven

+off.</p>

+

+<p>For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow

+cut between perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed

+to their very summits with bamboo and a tangle of

+thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a mountain

+torrent foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle,

+slow moving stream when it leaves the cool darkness

+of the ca&ntilde;on to spread itself over the terraced rice

+fields.</p>

+

+<p>About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle

+into the hillside. One stands just over the water,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">- 27 -</span>

+but the other clings to the rock wall three hundred feet

+above the river, and it was there that we made our

+camp.</p>

+

+<p>The old priest in charge did not appear especially

+delighted to see us until I slipped a Mexican dollar into

+his hand&mdash;then it was laughable to see his change of

+face. The far end of the balcony was given up to us

+while Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at

+the feet of a grinning idol in the main temple.</p>

+

+<p>We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (<i>see</i>

+Chapter XVII) and had brought with us only a few

+traps for small mammals. Harry had seen several

+serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along

+the river, and all were reported to have been killed near

+this ravine. There was a village of considerable size

+at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of

+beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a

+mountain which towered about two thousand five hundred

+feet above the river.</p>

+

+<p>Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start

+at daylight but it was well toward six o'clock before we

+got our men together. A Chinaman would drive an

+impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it

+is well-nigh impossible to get him started within an

+hour of the appointed time, and with a half dozen the

+difficulty is multiplied as many times. Just when you

+think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason

+for delaying longer, the whole crowd will disappear

+suddenly and you discover that they have gone

+for "chow." Then you know that the end is really in

+sight, for chow usually is the last thing.</p>

+

+<p>We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning

+before we started on the long climb to the top of the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">- 28 -</span>

+mountain. The sun was simply blazing, and in fifteen

+minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When we

+were half way up the dogs disappeared in a small

+ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword grass and

+suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. They had found

+a fresh trail and were driving our way.</p>

+

+<p>Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting

+to us to watch another higher up. We were hardly

+in position when his rifle banged, followed by such a

+bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must

+have killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before

+we reached them Harry appeared, smiling all over,

+and dragging a muntjac (<i>Muntiacus</i>) by the fore legs.

+He had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he

+had been watching was not more than ten feet wide and

+the muntjac flashed across it at full speed. Caldwell

+fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught the

+animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone

+dead.</p>

+

+<p>This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger

+than a fox. Its antlers are only two or three inches in

+length and rise from an elongated skin-covered pedicel

+instead of from the base of the skull as in all other members

+of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw

+is a slender tusk, about two inches long, which projects

+well beyond the lips and makes a rather formidable

+weapon.</p>

+

+<p>We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a

+"good joss," but instead a disappointing day was in

+store for us. When we had worked our way to the very

+summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over

+a trail which led through a smothering bamboo jungle,

+we saw dozens of fresh serow tracks. The animals were

+there without a doubt and we were on the <i>qui vive</i> with

+excitement.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f28a" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f28a.png" width="367" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Chinese Hunter and a Muntjac</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f28b" style="width: 351px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f28b.png" width="351" height="288" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Brigands Killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">- 29 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We selected positions and the men made a long circuit

+to drive toward us as Caldwell had directed. After

+half an hour had passed we heard them yelling as they

+closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly

+parading in single file up the bottom of the valley on

+an open trail and carefully avoiding all thickets where

+a serow could possibly be. As Harry expressed it, "all

+the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the

+noble procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew

+nothing whatever about driving nor were we able to

+teach them, for they seriously objected to leaving the

+open trails and going into the bush.</p>

+

+<p>We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless

+and it was impossible to "still hunt" the animals

+at that time of the year. The natives say that in September

+when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower

+forests the serow leave the mountain tops and thick

+cover to feed upon the fungus, and that they may be

+killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the

+hunt would involve a vast amount of labor with only a

+moderate chance of success. After we had left Fukien,

+Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and female serow

+for us which are especially interesting as they represent

+a different subspecies (<i>Capricornis sumatrensis argyroch&aelig;tes</i>)

+from those we killed in Y&uuml;n-nan.</p>

+

+<p>Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we

+discovered a wonderful bat cave less than a mile from

+our temple. Its entrance was a low round hole half

+covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular

+gallery; from this three long corridors branched

+off like fingers from the palm of a giant's hand. The

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">- 30 -</span>

+cave was literally alive with bats. There must have

+been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a

+hundred, representing seven species and at least four

+genera. This was especially remarkable as it is unusual

+to find more than two or three species living together.</p>

+

+<p>The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each

+corridor was divided by rock partitions into several

+small rooms in every one of which bats of different

+species were rearing their families. The young in most

+instances were only a few days old but were thickly

+clustered on the walls and ceilings, and each and every

+one was squeaking at the top of its tiny lungs. The

+place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds,

+of years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.</p>

+

+<p>When we returned the day after our first visit we

+found that many of the young bats had been removed

+by their parents and in some instances entire rooms

+had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the

+cave was so nauseating that to enable us to go inside

+it was necessary to wear gauze pads of iodoform over

+our noses.</p>

+

+<p>The bats at this place were killed with bamboo

+switches but later we always used a long gill net which

+had been especially made in New York. We could hang

+the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was

+ready, send a native into the galleries to stir up the

+animals. As they flew out they became entangled in

+the net and could be caught or killed before they were

+able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch

+every specimen in a cavern, and moreover, to secure them

+in perfect condition without broken skulls or wings.</p>

+

+<p>If a bat escaped from the net it would never again

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">- 31 -</span>

+strike it, for the animals are wonderfully accurate in

+flight and most expert dodgers. Even while in a cave,

+where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom

+flew against us, although we might often be brushed

+by their wings; and it was a most difficult thing to hit

+them with a bamboo switch. Their ability in dodging

+is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding

+habits for, with the exception of a few species, bats

+live exclusively upon insects and catch them in the

+air.</p>

+

+<p>It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit

+in a bat cave especially if the light has gone out and

+she is in utter darkness. Of course she has a cap tightly

+pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if she be a

+naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats

+with one wisp of hair exposed!</p>

+

+<p>All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush

+her face or neck and the air is full of chattering noises

+like the grinding of hundreds of tiny teeth. Sometimes

+a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares

+to take her hands from her face long enough to disengage

+the clinging animal she is liable to receive a vicious

+bite from teeth as sharp as needles. But, withal, it is

+good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or collecting

+trays can be filled with beautiful specimens!</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">- 32 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE YEN-PING REBELLION</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to

+obtain a new supply of specimens. Upon our return,

+just as we were about to sit down to luncheon, four

+excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from

+Mr. Caldwell:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Roy:</span></p>

+

+<p>There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this

+morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as

+though there was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been

+sent for and the chances are that either tonight or tomorrow

+morning there will be quite a battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble

+and myself have just made a round of the city, visiting the

+telegraph office, post office and other places, and while we do

+not believe that the foreigners will be molested, nevertheless it

+is impossible to tell just what to expect. It is certain, however,

+that the Consul will order all of us to Foochow if news of

+the situation reaches there. Owing to the uncertainty, I think

+you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be ready for any

+eventuality.</p>

+

+<p>After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr.

+Bankhardt, we all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to

+come in immediately. I am sending four burden-bearers for it

+will be out of the question to find any tomorrow, if trouble

+occurs tonight. The city gates are closed so you will have to

+climb up the ladder over the wall behind our compound. Best

+wishes.</p>

+

+<p class="tdr">

+<span class="smcap">Harry.</span><br />

+</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">- 33 -</span></p>

+

+<p>P. S.&mdash;Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers

+are to arrive tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only

+chance is to get to Yen-ping today.</p>

+

+<p class="tdr">

+H. C.<br />

+</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for

+Da-Ming, the cook, and the burden-bearers were jabbering

+excitedly at the top of their voices. The servants

+began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile

+we ate a roast chicken faster than good table manners

+would permit&mdash;in fact, we took it in our fingers. We

+were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement

+and talked almost as fast as the Chinese.</p>

+

+<p>In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had

+been received, we were on the way to Yen-ping. It was

+the hottest part of the day, and we were dripping with

+perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine

+and struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering

+in a furnace-like heat. At the first rest house

+an the top of the long hill we waited nearly an hour

+for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy

+loads.</p>

+

+<p>Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past

+us on her peglike feet leaning on the arm of a man. A

+short distance more and we came to the second rest

+house. We had been there but a few moments when

+three panting women, steadying themselves with long

+staves and barely able to walk on feet not more than

+four inches long, came up the hill. With them were

+several men bearing household goods in large bundles

+and huge red boxes.</p>

+

+<p>The exhausted women sank upon the benches and

+fanned themselves while the perspiration ran down their

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">- 34 -</span>

+flushed faces. They looked so utterly miserable that

+we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which

+Mrs. Caldwell had sent us the day before. Their gratitude

+was pitiful, but, of course, they gave the larger

+share to the men.</p>

+

+<p>It was not long before other women and children

+appeared on the hill path, all struggling upward under

+heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly bound feet.

+Probably these women had not walked so far in their

+entire lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and

+what would happen in the city if they took possession

+had driven them from their homes.</p>

+

+<p>Farther on we had a clear view across the valley

+where a long line of people was filing up to a temple

+which nestled into the hillside. Half a mile beyond

+were two other temples both crowded with refugees

+and their goods. Hundreds of families were seeking

+shelter in every little house beside the road and were

+overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.</p>

+

+<p>At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking

+the city and half an hour later were clambering

+up the ladder over the high wall of the compound, just

+behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and

+while cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting.

+It seemed that a certain element in the city was in

+co&ouml;peration with the representatives of the revolutionary

+organization. These men wished to obtain possession

+of Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started,

+to gather forces, march to Foochow, and force the Governor

+to declare the independence of the province.</p>

+

+<p>The plot had been hatching for several days, but the

+death of Yuan Shi-kai had somewhat delayed its fruition.

+Saturday, however, it was known throughout the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">- 35 -</span>

+city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning

+at half past three, a band of one hundred men from

+Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping where they were received

+by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who

+opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately

+they began to fire up the streets to intimidate the people

+and in a short time were in a hot engagement with

+the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw

+away their guns and swam across the river. The remaining

+city troops were from the province of Hunan

+and their sympathies were really with the South in the

+great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels,

+where they were received with open arms. It was reported

+that the <i>tao-tai</i> (district mandarin) had asked

+for troops from Foochow and that these might be expected

+at any moment; thus when they arrived a real

+battle could be expected and it was very likely that the

+city would be partly destroyed.</p>

+

+<p>We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and

+discussed the situation. It was the opinion of all that

+the foreigners were in no immediate danger, but nevertheless

+it was considered wise to be prepared, and we

+decided upon posts for each man if it should become

+necessary to protect the compound.</p>

+

+<p>Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries

+with requests to be allowed to bring their goods and

+families inside the walls, but these necessarily had to be

+refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese to

+bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the

+right of Consular protection and, moreover, their compound

+would have been the first to be attacked if looting began.</p>

+

+<p>On Monday morning while we were sitting on the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">- 36 -</span>

+porch of Mr. Caldwell's house preparing some bird

+skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire and then

+a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and

+we could see puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a

+black powder gun punctuated the vicious snapping of

+the high-power rifles. The firing gradually ceased after

+half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to

+see what had happened, for, as no Northern troops had

+appeared, the cause of the fighting was a mystery.</p>

+

+<p>We went first to the mission hospital which lay

+across a deep ravine and only a few yards from the

+quarters of the soldiers. At the door of the hospital

+compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble

+in the operating room examining a wounded man who

+had just been brought in. The fellow had been shot

+in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball that had gone

+entirely through him, emerging about three inches to

+the right of his spine.</p>

+

+<p>From the doctor we got the first real news of the

+puzzling situation. It appeared that all the men who had

+arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi to join the Yen-ping

+rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their

+own lives, the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had

+played a clever trick. They had pretended to join the

+rebels but at a given signal had turned upon them,

+killing or capturing almost every one. Although their

+sympathies were really with the South, the Hunan men

+knew that the rebels in Yen-ping could not hold the

+city against the Northern soldiers from Foochow and,

+by crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to

+avert a bigger fight.</p>

+

+<p>As we could not help the doctor he suggested that

+we might be of some assistance to the wounded in the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">- 37 -</span>

+city, and with rude crosses of red cloth pinned to our

+white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied

+by four Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In

+the compound we met a chair in which was lying an old

+man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. Beside

+him were his wife and several boys. The poor woman

+was crying quietly and, between her sobs, was offering

+the wounded man mustard pickles from a small

+dish in her hand! Poor things, they have so little to

+eat that they believe food will cure all ills!</p>

+

+<p>The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and

+lifted the filthy rag which covered a gaping wound in

+the man's shoulder, over which had been plastered a

+great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection,

+but it was the only remedy they knew!</p>

+

+<p>We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was

+preparing to operate on the fellow who had been shot

+in the abdomen. The doctor was working steadily and

+quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native

+hospital staff with his own coolness; the way this

+young missionary handled his cases made us glad that

+he was an American.</p>

+

+<p>On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us,

+each carrying four or five rifles and slung about with

+cartridge belts&mdash;plunder stripped from the men who

+had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we

+found two brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The

+nearest one had fallen on his face and, as we turned him

+over, we saw that half his head had been blown away;

+the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on

+which the flies already were settling in swarms.</p>

+

+<p>There was little use in wasting time over these men

+who long ago had passed beyond need of our help, and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">- 38 -</span>

+we went on rapidly down the alley to the main thoroughfare.

+Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the

+rough stones for fifteen minutes, and suddenly came

+to a man lying at the side of the street, his head propped

+on a wooden block. An umbrella once had partly covered

+him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected

+in the broiling sun. His face and a terrible wound in

+his head were a solid mass of flies, and thousands of

+insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones

+beside him. At first we thought he was dead but soon

+saw his abdomen move and realized that he was breathing.

+It did not seem possible that a human being could

+live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told

+us that he had been lying there for thirty hours&mdash;he

+had been shot early the previous morning and it was

+now three o'clock of the next afternoon.</p>

+

+<p>The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his

+wife in the most utter poverty. He had been peering

+over the city wall when the firing began Sunday morning

+and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay

+the penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not

+been taken to the hospital, and the answer was that

+his wife was too poor to hire anyone to carry him and

+he had no friends. So there he lay in the burning sun,

+gazed at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand

+being lifted to help him.</p>

+

+<p>Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed

+him in the stretcher and started up the long hill, followed

+by the haggard, weeping wife and a curious crowd.

+On every hand were questions: "Why are these men

+taking him away?" "What are they going to do with

+him?" But several educated natives who understood

+said, "<b>Ing-ai-gidaiie</b>" (A work of love). They got right

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">- 39 -</span>

+there a lesson in Christianity which they will not soon

+forget. It is seldom that Chinese try to help an injured

+man, for ever present in their minds is the possibility

+that he may die and that they will be responsible for

+his burial expenses.</p>

+

+<p>We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main

+street with orders to return as soon as they had deposited

+the man in the hospital and, under the guidance

+of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said

+seven or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us

+first to a brigand who had been wounded and left to

+die beside the gutter. The corpse was a horrible sight

+and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried

+examination and walked to the gate at the end

+of the street.</p>

+

+<p>A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from

+the officer that there were no wounded in the pile of

+dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned toward the

+river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to

+the <i>tao-tai's yamen</i> (official residence) where the firing

+had been heaviest. The <i>yamen</i> was crowded with soldiers,

+and we were informed that the dead had all been

+removed and that there were no wounded&mdash;a grim

+statement which told its own story.</p>

+

+<p>The <i>yamen</i> is but a short distance from the hospital

+so we climbed the hill to the compound. The sun was

+simply blazing and I realized then what the wounded

+men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter.

+We returned to the house and were resting on the

+upper porch when suddenly, far down the river, we

+saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and with

+field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men

+winding along the shore trail. At the same time two

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">- 40 -</span>

+huge boats filled with soldiers came into view heading

+for the water gate of the city. These were undoubtedly

+the Northern troops from Foochow who were expected Monday night.</p>

+

+<p>Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of

+musketry and a cloud of smoke drifted up from the

+barracks right below us&mdash;then a rattling fusillade of

+shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls

+firing at men below and often in our direction. Bullets

+hummed in the air like angry bees and we rushed for

+cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly

+as it began.</p>

+

+<p>We were at a loss to know what it all meant and

+why the troops were firing upon the Northern soldiers

+whom they wished to placate. It was still a mystery

+when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a

+few minutes later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that

+he had just received a note from the <i>tao-tai</i>. The mandarin's

+personal servant had brought word that the

+Northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were

+going to kill him and he begged the missionaries for

+assistance. Bankhardt also told us of the latest developments

+in the situation. It seems that the city soldiers

+supposed the Northern troops to be brigands and

+had fired upon them and killed several before they discovered

+their mistake. A very delicate situation had

+thus been precipitated, for the Northern commander

+believed that it was treachery and intended to attack

+the barracks in the morning and kill every man whom

+he found with a rifle, as well as all the city officials.</p>

+

+<p>The story of the way in which the missionaries acted

+as peacemakers, saved the <i>tao-tai</i>, and prevented the

+slaughter which surely would have taken place in the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">- 41 -</span>

+morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished

+only after hours of the talk and "face saving"

+so dear to the heart of the Oriental. Suffice it to say

+that through the exercise of great tact and a thorough

+understanding of the Chinese character they were able

+to settle the matter without bloodshed.</p>

+

+<p>The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called

+trial, marched off to the west gate, beheaded amid

+great enthusiasm, and the incident was closed. In the

+afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of

+us an official letter from the commander of the Northern

+troops thanking us for the part we had played in averting

+trouble and bringing the matter to a peaceful end.</p>

+

+<p>An interesting sidelight on the affair was received

+a few days later. A young man, a Christian, who was

+born in the same town from which a number of the

+brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night

+after the fight and found seven of the robbers concealed

+in his bedroom. He was terrified because if they were

+discovered he and all his family would be killed for aiding

+the bandits. He told them they must leave at once,

+but they pleaded with him to let them stay for they

+knew there were soldiers at every corner and that it

+would be impossible to get away.</p>

+

+<p>While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded

+at the door. He pushed the brigands into the courtyard,

+and opened to three soldiers. They said: "We

+understand you have brigands in your house." He

+was trembling with fear, but answered, "Come in and

+see for yourself, if you think so."</p>

+

+<p>The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner

+and, as they knew him to be a good man, did not

+search the house, but went away. The poor fellow was

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">- 42 -</span>

+frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being

+watched it was impossible for the brigands to leave

+during the day.</p>

+

+<p>At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads,

+and dressed like coolies, and were able to get to the

+ladder down the city wall just below the mission compound

+where they could escape into the hills.</p>

+

+<p>The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in

+the afternoon, a breathless Chinese appeared at the

+house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt saying that his

+Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been

+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded

+in an hour. We hurried to the police office

+where they were confined and found that not only the

+two men but three others were in custody.</p>

+

+<p>The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the

+management of one of his relatives and, while Bankhardt's

+teacher and the other man were sitting at a

+table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom

+owed the restaurant keeper a small amount of money.

+When asked to pay, the soldier turned upon him and

+shouted: "You have been assisting the brigands. I saw

+some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon

+the soldiers arrested everyone in the shop.</p>

+

+<p>The police officials were quite ready to release the

+teacher and the other man upon our statements, but

+they would not allow the cook to go. His hands were

+kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by

+the neck. The soldier who arrested him was his sole

+accuser, but of course, others would appear to uphold

+him in his charge if it were necessary.</p>

+

+<p>The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries,

+but it required several hours of work and threats

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">- 43 -</span>

+of complaint to the government at Foochow to prevent

+the man from being summarily executed.</p>

+

+<p>We were not able to get any mail from Foochow

+during the rebellion because the constant stream of

+Northern soldiers on their way up the river had paralyzed

+the entire country to such an extent that all the

+river men had fled.</p>

+

+<p>The soldiers were firing for target practice upon

+every boat they saw on the river and dozens of men

+had been killed and then robbed. The Northern commander

+told us frankly that this could not be prevented,

+and when we announced that we were going to

+start with all the missionaries down the river on the

+following day, he was very much disturbed. He insisted

+that we have American flags displayed on our

+boats to prevent being fired upon by the soldiers.</p>

+

+<p>Although it had taken eight days to work our way

+laboriously through the rapids and up the river from

+Foochow to Yen-ping, we covered the same distance

+down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast

+with Mr. Kellogg at his house the morning after we

+left Yen-ping. In two days our equipment was repacked

+and ready for the trip to Futsing to hunt the

+blue tiger.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">- 44 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">For</span> many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping

+he had been stationed at the city of Futsing, about

+thirty miles from Foochow. Much of his work consisted

+of itinerant trips during which he visited the

+various mission stations under his charge. He almost

+invariably went on foot from place to place and carried

+with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so

+keen a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest.</p>

+

+<p>The country was infested with man-eating tigers,

+and very often the villagers implored him to rid their

+neighborhood of some one of the yellow raiders which

+had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. During

+ten years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing

+region. He often said that his gun had been just as

+effective in carrying Christianity to the natives as had

+his evangelistic work. Although Mr. Caldwell has been

+especially fortunate and has killed his tigers without

+ever really hunting them, nevertheless it is a most uncertain

+sport as we were destined to learn. The tiger is

+the "Great Invisible"&mdash;he is everywhere and nowhere,

+here today and gone tomorrow. A sportsman in China

+may get his shot the first day out or he may hunt for

+weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they

+are all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that

+makes the game all the more fascinating.</p>

+

+<p>The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">- 45 -</span>

+mountains of considerable height, many of which are

+planted with rice and support a surprising number of

+Chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages.

+While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger

+and the mountain slopes themselves are usually more or

+less denuded of forest, yet the deep and narrow ravines,

+choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an

+impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during

+the day without fear of being disturbed. It is

+possible for a man to make his way through these lairs

+only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been

+opened by the tigers themselves.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead

+a goat with one or two kids to an open place where

+they could be fastened just outside the edge of the lair,

+and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The bleating

+of the goats would usually bring the tiger into the

+open where there would be an opportunity for a shot

+in the late afternoon.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was

+with a shotgun at the village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers

+had not arrived with the basket containing his

+rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he suggested

+to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant

+companion, that they make a preliminary inspection

+of the lair even though they carried only shotguns loaded

+with lead slugs about the size of buckshot.</p>

+

+<p>They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the

+lair and the tiger responded to its bleating almost immediately.

+Caldwell did not see the animal until it

+came into the open about fifty yards away and remained

+in plain view for almost half an hour. The

+tiger seemed to suspect danger and crouched on the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">- 46 -</span>

+terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward

+a short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He

+had approached along a small trail, but before he could

+reach the goat it was necessary to cross an open space

+a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened

+himself like a huge striped serpent. His head

+was extended so that the throat and chin were touching

+the ground, and there was absolutely no motion

+of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the

+beast slid along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at

+the instant the cat gained the nearest cover it made

+three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the terrace

+upon which the goat was tied.</p>

+

+<p>"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and

+slowly pushed his great black-barred face over the edge

+of the grass not fifteen feet away.</p>

+

+<p>"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped

+into the air with the blood spurting over the grass,

+and fell into a heap, but gathered himself and slid down

+over the terraces. As he went I fired a second load of

+slugs into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the

+hill parallel with us, and stood looking back at me, his

+face streaming with blood.</p>

+

+<p>"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other

+shells, but before I could reload the gun he walked

+unsteadily into the lair and lay down. It was already

+too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail

+showed where he had gone upward into the grass.

+Later, in the same afternoon, he was found dead by

+some Chinese more than three miles away."</p>

+

+<p>During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers

+Mr. Caldwell has learned much about their habits and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">- 47 -</span>

+peculiarities, and some of his observations are given

+in the following pages.</p>

+

+<p>"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted

+by his greatest enemy&mdash;man. Bold and daring as he

+may be when circumstances are in his favor, he will hurriedly

+abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a shepherd

+boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will

+always weigh conditions before making an attack. If

+things do not exactly suit him nothing will tempt him

+to charge into the open upon what may appear to be an

+isolated and defenseless goat.</p>

+

+<p>"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate

+this point. I led a goat into a ravine where a tiger which

+had been working havoc among the herds of the farmers

+was said to live. This animal only a few days previous

+to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three

+of them, but on this occasion the beast must have suspected

+danger and was exceedingly cautious. He advanced

+under cover along a trail until within one hundred

+feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey

+of the surroundings. Peering into the valley, he

+saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards or

+more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a

+time, the great cat turned and bounded away into the

+bushes.</p>

+

+<p>"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity

+to attack a cow which a farmer was using in

+plowing his field. The man had unhitched his cow

+and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day

+meal, when the tiger suddenly rushed from cover and

+killed the animal only a few yards behind the peasant.

+This shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able

+to strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">- 48 -</span>

+to favor an attack. I have known tigers to rush at a

+dog or hog standing inside a Chinese house where there

+was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost

+every instance the victim was killed, although it

+was not always carried away.</p>

+

+<p>"There is probably no creature in the wilds which

+shows such a combination of daring strategy and slinking

+cowardice as the tiger. Often courage fails him

+after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash

+off into the nearest wood.</p>

+

+<p>"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a

+mountain-side when a large tiger was routed from his

+bed. The beast made a rushing attack on the man

+standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing

+him by the leg dragged him into the ravine below.

+Luckily the man succeeded in grasping a small tree

+whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim

+lying upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and

+fear.</p>

+

+<p>"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills

+near Futsing when a tiger which had been sleeping in

+the high grass was disturbed. The enraged beast

+tinned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly

+and striking another a ripping blow with his paw which

+sent him lifeless to the terrace below. The beast did

+not attempt to drag either of its victims into the bush

+or to attack the other persons near by.</p>

+

+<p>"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are

+amazing. I had occasion to spend the night a short time

+ago in a place where a tiger had performed some remarkable

+feats. Just at dusk one of these marauders

+visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old

+calf in a pen which had been excavated in

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">- 49 -</span>

+the side of a hill and adjoined a house. There was no

+possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door

+opening from the main part of the dwelling or to descend

+from above. The tiger jumped from the roof

+upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and the

+inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see

+the animal throw the calf out bodily and leap after it

+himself. I measured the embankment and found that

+the exact height was twelve and a half feet.</p>

+

+<p>"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked

+a hog, just back of the village and carried it into the

+hills. The villagers pursued the beast and overtook

+it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed

+weighed more than two hundred pounds, was found,

+it had no marks or bruises upon it other than the deep

+fang wounds in the neck. This is another instance

+where courage failed a tiger after he had made off with

+his kill to a safe distance. The Chinese declare that

+when carrying such a load a tiger never attempts to

+drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races

+off at top speed.</p>

+

+<p>"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in

+years I shot in May, 1910. Two days previous to my

+hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a sixteen-year-old

+boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to

+make an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast.

+Obtaining a mother goat with two small kids, I led them

+into a ravine near where the boy had been killed. The

+goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair,

+and the kids were concealed in the tall grass well in

+toward the place where the tiger would probably be.

+I selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind a

+bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one may be

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">- 50 -</span>

+stalked by the very beast which one is hunting adds to

+the excitement and keeps one's nerves on edge. I expected

+that the tiger would approach stealthily as long

+as he could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack,

+so far as my observation goes, is to creep up under

+cover as far as possible before rushing into the open.

+In any case the tiger would be within twenty yards of

+me before it could be seen.</p>

+

+<p>"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert

+and waiting, behind the little blind of ferns and grass.

+There was nothing to break the silence other than the

+incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping

+call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope

+of a shot when suddenly the huge head of the man-eater

+emerged from the bush, exactly where I had expected

+he would appear and within fifteen feet of the

+kids. The back, neck, and head of the beast were in

+almost the same plane as he moved noiselessly forward.</p>

+

+<p>"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the

+gun in my hand, and at the crack of the rifle the huge

+brute settled forward with hardly a quiver not ten

+feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring.

+A second shot was not necessary but was fired as a

+matter of precaution as the tiger had fallen behind rank

+grass, and the bullet passed through the shoulder blade

+lodging in the spine. The beast measured more than

+nine feet and weighed almost four hundred pounds.</p>

+

+<p>"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into

+the ravine, each eager not so much to see their slain tormentor

+as to gather up the blood. But little attention

+was paid to the tiger until every available drop was

+sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">- 51 -</span>

+and children even pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I

+learned that the blood of a tiger is used for two purposes.

+A bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the

+neck of a child as a preventive against either measles

+or smallpox, and tiger flesh is eaten for the same purpose.

+It is also said that if a handkerchief stained with

+tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the

+animal will slink away cowed and terrified.</p>

+

+<p>"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the

+most valuable part of a tiger. Almost always before a

+hunt is made, or a trap is built, the villagers hum incense

+before the temple god, and an agreement is made

+to the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin

+of the beast taken becomes the property of the gods.

+Thus it happens that in many of the temples handsome

+tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied

+by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the

+land. When a hunt is successful, the flesh and bones are

+considered of greatest value, and it often happens that

+a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with

+that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully

+paid for tiger meat. The bones are boiled for a

+number of days until a gelatine-like product results,

+and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious medicine.</p>

+

+<p>"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger

+in the tangle of its lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded

+for the risk when one begins to sum up one's

+observations. The most interesting result of investigating

+an oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's

+food. That a tiger always devours its prey upon the

+spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is an

+erroneous idea. This is often true when the kill is too

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">- 52 -</span>

+heavy to be carried for a long distance, but it is by no

+means universally so. Not long ago the remains of a

+young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's

+lair a few miles from Futsing city. No child had

+been reported missing in the immediate neighborhood

+and everything indicated that the boy had been brought

+alive to this spot from a considerable distance. The

+sides of the grave were besmeared with the blood of

+the unfortunate victim, indicating that the tiger had

+tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as it

+remains alive.</p>

+

+<p>"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or

+places under overhanging trees, which are covered with

+bones, and are evidently spots to which the animal

+brings its prey to be devoured. On such a terrace one

+will find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine,

+pangolin, and other animals both domestic and

+wild. A fresh kill shows that with its rasp-like tongue

+the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before devouring

+it and the hair will be found in a circle around what

+remains of the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair in

+order to gather up the quills of the porcupine and the

+bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for

+medicinal purposes.</p>

+

+<p>"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon

+reptiles and frogs which they find among the rice fields.

+On the night of April 22, 1914, a party of frog catchers

+were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the

+load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The

+animal made no attempt to drag the man away and it

+would appear that it was attracted by the croaking of

+the frogs.</p>

+

+<p>"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">- 53 -</span>

+trail or path in, or adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the

+tiger measures its full length upon a tree, standing in a

+convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips

+deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting

+to the sportsman as it not only indicates the presence

+of a tiger in the immediate vicinity but serves to

+give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. The

+trails leading into a lair often are marked in a different

+way. In doing this the animal rakes away the grass

+with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but claw

+prints never appear."</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">- 54 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE BLUE TIGER</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">After</span> one has traveled in a Chinese <i>sampan</i> for several

+days the prospect of a river journey is not very

+alluring but we had a most agreeable surprise when we

+sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt

+the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the

+luxury of a private yacht, for our boat contained a large

+central cabin with a table and chairs and two staterooms

+and was manned by a captain and crew of six

+men&mdash;all for $1.50 per day!</p>

+

+<p>In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long

+time before we spread our beds on the roof of the

+boat and went to sleep under the stars. We left the

+boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for the six-mile

+walk to Lung-tao. To my great surprise the

+coolies were considerably distressed at the lightness of

+our loads. In this region they are paid by weight and

+some of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. As

+an example, one of our men came into camp swinging a

+125-pound trunk on each end of his pole, laughing and

+chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying

+250 pounds for six miles under a broiling sun.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at

+Lung-tao and we found his house to be one of several

+built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of gum and

+banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean for

+a Chinese dwelling, we pitched our tents a short

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">- 55 -</span>

+distance away. At first we were somewhat doubtful about

+sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we decided

+that any risk was preferable to spending another

+hour in the stifling heat of the house.</p>

+

+<p>It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious

+of the white tents that it would not attack us, but nevertheless

+during the first nights we were rather wakeful

+and more than once at some strange night sound seized

+our rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.</p>

+

+<p>Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred

+yards from our camp site, in 1911, a tiger had

+rushed into the house of one of the peasants and attempted

+to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play

+under the family table. All was quiet in the house

+when suddenly the animal dashed through the open

+door. The Chinese declare that the gods protected

+the infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the

+leg of the table against which the baby's head was resting,

+bolted through the door dragging the table into the

+courtyard.</p>

+

+<p>This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which

+we had come to hunt and which had on two occasions

+been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The first time he heard of

+this strange beast was in the spring of 1910. The animal

+was reported as having been seen at various places

+within an area of a few miles almost simultaneously and

+so mysterious were its movements that the Chinese declared

+it was a spirit of the devil. After several unsuccessful

+hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at

+close range but as he was armed with only a shotgun

+it would have been useless to shoot.</p>

+

+<p>His second view of the beast was a few weeks later

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">- 56 -</span>

+and in the same place. I will give the story in his own

+words:</p>

+

+<p>"I selected a spot upon a hilltop and cleared away

+the grass and ferns with a jack-knife for a place to tie

+the goat. I concealed myself in the bushes ten feet

+away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened

+and the tiger approached from the rear.</p>

+

+<p>"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily

+along a little trail just across a shallow ravine. I supposed,

+of course, that he was trying to locate the goat

+which was bleating loudly, but to my horror I saw that

+he was creeping upon two boys who had entered the

+ravine to cut grass. The huge brute moved along lizard-fashion

+for a few yards and then cautiously lifted his

+head above the grass. He was within easy springing

+distance when I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized

+that if I wounded the animal the boys would certainly

+meet a horrible death.</p>

+

+<p>"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so

+instead of firing I stepped from the bushes, yelling and

+waving my arms. The huge cat, crouched for a spring,

+drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then

+slowly slipped away into the grass. The boys were

+saved but I had lost the opportunity I had sought for

+over a year.</p>

+

+<p>"However, I had again seen the animal about which

+so many strange tales had been told. The markings

+of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground color

+is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light

+gray-blue on the underparts. The stripes are well defined

+and like those of the ordinary yellow tiger."</p>

+

+<p>Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written

+me repeatedly urging me to stop at Futsing on the way

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">- 57 -</span>

+to Y&uuml;n-nan to try with him for the blue tiger which

+was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical

+as to its being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was

+a most interesting animal and would certainly be well

+worth getting.</p>

+

+<p>I believed then, and my opinion has since been

+strengthened, that it is a partially melanistic phase of

+the ordinary yellow tiger. Black leopards are common

+in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a single

+individual of the blue tiger has been reported the evidence

+hardly warrants the assumption that it represents

+a distinct species.</p>

+

+<p>We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute

+ranged in the vicinity of two or three villages about

+seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently near

+Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing

+a dog or goat in one village and by the time we

+had hurried across the mountains appearing in another

+spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified natives

+who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations.

+He was in truth the "Great Invisible" and it

+seemed impossible that we should not get him sooner or

+later, but we never did.</p>

+

+<p>Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer

+bad luck, and it was only by exercising almost super-human

+restraint that we prevented ourselves from doing

+bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our hunt.

+Every evening for a week we had faithfully taken a

+goat into the "Long Ravine," for the blue tiger had

+been seen several times near this lair. On the eighth

+afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as

+usual. We had tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two

+kids were but a few feet away.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">- 58 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless

+heat, silent save for the echoes of the bleating goats.

+Crouched behind the screen of branches, for three long

+hours we sat in the patchwork shade,&mdash;motionless,

+dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,&mdash;and

+watched the shadows steal slowly down the narrow

+ravine.</p>

+

+<p>It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut

+out of the mountain side with two strokes of a mighty

+ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny vines and

+sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only

+entrance was by the tiger tunnels which drove their

+twisting way through the murderous growth far in toward

+its gloomy heart.</p>

+

+<p>The shadows had passed over us and just reached a

+lone palm tree on the opposite hillside. By that I knew

+it was six o'clock and in half an hour another day of

+disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the left

+and just below us there came the faintest crunching

+sound as a loose stone shifted under a heavy weight;

+then a rustling in the grass. Instantly the captive goat

+gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at

+the rope which held it to the tree.</p>

+

+<p>At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear

+"Get ready, he's coming." I was half kneeling with my

+heavy .405 Winchester pushed forward and the hammer

+up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck

+muscles ached with the strain but I thanked Heaven

+that my hands were steady.</p>

+

+<p>Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his

+little 22 caliber high power Savage nestling against his

+cheek. Our eyes met for an instant and I knew in that

+glance that the blue tiger would never make another

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">- 59 -</span>

+charge, for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten

+minutes we waited and my heart lost a beat when twenty

+feet away the grass began to move again&mdash;but rapidly

+and <i>up the ravine</i>.</p>

+

+<p>I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look

+which changed to one of disgust as a chorus of yells

+sounded across the ravine and three Chinese wood cutters

+appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking

+a short cut home, shouting to drive away the tigers&mdash;and

+they had succeeded only too well, for the blue

+tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from

+whence he had come.</p>

+

+<p>He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him!

+I felt so badly that I could not even swear and it wasn't

+the fact that Harry was a missionary which kept me

+from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once, for his

+disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had

+been hunting this same tiger off and on for six years.</p>

+

+<p>It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and

+we pushed our way through the sword grass to the entrance

+of the tunnel down which the tiger had come.

+There in the soft earth were the great footprints where

+he had crouched at the entrance to take a cautious

+survey before charging into the open.</p>

+

+<p>As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said:

+"Roy, let's go into the lair. There is just one chance

+in a thousand that we may get a shot." Now I must

+admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that little

+excursion, but in we went, crawling on our hands and

+knees up the narrow passage. Every few feet we passed

+side branches from the main tunnel in any one of which

+the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and

+could have killed us as we passed. It was a foolhardy

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">- 60 -</span>

+thing to do and I am free to admit that I was scared.

+It was not long before Harry twisted about and said:

+"Roy, I haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out."

+And out we came faster than we went in.</p>

+

+<p>This was only one of the times when the "Great

+Invisible" was almost in our hands. A few days later

+a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice bank

+early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he

+ran a mile and a half to our camp only to find that

+we had left half an hour before for another village

+where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the

+morning.</p>

+

+<p>Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at

+daybreak just as the members of the family were getting

+up, stole a dog from the "heaven's well," dragged

+it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We were in camp

+only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the

+carcass on a narrow ledge in the sword grass high up

+on the mountain side. The spot was an impossible

+one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which

+had been carried with us from New York.</p>

+

+<p>It seemed out of the question for any animal to return

+to the carcass of the dog without getting caught

+and yet the tiger did it. With his hind quarters on the

+upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck

+across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired

+to a tree and pulled it away. It was evident that he

+was quite unconscious of the trap for his fore feet had

+actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two

+inches from the pan which would have sprung it.</p>

+

+<p>One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao,

+a village seven miles beyond Lung-tao, where the blue

+tiger had been seen that day. The natives assured us

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">- 61 -</span>

+that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly

+clothed with pines and sword grass just above the village

+and even though it was late when we arrived Harry

+thought it wise to set the trap that night.</p>

+

+<p>It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying

+the trap, two lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a

+wretched little dog for bait. We had been engaged for

+about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and

+Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when

+suddenly a low rumbling growl came from the grass

+not twenty feet away. We jumped to our feet just as

+it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The tiger

+had arrived a few moments too early and we were in

+the rather uncomfortable position of having to return

+to the village by way of a narrow trail through the

+jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric lamp

+cutting a brilliant path in the darkness we walked slowly

+toward the edge of the sword grass hoping to see the

+flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off beyond

+the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where

+we could not follow. Apparently he was frightened by

+the lantern, for we did not hear him again.</p>

+

+<p>After nearly a month of disappointments such as

+these Mr. Heller joined us at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg.

+Caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to the

+Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where

+he had once spent a summer with his family and had

+killed several tigers. This was within the blue tiger's

+range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a

+better general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with

+Heller to look after the small mammals we could begin

+to make our time count for something if we did not get

+the tiger.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">- 62 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of

+temples, built into a hillside at the end of a long narrow

+valley which swells out like a great bowl between bamboo

+clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. On

+his former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the

+head priest and we were allowed to establish ourselves

+upon the broad porch of the third and highest building.

+It was an ideal place for a collecting camp and

+would have been delightful except for the terrible heat

+which was rendered doubly disagreeable by the almost

+continual rain.</p>

+

+<p>The priests who shuffled about the temples were a

+hard lot. Most of them were fugitives from justice and

+certainly looked the part, for a more disreputable, diseased

+and generally undesirable body of men I have

+never seen.</p>

+

+<p>Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple

+life interesting. We slept on the porch and each morning,

+about half an hour before daylight, the measured

+strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just

+below us. <i>Boom&mdash;boom&mdash;boom&mdash;boom</i> it went, then

+rapidly <i>bang, bang, bang</i>. It was a religious alarm

+clock to rouse the world.</p>

+

+<p>A little later when the upturned gables and twisted

+dolphins on the roof had begun to take definite shape in

+the gray light of the new day, the gong boomed out

+again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms

+shuffled the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before

+the early service. The droning chorus of hoarse

+voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant, harmonized

+strangely with the romantic surroundings of

+the temple and become our daily <i>matin</i> and evensong.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f62a" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f62a.png" width="286" height="359" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Ling-suik Monastery</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f62b" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f62b.png" width="286" height="355" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Priest of Ling-suik</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">- 63 -</span></p>

+

+<p>At the first gong we slipped from beneath our

+mosquito nets and dressed to be ready for the bats which

+fluttered into the building to hide themselves beneath

+the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully come we

+scattered to the four winds of heaven to inspect traps,

+hunt barking deer, or collect birds, but gathered again

+at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our spoil.

+Caldwell and I always spent the afternoon at the blue

+tiger's lair but the animal had suddenly shifted his

+operations back to Lung-tao and did not appear at

+Ling-suik while we were there.</p>

+

+<p>Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of

+help to other naturalists who contemplate a visit to this

+province. We satisfied ourselves that summer collecting

+is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the

+vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained

+for the efforts expended. Continual tramping

+over the mountains in the blazing sun necessarily must

+have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even

+a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has become thoroughly

+acclimated, is not immune.</p>

+

+<p>Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty

+pounds in weight during the time we hunted the blue

+tiger and each of us had serious trouble from abscesses.

+I have never worked in a more trying climate&mdash;even

+that of Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected

+in 1909-10, was much less debilitating than

+Fukien in the summer. The average temperature was

+about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so

+high that one felt as though one were wrapped in a wet

+blanket and even during a six weeks' rainless period

+the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds.</p>

+

+<p>In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">- 64 -</span>

+then would be vastly easier than in summer, not only on

+account of climatic conditions, but because much of the

+vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for

+"still hunting."</p>

+

+<p>Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because

+of the dense population. The mud dykes and the

+rice fields usually are covered with tracks of civets, mongooses,

+and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but if

+a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly

+is stolen. Moreover, the small mammals are neither

+abundant nor varied in number of species, and the larger

+forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow are exceedingly

+difficult to kill.</p>

+

+<p>While our work in the province was done during an

+unfavorable season and in only two localities, yet enough

+was seen of the general conditions to make it certain

+that a thorough zo&ouml;logical study of the region would

+require considerable time and hard work and that the

+results, so far as a large collection of mammals is concerned,

+would not be highly satisfactory. Work in the

+western part of the province among the Bohea Hills

+undoubtedly would be more profitable, but even there

+it would be hardly worth while for an expedition with

+limited time and money.</p>

+

+<p>Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology

+of Fukien already has received considerable attention

+through the collections of Swinhoe, La Touche,

+Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably not

+a great number of species remain to be described.</p>

+

+<p>Much work could still be done upon the herpetology

+of the region, however, and I believe that this branch of

+zo&ouml;logy would be well worth investigation for reptiles

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">- 65 -</span>

+and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives

+would rather assist than retard one's efforts.</p>

+

+<p>The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than

+in any other of the Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow

+dialect (which is one of the most difficult to learn)

+is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the

+city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow"

+perfectly, could not understand a word of the

+"southern mandarin" which is the language of that

+region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives

+from Amoy have settled, the dialect is unintelligible to

+one who knows only "Foochow."</p>

+

+<p>Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport

+is entirely by coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred

+pounds. The men are paid by distance or weight;

+therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained there

+is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one

+to two hours are consumed before the party can start.</p>

+

+<p>But the worst of it is that one can never be certain

+when one's entire outfit will arrive at its new destination.

+Some men walk much faster than others, some will delay

+a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if

+the day be hot, with the result that the last load will

+arrive perhaps five or six hours after the first one.</p>

+

+<p>As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the

+only alternative is to be carried in a mountain chair,

+which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like affair and only

+to be found along the main highways. On the whole,

+transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and

+expensive that for a large expedition it forms a grave

+obstacle to successful work, if time and funds be limited.</p>

+

+<p>On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">- 66 -</span>

+good. We employed a very fair cook who received

+monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about three and

+one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from

+five to seven dollars (Mexican). As none of the servants

+knew English they could be obtained at much lower

+wages, but English-speaking cooks usually receive from

+fifteen to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.</p>

+

+<p>It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger

+but we had hunted him unsuccessfully for five weeks

+and there was other and more important work awaiting

+us in Y&uuml;n-nan. It required thirty porters to transport

+our baggage from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei,

+twenty-one miles away, where two houseboats were

+to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were

+lying off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the flood tide to

+take us to Foochow. We made our beds on the deck

+house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the

+boat tied to the wharf at the Custom House on the

+Bund, and ourselves in full view of all Foochow had it

+been awake at that hour.</p>

+

+<p>The week of packing and repacking that followed was

+made easy for us by Claude Kellogg, who acted as our

+ministering angel. I think there must be a special

+Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and

+directs them to such men as Kellogg, for without divine

+aid they could never be found. When we last saw him,

+he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving

+his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the

+S. S. <i>Haitan</i> for Hongkong.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">- 67 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE WOMEN OF CHINA</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping

+interested us greatly, even when we first came to

+China, but we could not appreciate then as we did later

+the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions.</p>

+

+<p>How much the missionaries are able to accomplish

+from a religious standpoint is a question which we do

+not wish to discuss, but no one who has ever lived among

+them can deny that the opening of schools and the diffusing

+of western knowledge are potent factors in the

+development of the people. The Chinese were not slow

+even in the beginning to see the advantages of a foreign

+education for their boys and now, along the coast at

+least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their

+daughters as well. The Woman's College, which was

+opened recently in Foochow, is one of the finest buildings

+of the Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced

+girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments,

+it is difficult to realize that outside such schools they are

+still slaves in mind and body to those iron rules of Confucius

+which have molded the entire structure of Chinese

+society for over 2400 years.</p>

+

+<p>The position of women in China today, and the rules

+which govern the household of every orthodox Chinese,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">- 68 -</span>

+are the direct heritage of Confucianism. The following

+translation by Professor J. Legge from the <i>Narratives

+of the Confucian School</i>, chapter 26, is illuminating:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and

+is supreme over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions

+of man and helps to carry out his principles. On

+this account she can determine nothing of herself and is subject

+to the rule of the three obediences.</p>

+

+<p>"(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder

+brother;</p>

+

+<p>"(2) When married, she must obey her husband;</p>

+

+<p>"(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.</p>

+

+<p>"She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions

+or orders must issue from the harem. Women's

+business is simply the preparation and supplying of drink and

+food. Beyond the threshold of her apartments she shall not be

+known for evil or for good. She may not cross the boundaries

+of a state to attend a funeral. She may take no steps on her

+own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation."</p>

+

+<p>The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:</p>

+

+<p>"(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;</p>

+

+<p>"(2) Not giving birth to a son;</p>

+

+<p>"(3) Dissolute conduct;</p>

+

+<p>"(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates

+of his harem);</p>

+

+<p>"(5) Talkativeness, and</p>

+

+<p>"(6) Thieving."</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her

+mother-in-law, and as she is often reared by her husband's

+family, or else married to him as a mere child,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">- 69 -</span>

+and is under the complete control of his mother for a

+considerable period of her existence, her life in many

+instances is one of intolerable misery. There is generally

+little or no consideration for a girl under the best

+of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male

+child; her condition then improves but she approaches

+happiness only when she in turn occupies the enviable

+position of mother-in-law.</p>

+

+<p>It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness

+and vacuity than that of the average Chinese woman.

+Owing to her bound feet and resultant helplessness, if

+she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the narrow

+confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her

+entire life she may not go a mile from the house to

+which she was brought a bride, except for the periodical

+visits to her father's home.</p>

+

+<p>It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in

+China and it is not surprising that, ignored and despised

+for centuries, the Chinese woman shows no ability to

+improve the squalor of her surroundings. She passes

+her life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken

+furniture and a mud floor, together with pigs, chickens

+and babies enjoying a limited sphere of action under the

+tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard without.

+Her work is actually never done and a Chinese

+bride, bright and attractive at twenty, will be old and

+faded at thirty.</p>

+

+<p>But without doubt the crowning evil which attends

+woman's condition in China is foot binding, and nothing

+can be offered in extenuation of this abominable custom.

+It is said to have originated one thousand years

+before the Christian era and has persisted until the present

+day in spite of the efforts directed against it. The

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">- 70 -</span>

+Empress Dowager issued edicts strongly advising its

+discontinuation, the "Natural Foot Society," which was

+formed about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate

+public opinion, and the missionaries refuse to admit

+girls so mutilated to their schools; but nevertheless the

+reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities.

+"Precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands

+for their daughters are responsible for the continuation

+of the evil, and it is estimated that there are

+still about seventy-four millions of girls and women who

+are crippled in this way.</p>

+

+<p>The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and

+seven. The toes are bent under the sole of the foot

+and after two or three years the heel and instep are so

+forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft;

+gradually also the lower limbs shrink away until only

+the bones remain.</p>

+

+<p>The suffering of the children is intense. We often

+passed through streets full of laughing boys and tiny

+girls where others, a few years older, were sitting on the

+doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and

+crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are constructed

+a considerable distance from the family dwelling

+where the girls must sleep during their first crippled

+years in order that their moans may not disturb the

+other members of the family. The child's only relief

+is to hang her feet over the edge of the bed in order to

+stop the circulation and induce numbness, or to seek

+oblivion from opium.</p>

+

+<p>If the custom were a fad which affected only the

+wealthy classes it would be reprehensible enough, but

+it curses rich and poor alike, and almost every day we

+saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves

+by means of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads

+or laboring in the fields.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f70a" style="width: 283px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f70a.png" width="283" height="358" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Chinese Mother with Her Children</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f70b" style="width: 276px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f70b.png" width="276" height="354" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Chinese Women of the Coolie Class

+with Bound Feet</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">- 71 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly

+making itself felt to a certain extent in the

+coast provinces, in Y&uuml;n-nan the horrible practice continues

+unabated. During the year in which we traveled

+through a large part of the province, wherever there

+were Chinese we saw bound feet. And the fact that

+virtually <i>every</i> girl over eight years old was mutilated in

+this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have

+not penetrated to this remote part of the Republic.</p>

+

+<p>I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation

+because of its senselessness and brutality, and China can

+never hope to take her place among civilized nations

+until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and liberated

+her women from their infamous subjection.</p>

+

+<p>There has been much criticism of foreign education

+because the girls who have had its advantages absorb

+western ideas so completely that they dislike to return

+to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a

+Chinese household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of

+China are ever to be emancipated it must come through

+their own education as well as that of the men.</p>

+

+<p>One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay

+marriage, and in some instances the early betrothal with

+its attendant miseries. The evil which results from this

+custom can hardly be overestimated. It happens not

+infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy,

+the respective families being in like circumstances at the

+time. The opportunity perhaps is offered to the girl to

+attend school and she may even go through college, but

+an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents'

+home, forces her to submit to the engagement made in

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">- 72 -</span>

+babyhood and perhaps ruins her life through marriage

+with a man of no higher social status or intelligence than

+a coolie.</p>

+

+<p>Among the few girls imbued with western civilization

+a spirit of revolt is slowly growing, and while it is impossible

+for them to break down the barriers of ages, yet in

+many instances they waive aside what would seem an unsurmountable

+precedent and insist upon having some

+voice in the choosing of their husbands.</p>

+

+<p>While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign

+wedding of a girl who had been brought up in the

+Woman's School and who was qualified to be a "Bible

+Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was whispered

+that she had actually met her betrothed on several occasions,

+but on their wedding day no trace of recognition

+was visible, and the marriage was performed with all the

+punctilious Chinese observances compatible with a Christian

+ceremony.</p>

+

+<p>Precedent required of this little bride, although she

+might have been radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly

+was, to appear tearful and shrinking and as she was

+escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might have

+thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not becoming

+to the Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning,

+so she had chosen pink for her wedding gown and

+had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled hair.</p>

+

+<p>After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded

+downstairs to the joyous strain of the wedding

+march, but with nothing joyous in their demeanor&mdash;in

+fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception

+and endured for over an hour the stares and loud

+criticism of the guests. He assumed during the ordeal

+a look of bored indifference while the little bride sat with

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">- 73 -</span>

+her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken.

+But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle

+in her shining black eyes that made me realize that perhaps

+it wasn't all quite so frightful as she would have us

+believe. I often wonder what sort of a life she is leading

+in her far away Chinese courtyard.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">- 74 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">VOYAGING TO Y&Uuml;N-NAN</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our

+trip to Y&uuml;n-nan. Hongkong is one of the best cities in

+the Orient in which to purchase supplies of almost any

+kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best

+English goods can be had for prices very little in excess

+of those in London itself.</p>

+

+<p>The system which we used in our commissary was that

+of the unit food box which has been adopted by most

+large expeditions. The boxes were packed to weigh

+seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary

+staple supplies for three persons for one week; thus only

+one box needed to be opened at a time, and, moreover, if

+the party separated for a few days a single box could be

+taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance

+that sufficient food would be available.</p>

+

+<p>Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar,

+coffee, milk, bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned

+meat, vegetables, or fruit because we were certain to be

+able to obtain a plentiful supply of such food in the

+country through which we were expecting to travel.</p>

+

+<p>Our tents were brought from New York and were

+made of light Egyptian cotton thoroughly waterproof,

+but we also purchased in Hongkong a large army tent

+for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and

+specimens. We used sleeping bags and folding cots,

+tables and chairs, for when an expedition expects to remain

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">- 75 -</span>

+in the field for a long time it is absolutely necessary

+to be as comfortable as possible and to live well;

+otherwise one cannot work at one's highest efficiency.</p>

+

+<p>For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits

+with flannel shirts and high leather shoes for mountain

+climbing, and we had light rubber automobile shirts and

+rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto shirt is

+a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens

+about the neck and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can

+be so spread about as to cover all exposed parts of the

+body; it is especially useful and necessary, and hip

+rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy

+season.</p>

+

+<p>Our traps for catching small mammals were

+brought from New York. We had two sizes of wooden

+"Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes

+of Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals

+such as civets and polecats. We also carried a half

+dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had used this size

+in Africa and found that they were large enough even

+to hold lions.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I

+used a 6&frac12; mm. Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All

+of these guns were eminently satisfactory, but the choice

+of a rifle is a very personal matter and every sportsman

+has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat

+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we

+were armed was absolutely essential for many of our

+shots were at long range and we frequently killed gorals

+at three hundred yards or over.</p>

+

+<p>The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks,

+a Graphic 4 &times; 5 tripod camera, and Graflex 4 &times; 5 for

+rapid work. We have found after considerable field

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">- 76 -</span>

+experience that the 4 &times; 5 is the most convenient size to

+handle, for the plate is large enough and can be obtained

+more readily than any other in different parts of the

+world. The same applies to the 3A Kodak "post-card"

+size film, for there are few places where foreign goods

+are carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.</p>

+

+<p>All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin

+boxes before we left America, and thus the material was

+in perfect condition when the cans were opened. We

+used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic

+work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to

+handle than films, nevertheless the results obtained are

+very superior. A collapsible rubber dark room about

+seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an indispensable

+part of the camera equipment. This tent was

+made for us by the Abercrombie &amp; Fitch Company, of

+New York, and could be hung from the limb of a tree or

+the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five

+minutes.</p>

+

+<p>The motion pictures were taken with a Universal

+camera, and like all other negatives were developed in

+the field by means of a special apparatus which had been

+designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American Museum

+of Natural History. This work required a much larger

+space than that of the portable dark room and we consequently

+had a tent made of red cloth which could be tied

+inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.</p>

+

+<p>Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and

+in wooden boxes with sliding tops. The latter arrangement

+is especially desirable in Y&uuml;n-nan, for the loads can

+be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus

+saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.</p>

+

+<p>It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">- 77 -</span>

+together, but the Lane &amp; Crawford Company of Hongkong

+pushed the making and packing of our boxes in a

+remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of

+their departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a

+Chinaman is to get more Chinamen," and they put a

+small army at work upon our material, which was ready

+for shipment in just a week.</p>

+

+<p>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,

+Y&uuml;n-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.</p>

+

+<p>We left for Tonking on the S. S. <i>Sung-kiang</i>, 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.</p>

+

+<p>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 zo&ouml;logical work as

+is shown by the collections which the American Museum

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">- 78 -</span>

+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.</p>

+

+<p>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!</p>

+

+<p>When the <i>Sung-kiang</i> 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

+<i>sampan</i> to receive our equipment the unloading began

+and several trunks had gone over the side, when Mr.

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">- 79 -</span>

+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.</p>

+

+<p>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.</p>

+

+<p>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.</p>

+

+<p>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,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">- 80 -</span>

+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 <i>petit d&eacute;jeuner</i>, remarkable especially

+for its "petitness," is served, and a real <i>d&eacute;jeuner</i>

+comes later anywhere from 10 to 12:30.</p>

+

+<p>About 6 o'clock in the evening the open <i>caf&eacute;s</i> 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.</p>

+

+<p>We had letters to M. Chemin Dupont&egrave;s, 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. Dupont&egrave;s was especially helpful.</p>

+

+<p>Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad

+from Hanoi to Y&uuml;n-nan Fu had caved in and for almost

+a month trains had not been running. It was now in operation,

+however, but all luggage had to be transferred

+by hand at the broken tunnel and consequently must not

+exceed eighty-five pounds in weight. This meant repacking

+our entire equipment and three days of hard

+work. M. Dupont&egrave;s arranged to have our 4000 pounds

+of baggage put in a special third class carriage with our

+"boys" in attendance and in this way saved the expedition

+a considerable amount of money. He personally

+went with us to the station to arrange for our comfort

+with the <i>chef de gare</i>, telegraphed ahead at every station

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">- 81 -</span>

+upon the railroad, and gave us an open letter to all officials;

+in fact there was nothing which he left undone.</p>

+

+<p>The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement

+for it was constructed in great haste through a difficult

+mountainous range. Y&uuml;n-nan is an exceedingly rich

+province and the French were quick to see the advantages

+of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports.

+The British were already making surveys to construct

+a railroad from Bhamo on the headwaters of the Irawadi

+River across Y&uuml;n-nan to connect with the Yangtze, and

+the French were anxious to have their road in operation

+some time before the rival line could be completed.</p>

+

+<p>Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall,

+or perhaps to both, the tunnels and bridges frequently

+cave in or are washed away and the railroad is

+chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in

+which it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve

+great credit for their enterprise in extending their

+line to Y&uuml;n-nan Fu over the mountains where there is a

+tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. While it

+was being built through the fever-stricken jungles of

+Tonking the coolies died like flies, and it was necessary

+to suspend all work during the summer months.</p>

+

+<p>The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the

+traveling is by no means uncomfortable, but the hotels

+in which one stops at night are wretched. One of our

+friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience

+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad.

+He asked for a bath and discovered that a tub of hot

+water had been prepared. He wished a cold bath, and

+seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of

+the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when

+the hotel proprietor suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">- 82 -</span>

+"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, you are in the tank of

+drinking water."</p>

+

+<p>When we arrived at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu we found a surprisingly

+cosmopolitan community housed within its grim

+old walls; some were consuls, some missionaries, some

+salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese employ,

+and others represented business firms in Hongkong,

+but all received us with open-handed hospitality

+characteristic of the East.</p>

+

+<p>We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening

+clothes would not again be used, but they were requisitioned

+every night for we were guests at dinners given

+by almost everyone of the foreign community. Mr.

+Howard Page, a representative of the Standard Oil

+Company, proved a most valuable friend, and through

+him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other arrangements

+for the transportation of our baggage. M.

+Henry Wilden, the French Consul, an ardent sportsman

+and a charming gentleman, took an active interest in our

+affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the Chinese

+Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, he later

+transported our trunks to Hongkong with his personal

+baggage and assisted us in every possible way.</p>

+

+<p>We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and

+were ushered into a large room where a rather imposing

+lunch had already been spread. The Commissioner, a

+fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of French

+but none of English, received us in the most cordial way

+and immediately opened several bottles of champagne in

+our honor. He asked why our passports had not been

+vis&eacute;d in Peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying

+that at the time we were in the capital Y&uuml;n-nan was an

+independent province and consequently the Peking Government

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">- 83 -</span>

+had not the temerity to put their stamp upon

+our passports.</p>

+

+<p>Inasmuch as Y&uuml;n-nan was infested with brigands we

+had expected some opposition to our plans for traveling

+in the interior, but none was forthcoming, and with the

+exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for our trip

+to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse,

+we left the Foreign Office with all the desired

+permits.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested

+in our zo&ouml;logical study of Y&uuml;n-nan, offered to

+assist us in every way we could suggest, and telegraphed

+to every mandarin in the north and west of the province,

+instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate

+our work in every way. None of the opposition

+which we had been led to expect developed, and it is difficult

+to see how we could have been more cordially received.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">- 84 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to

+Ta-li Fu, and three days later we ourselves left Y&uuml;n-nan

+Fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after an interminable

+wait for our caravan. Through the kindness

+of Mr. Page, a house boat was put at our disposal and

+we sailed across the upper end of the beautiful lake

+which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the caravan

+twenty-five <i>li</i><a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> from Y&uuml;n-nan Fu.</p>

+

+<p>On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers,

+each with ten or a dozen birds sitting quietly upon the

+boat with outspread wings drying their feathers. Every

+bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented

+from swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into

+the water.</p>

+

+<p>After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the

+long train of mules and horses winding up the hill

+toward us. There were seventeen altogether, and in

+the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately

+with both hands to a diminutive mule, his long legs

+dangling and a look of utter wretchedness upon his

+face. Just before the caravan reached us it began to

+rain, and the cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow

+oilskins which we had purchased for him in Y&uuml;n-nan

+Fu. These, together with a huge yellow hat, completed

+a picture which made us roar with laughter;

+Heller gave the caption for it when he shouted, "Here

+comes the 'Yellow Peril.'"</p>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> A <i>li</i> in this province equals one-third of an English mile.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f84a" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f84a.png" width="366" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Cormorant Fishers on the Lake at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f84b" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f84b.png" width="365" height="287" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Our Camp at Chou Chou on the Way to Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">- 85 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller

+vainly tried to get his girth tight enough to keep the

+saddle from sliding over the animal's tail he exclaimed,

+"Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying to ride?" But

+it was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and

+found that we did not crush the little brutes.</p>

+

+<p>A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with

+a few odds and ends on top made a pack of at least

+one hundred and sixty pounds. This is heavy even for

+a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility,

+but it is the usual weight, and the business-like

+way in which they moved off showed that they

+were not overloaded.</p>

+

+<p>The Y&uuml;n-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious

+arrangement. The load is strapped with a rawhide to

+a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over a second

+saddle on the animal's back and is held in place

+by its own weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off

+and, moreover, it can be easily removed if the road is

+bad or whenever a stop is made. It has the great disadvantage,

+however, of giving the horses serious back

+sores which receive but scanty attention from the <i>mafus</i>

+(muleteers).</p>

+

+<p>When we were fairly started upon our long ride to

+Ta-li Fu the time slipped by in a succession of delightful

+days. Since this was the main caravan route the

+<i>mafus</i> had regular stages beyond which they would not

+go. If we did not stop for luncheon the march could

+be ended early in the afternoon and we could settle

+ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">- 86 -</span>

+a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle.

+A few pages from my wife's "Journal" of September

+fifteenth describes our camp at Lu-ho-we and

+our life on the road to Ta-li Fu.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on

+a hilltop in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at

+our feet. The sun is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and

+throwing bars of golden light through the twisted branches of

+a bent old pine, over the stone well, and into the dim recesses

+behind the altar where a benevolent idol grins down upon us.</p>

+

+<p>We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting

+to rest in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children

+are shouting and laughing but all is quiet here save for

+the drip of water in the well, and the chatter of a magpie on

+the pine tree. Today we made the stage in one long march

+and now we can rest and browse among our books or wander

+with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths.</p>

+

+<p>The sun is hot at mid-day, although the mornings and evenings

+are cold, and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of

+yellow pine, and talk for an hour before we go to sleep upon

+the porch where we can see the moon come up and the stars

+shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns in the sky.</p>

+

+<p>It is seven days since we left Y&uuml;n-nan Fu and each night

+we have come to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible

+charm about them, lying asleep, as it were, among the trees

+of their courtyards, with stately, pillared porches, and picturesque

+gables upturned to the sky. They seem so very, very

+old and filled with such great calm and peace.</p>

+

+<p>Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and

+we ride through long streets between dirty houses, swarming

+with ragged women, filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly

+we come to the dilapidated entrance of our temple, pass

+through a courtyard, close the huge gates and are in another

+world.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">- 87 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before

+dawn. As we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark

+figures silhouetted against the brilliant camp fire, hear the

+yawns of the <i>mafus</i> and the contented crunching of the mules

+as they chew their beans.</p>

+

+<p>Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before

+we have fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way

+to the remotest corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes,

+eggs, and oatmeal is awaiting on the folding table

+spread with a clean white cloth. While we are eating, the

+beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a running

+fire of exhortations to the <i>mafus</i> who cause us endless

+trouble.</p>

+

+<p>They are a hard lot, these <i>mafus</i>. Force seems to be the only

+thing they understand and kindness produces no results. If

+the march is long and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible

+to get them started within three hours without the aid of

+threats. Once after a long halt when all seemed ready, we rode

+ahead only to wait by the roadside for hours before the caravan

+arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they had begun

+to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage

+until long after dark.</p>

+

+<p>In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the

+horses we ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a

+straggling line of mules and horses picking their way over

+the jagged stones of the road. It is delightful in the early

+morning for the air is fresh and brisk like that of October at

+home, but later in the day when the sun is higher it is uncomfortably

+hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade where we

+can rest until the caravan arrives.</p>

+

+<p>The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which

+says: "A road is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand,"

+and this applies most excellently to those of Y&uuml;n-nan.

+The main caravan highways are paved with huge stones to

+make them passable during the rainy season, but after a few

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">- 88 -</span>

+years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the earth is

+washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible

+angles. The result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch

+of imagination can be called a road. Where the stones are

+still in place they have been worn to such glasslike smoothness

+by the thousands of passing mules that it is well-nigh impossible

+to walk upon them. As a result a caravan avoids the

+paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes dozens of

+deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.</p>

+

+<p>We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire

+province is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges

+which we crossed. It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep

+mountain-sides, but once on the ridges where the country is

+spread out below us like a great, green relief map, there is a

+wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with a joyous sense

+of freedom.</p>

+

+<p>Y&uuml;n-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the

+peaks about us are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like

+mists still float about the mountain tops when we climb into

+them, and we are suddenly enveloped in a wet gray blanket

+which sends us shivering into the coats tied to our saddles.</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>For centuries this road has been one of the main

+trade arteries through the province, and with the total

+lack of conservation ideas so characteristic of the Chinese,

+every available bit of natural forest has been cut

+away. As a result the mountains are desert wastes of

+sandstone alternating with grass-covered hills sometimes

+clothed with groves of pines or spruces. These trees

+have all been planted, and ere they have reached a

+height of fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent

+demand for wood which is ever present with

+the Chinese.</p>

+

+<p>The ignorance of the need of forest conservation

+is an illuminating commentary on Chinese education.

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">- 89 -</span>

+Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of Ta-li Fu,

+told us that one day he was riding over this same road

+with a Chinese gentleman, a deep scholar, who was

+considered one of the best educated men of the province.

+Pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil

+and deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked

+that all this could have been prevented, and

+that instead of a rocky waste there might have been

+a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts

+which every western schoolboy has learned ere he is

+twelve years old, but of which he was ignorant because

+they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study

+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox

+Chinese for "everything good must be old," and

+all his life he delves into the past utterly neglectful of

+the present.</p>

+

+<p>Every valley along the road was green with rice fields

+and this, together with the deforestation of the mountains,

+is responsible for the almost total lack of animal

+life. Night after night we set traps about our temple

+camps only to find them untouched in the morning.

+There were no mammals with the exception of a few

+red-bellied squirrels (<i>Callosciurus erythr&aelig;us</i> subsp.)

+and now and then a tree shrew (<i>Tupaia belangeri chinensis</i>).</p>

+

+<p>The latter is an interesting species. Although it is

+an Insectivore, and a relative of the tiny shrews which

+live in holes and under logs, it has squirrel-like habits

+and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is totally

+unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike

+tails of the ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed

+long bushy tails and in fact look and act so much like

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">- 90 -</span>

+squirrels that it is difficult to convince the white residents

+of Y&uuml;n-nan, who are accustomed to see them run

+about the hedges and walls of their courtyards that the

+two are quite unrelated.</p>

+

+<p>The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one

+of the most remarkable instances of a superficial resemblance

+between unrelated animals with similar habits.

+A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that

+they represent a distinct group which is connected with

+the monkeys (lemurs).</p>

+

+<p>Although birds were fairly abundant the species were

+not varied. We were about a month too early for the

+ducks and geese, which during the winter swarm into

+Y&uuml;n-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants

+are difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed

+in the game birds, for we had expected good

+pheasant shooting even along the road and virtually

+none were to be found.</p>

+

+<p>The main caravan roads of Y&uuml;n-nan held little of

+interest for us as naturalists, but as students of native

+customs they were fascinating, for the life of the province

+passed before us in panoramic completeness. Chinese

+villages wherever we have seen them are marvels

+of utter and abandoned filth and although those of Y&uuml;n-nan

+are no exception to the rule, they are considerably

+better than the coast cities.</p>

+

+<p>Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion

+with the human inmates of the houses, the pigs

+especially being treated as we favor dogs at home. On

+the door steps children play with the swine, patting and

+pounding them, and one of my friends said that he

+had actually seen a mother bring her baby to be nursed

+by a sow with her family of piglets.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">- 91 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed

+to be industrious. Wherever the deforestation had left

+sufficient soil on the lower hillsides patches of corn

+took the place of the former poppy fields for opium.

+In 1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting

+the growing of opium, and gave guarantees

+to the British that it would be entirely stamped out

+during the next ten years. Strangely enough these

+promises have been faithfully kept, and in Y&uuml;n-nan

+the hillsides, which were once white with poppy blossoms,

+are now yellow with corn. In all our 2000 miles

+of riding over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way

+spots we found only one instance where

+opium was being cultivated.</p>

+

+<p>The mandarin of each district accompanied by a

+guard of soldiers makes periodical excursions during the

+seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts down the

+plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China

+deserves the greatest credit for so successfully dealing

+with a question which affects such a large part of her

+four hundred millions of people and which presents

+such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance.</p>

+

+<p>Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown

+freely and much is smuggled into Y&uuml;n-nan. Therefore

+its use has by no means been abandoned, especially in

+the south of the province, and in some towns it is

+smoked openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just

+before we reached Y&uuml;n-nan Fu there was an <i>expos&eacute;</i>

+of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating side

+light on the corruption of some Chinese officials.</p>

+

+<p>Opium can be purchased in Y&uuml;n-nan Fu for two

+dollars (Mexican) an ounce, while in Shanghai it is

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">- 92 -</span>

+worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the Military Governor),

+the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother

+and three members of Parliament had collected six hundred

+pounds of opium which they undertook to transfer

+to Shanghai.</p>

+

+<p>Their request that no examination of their baggage

+be made by the French during their passage through

+Tonking was granted, and a similar favor was procured

+for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were safely

+landed, but a few hours later, through the opium

+combine, foreign detectives learned of the smuggling

+and the boxes were seized.</p>

+

+<p>The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the

+opium, as did the three Parliament members, and Governor

+Tang was not interrogated as that would be quite

+contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however, he

+will not receive reappointment when his official term

+expires.</p>

+

+<p>As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire

+road, we were amazed at the prevalence of goitre. At a

+conservative estimate two out of every five persons were

+suffering from the disease, some having two, or even

+three, globules of uneven size hanging from their throats.

+In one village six out of seven adults were affected, but

+apparently children under twelve or fourteen years are

+free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex. Probably

+the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking

+water, for it is most prevalent in the limestone regions

+and seems to be somewhat localized.</p>

+

+<p>Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them,

+"mountain schooners," in each of which a fat Chinaman

+sprawled while two or four sweating coolies bore him up

+hill. The chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">- 93 -</span>

+poles and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which

+is piled a heap of bedding. Overhead a light bamboo

+frame supports a piece of yellow oil-cloth, which completely

+shuts in the occupant, except from the front and

+rear.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even

+to ride, and if one is about to make an official visit nothing

+less than a four-man chair is required. Haste is just

+as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical exertion,

+and is utterly incomprehensible to the Chinese.

+Major Davies says that while he was in Tonking before

+the railroad to Y&uuml;n-nan Fu had been constructed, M.

+Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indo-China,

+who was a very energetic man, rode to Y&uuml;n-nan Fu in an

+extraordinarily short time. While the Europeans greatly

+admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must be in some

+difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of

+the Viceroy of Y&uuml;n-nan could extricate him.</p>

+

+<p>In Y&uuml;n-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding

+for the inns supply nothing but food, and consequently

+when a Chinaman rides from one city to another he piles

+a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on

+top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. The

+horses are trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and

+I know of no more ridiculous sight than a Chinaman

+bouncing along a road on the summit of a veritable

+mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers

+flying in every direction. He is assisted in keeping

+his balance by broad brass stirrups in which he usually

+hooks his heels and guides his horse by means of a rawhide

+bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make

+a comforting jingle whenever he moves.</p>

+

+<p>On the sixth day out when approaching the city of

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">- 94 -</span>

+Chu-hsuing Fu we took a short cut through the fields

+leaving the caravan to follow the main road. The trail

+brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a

+bridge made from two narrow planks, with a wide

+median fissure. We led our horses across without trouble

+and Heller started to follow. He had reached the center

+of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped

+to one side, hung suspended on his belly for a moment,

+and toppled off into the water.</p>

+

+<p>The performance had all happened behind Heller's

+back and when he turned about in time to see his horse

+diving into the river, he stood looking down at him with

+a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust,

+while the animal climbed out and began to graze as

+quietly as though nothing had happened.</p>

+

+<p>Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss

+Cordelia Morgan, a niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia.

+We found her to be a most charming and determined

+young woman who had established a mission

+station in the city under considerable difficulties. The

+mandarin and other officials by no means wished to

+have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down

+among them and become a responsibility which might

+cause them endless trouble, and although she had rented

+a house before she arrived, the owner refused to allow

+her to move in.</p>

+

+<p>She could get no assistance from the mandarin and

+was forced to live for two months in a dirty Chinese inn,

+swarming with vermin, until they realized that she was

+determined not to be driven away. She eventually obtained

+a house and while she considers herself comfortable,

+I doubt if others would care to share her life

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">- 95 -</span>

+unless they had an equal amount of determination and enthusiasm.</p>

+

+<p>At that time she had not placed her work under the

+charge of a mission board and was carrying it on independently.

+Until our arrival she had seen but one white

+person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon

+Chinese food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.</p>

+

+<p>We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the

+next morning as our caravan wound down the long hill

+past her house she stood at the window to wave good-by.

+She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if

+we could have seen her face we would have found tears

+upon it, for the evening with another woman of her kind

+had brought to her a breath of the old life which she had

+resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to

+her self-appointed exile.</p>

+

+<p>On our ninth day from Y&uuml;n-nan Fu we had a welcome

+bit of excitement. We were climbing a long mountain

+trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high and were

+near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to

+the caravan, jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required

+fifteen minutes of questioning before we finally learned

+that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than a mile

+ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads.</p>

+

+<p>He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them

+and that they had killed two <i>mafus</i>; almost immediately

+a second gesticulating Chinaman appeared and gave the

+number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as five.

+Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt

+quite sure that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently

+learned that forty was the correct number and

+that no one had been killed.</p>

+

+<p>Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">- 96 -</span>

+we got out our rifles and made for a village at the top of

+the pass. There were not more than a half dozen mud

+houses and in the narrow street between them perfect

+bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to

+wait for us, and men, horses, loads, and chairs were

+packed and jammed together so tightly that it seemed

+impossible ever to extricate them. Our arrival added to

+the confusion, but leaving the <i>mafus</i> to scream and chatter

+among themselves, we scouted ahead to learn the true

+condition of affairs.</p>

+

+<p>Almost within sight we found the caravan which had

+been robbed. Paper and cloth were strewn about, loads

+overturned, and loose mules wandered over the hillside.

+The frightened <i>mafus</i> were straggling back and told us

+that about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the

+caravan, shooting and brandishing long knives. Instantly

+the <i>mafus</i> had run for their lives leaving the

+brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. The goods

+chiefly belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang,

+and included some five thousand dollars worth of jade

+and gold dust, all of which was taken.</p>

+

+<p>Y&uuml;n-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China,

+is infested with brigands who make traveling very unsafe.

+There are, of course, organized bands of robbers

+at all times, but these have been greatly augmented

+since the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who

+have taken to brigandage as the easiest means to avoid

+starvation.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with

+the situation and makes only half-hearted attempts to

+punish even the most flagrant robberies, so that unguarded

+caravans carrying valuable material which

+arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves

+very lucky.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f96a" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f96a.png" width="367" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Pagoda at Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f96b" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f96b.png" width="367" height="291" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Dead of China</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">- 97 -</span></p>

+

+<p>So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel

+great apprehension for it was generally known that we

+carried but little money and our equipment, except for

+guns, could not readily be disposed of. Throughout the

+entire expedition we paid our <i>mafus</i> and servants a part

+of their wages in advance when they were engaged, and

+arranged to have money sent by the mandarins or the

+British American Tobacco Co., to some large town which

+would be reached after several months. There the balance

+on salaries was paid and we carried with us only

+enough money for our daily needs.</p>

+

+<p>Before we left Y&uuml;n-nan Fu we were assured by the

+Foreign Office that we would be furnished with a guard

+of soldiers&mdash;an honor few foreigners escape! The first

+day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These

+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered

+their official message to the <i>yamen</i> and intrusted us to

+the care of others for our next day's journey.</p>

+

+<p>Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage

+of 1872, but their cartridges were seldom of the'

+same caliber as the rifles and in most cases the ubiquitous

+umbrella was their only weapon. Just what good

+they would be in a real attack it is difficult to imagine,

+except to divert attention by breaking the speed limits

+in running away.</p>

+

+<p>Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped

+them but they always turned up in an hour or two.

+They were not so much a nuisance as an expense, for

+custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (Mexican)

+a day both going and returning. They are of some

+use in lending an official aspect to an expedition and in

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">- 98 -</span>

+requisitioning anything which may be needed; also they

+act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed

+a claim can be entered against the government, whereas

+if the escort is refused the traveler has no redress.</p>

+

+<p>It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier

+way in which these men treat other caravans or the peasants

+along the road. Waving their arms and shouting

+oaths they shoe horses, mules or chairs out of the way regardless

+of the confusion into which the approaching

+caravan may be thrown. They must also be closely

+watched for they are none too honest and are prone to

+rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever

+they wish without the formality of payment.</p>

+

+<p>We were especially careful to respect the property on

+which we camped and to be just in all our dealings with

+the natives, but it was sometimes difficult to prevent the

+<i>mafus</i> or soldiers from tearing down fences for firewood

+or committing similar depredations. Wherever such acts

+were discovered we made suitable payment and punished

+the offenders by deducting a part of their wages. Foreigners

+cannot respect too carefully the rights of the

+peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception

+which will be accorded to all others who follow in their

+footsteps.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">- 99 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">TA-LI FU</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> Friday, September 28, we were at Chou Chou and

+camped in a picturesque little temple on the outskirts

+of the town. As the last stage was only six hours we

+spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the

+caravan and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early

+<b>tiffin</b>.</p>

+

+<p>About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan,

+a large commercial town at the lower end of the

+lake. Its population largely consists of merchants and

+it is by all means the most important business place of interior

+Y&uuml;n-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence

+and official city.</p>

+

+<p>At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner,

+Mr. Lui, to whom Mr. Bode, the salt inspector at Y&uuml;n-nan

+Fu, had very kindly telegraphed money for my account,

+and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went oil

+to Ta-li Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was

+so slippery that it was well-nigh impossible for either

+horse or man to move over it faster than a walk.</p>

+

+<p>This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern

+Y&uuml;n-nan, the thermometer registering 85&deg;+ in the

+shade, which is the usual mid-summer temperature, but

+the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it

+was cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the

+winter it is never very cold and its delightful summer

+should make Northern Y&uuml;n-nan a wonderful health

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">- 100 -</span>

+resort for the residents of fever-stricken Burma and

+Tonking.</p>

+

+<p>We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our

+right hand and on the other the Ts'ang Shan mountains

+which rise to a height of fourteen thousand feet.

+As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined

+against the foothills the slender shafts of three ancient

+pagodas. They were erected to the <i>feng-shui</i>, the spirits

+of the "earth, wind, and water," and for fifteen hundred

+years have stood guard over the stone graves which,

+in countless thousands, are spread along the foot of

+the mountains like a vast gray blanket. In the late afternoon

+sunlight the walls of the city seemed to recede

+before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and

+unreal even when we passed through its gloomy arch

+and clattered up the stone-paved street.</p>

+

+<p>We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H. G. Evans,

+agent of the British American Tobacco Company, to

+whose care our first caravan had been consigned, and he

+very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we

+were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr.

+Evans' assistance to the Expedition, for he acted as its

+banker throughout our stay in Y&uuml;n-nan, cashing checks

+and transferring money for us whenever we needed

+funds.</p>

+

+<p>The British American Tobacco Company and the

+Standard Oil Company of New York are veritable

+"oases in the desert" for travelers because their agencies

+are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia

+and their employees are always ready to extend the cordial

+hospitality of the East to wandering foreigners.</p>

+

+<p>Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include

+the Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife and two

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">- 101 -</span>

+other ladies, all of the China Inland Mission. Mr.

+Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along

+educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful

+little chapel, a large school, and a dispensary in connection

+with his house, where he and his wife are occupied

+every morning treating the minor ills of the natives,

+Christian and heathen alike.</p>

+

+<p>Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at

+the time of the Mohammedan war, when the Chinese

+captured the city through the treachery of its commander

+and turned the streets to rivers of blood. The

+Mohammedans were almost exterminated, and the

+ruined stone walls testify to the completeness of the Chinese

+devastation.</p>

+

+<p>The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated

+and corrupt. He called upon us the evening of

+our arrival and almost immediately asked if we had any

+shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun

+but no shells, and as we did not offer to give him any

+he continued to hint broadly at every opportunity.</p>

+

+<p>The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts

+and depend upon what they can make in "squeeze"

+from the natives of their district for reimbursement and

+a profit on their investment. In almost every case

+which is brought to them for adjustment the decision

+is withheld until the magistrate has learned which of

+the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a

+settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant, accepting

+this as the established custom, pays the bribe without

+a murmur if it is not too exorbitant and, in fact, would

+be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were dispensed in

+any other way.</p>

+

+<p>My personal relations with the various mandarins

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">- 102 -</span>

+whom I was constantly required to visit officially were

+always of the pleasantest and I was treated with

+great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were

+in China that there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling

+in both the peasant and official classes and except

+for the brigands, who are beyond the law, undoubtedly

+white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the

+republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a

+lesson in etiquette. The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious

+and it is necessary to conform to their standards

+of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse,

+the fact that Western customs differ from their

+own.</p>

+

+<p>At the end of the reception room in every <i>yamen</i>

+is a raised platform on which the visitor sits at the <i>left

+hand</i> of the mandarin; it would be exceedingly rude for

+a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. Tea is

+always served immediately but is not supposed to be

+tasted until the official does so himself; the cup must then

+be lifted to the lips with both hands. Usually when the

+magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the interview is

+ended. When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor

+to the doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually

+bows and protests asking him not to come so

+far.</p>

+

+<p>Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets

+and we spent some time investigating the shops. One

+important find was the panda (<i>&AElig;lurus fulgens</i>). The

+panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but

+looks rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the

+"fire fox" because of its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were

+supposed to be exceedingly rare and we could hardly

+believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made

+from their skins hanging in the fur shops.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f102a" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f102a.png" width="365" height="283" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f102b" style="width: 364px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f102b.png" width="364" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Gate and Main Street of Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">- 103 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, <i>Petaurista

+yunnanensis</i>, were also used for clothing and the

+abundance of this animal was almost as great a surprise

+as the finding of the pandas. This is often true in the

+case of supposedly rare species. A few specimens may

+be obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or

+from a locality where it really is rare, and for years

+it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually

+the proper locality may be visited and the animals

+found to be abundant.</p>

+

+<p>We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (<i>Felis

+temmincki</i>) which, with the snow leopard (<i>Felis uncia</i>), it

+was said came from Tibet. Civets, bears, foxes, and

+small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins

+could be purchased in the medicine shops. The

+scales of the pangolin are considered to be of great

+value in the treatment of certain diseases and the skins

+are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of deer,

+wapiti, gorals, and serows.</p>

+

+<p>Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained

+in China by foreigners have been purchased in

+apothecary shops. If a Chinaman discovers a fossil bed

+he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold

+mine to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder,

+mixed with an acid, and a phosphate obtained which in

+reality has a certain value as a tonic. When a considerable

+amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added

+its efficacy assumes double proportions.</p>

+

+<p>Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan

+from the southern part of the province along the

+Tonking border, but the good ones are quickly sold at

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">- 104 -</span>

+prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).

+Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.</p>

+

+<p>Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century

+and, among other things, he speaks of the fine horses

+from this part of the province. We were surprised to

+find that the animals are considerably larger and more

+heavily built than those of Y&uuml;n-nan Fu and appear to

+be better in every way. A good riding horse can be

+purchased for seventy-five dollars (Mexican) but mules

+are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because

+they are considered better pack animals.</p>

+

+<p>On the advice of men who had traveled much in the

+interior of Y&uuml;n-nan we hired our caravan and riding animals

+instead of buying them outright, and subsequent

+experience showed the wisdom of this course. Saddle

+ponies, which are used only for short trips about the city,

+cannot endure continual traveling over the execrable

+roads of the interior where often it is impossible to feed

+them properly. If an entire caravan were purchased

+the leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble

+with the <i>mafus</i> to insure even ordinary care of the

+animals, an opportunity would be given for endless

+"squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other

+reasons too numerous to mention why in this province

+the plan is impracticable.</p>

+

+<p>However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to

+the limit. They are trained only to follow a leader, and

+if one happens to be behind another horse it is well-nigh

+impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat or kick the beast

+as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the

+horse in front. On the first day out Heller, who was on

+a particularly bad animal, when trying to pass one of

+us began to cavort about like a circus rider, prancing

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">- 105 -</span>

+from side to side and backward but never going forward.

+We shouted that we would wait for him to go on but

+he replied helplessly, "I can't, this horse isn't under my

+management," and we found very soon that our animals

+were not under our management either!</p>

+

+<p>In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the

+caravan with Wu and Heller: Wu stopped to buy a

+basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move

+ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a

+circle, ours followed, and in a few moments we were

+packed together so tightly that it was impossible even

+to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the huge delight

+of the villagers until rescued by a <i>mafu</i>. As soon as he

+led Wu's horse forward the others proceeded as quietly

+as lambs.</p>

+

+<p>We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal

+while traveling, and fifteen or twenty cents when

+in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in different parts

+of the province, and in the west and south, along the

+Burma border fifty cents is the usual price. When

+a caravan is engaged the necessary <i>mafus</i> are included

+and they buy food for themselves and beans and hay

+for the animals.</p>

+

+<p>Ever since leaving Y&uuml;n-nan Fu the cook we engaged

+at Paik-hoi had been a source of combined irritation and

+amusement. He was a lanky, effeminate gentleman who

+never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically

+and mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life.

+After five months in the field he appeared to be as helpless

+when the caravan camped for the night as when we

+first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until

+someone directed him what to do. But he was a good

+cook, when he wished to exert himself, and had the great

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">- 106 -</span>

+asset of knowing a considerable amount of English.

+While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr. Evans overheard him

+relating his experiences on the road to several of the

+other servants. "Of course," said the cook, "it is a fine

+way to see the country, but the riding! My goodness,

+that's awful! After the third day I didn't know whether

+to go on or turn back&mdash;I was so sore I couldn't sit down

+even on a chair to say nothing of a horse!"</p>

+

+<p>He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see

+the country" that way for the day after we left Ta-li Fu

+<i>en route</i> to the Tibetan frontier he became violently ill.

+Although we could find nothing the matter with him he

+made such a good case for himself that we believed he

+really was quite sick and treated him accordingly. The

+following morning, however, he sullenly refused to proceed,

+and we realized that his illness was of the mind

+rather than the body. As he had accepted two months'

+salary in advance and had already sent it to his wife in

+Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a certain amount

+of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its

+object and illness did not trouble him thereafter.</p>

+

+<p>The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition.

+Good meals and varied food must be provided

+if the personnel is to work at its highest efficiency and

+cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. In

+Y&uuml;n-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no

+means easy to find and when our Paik-hoi gentleman

+finally left us upon our return to Ta-li Fu we were fortunate

+in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to

+take his place through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">- 107 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li

+Fu and with a new caravan of twenty-five animals traveled

+northward for six days to Li-chiang Fu. By taking

+a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the

+pine forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was

+a total absence of animal life. The woods were beautiful,

+parklike stretches which in a country like California

+would be full of game, but here were silent and deserted.

+During the fourth and fifth days we were still in the

+forests, but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000 feet

+high and descended abruptly into a long marshy plain

+where at the far end were the gray outlines of Li-chiang

+dimly visible against the mountains.</p>

+

+<p>Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our

+camp, leaving Heller and my wife to follow. A few

+pages from her journal tell of their entry into the

+city.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the

+outskirts of the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither

+Roy nor Wu was in sight but we expected that the <i>mafus</i>

+would ask where they had gone and follow, for of coarse we

+could not speak a word of the language. Already there was

+quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our sudden

+appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement.

+One old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">- 108 -</span>

+uttered what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "Mon Dieu"

+of disagreeable surprise.</p>

+

+<p>I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to

+appreciate our friendliness and in return merely stared with

+open mouths and eyes. We halted and immediately the street

+was blocked by crowds of men, women, and children who poured

+out of the houses, shops, and cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention.

+When the caravan arrived we moved on again expecting

+that the <i>mafus</i> had learned where Roy had gone, but they

+seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow winding

+streets. Even though we did not find a camping place we afforded

+the natives intense delight.</p>

+

+<p>I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade

+at home, but the most remarkable attraction there could not

+have equaled our unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second

+excursion through the town we passed down a cross-street,

+and suddenly from a courtyard at the right we heard feminine

+voices speaking English.</p>

+

+<p>"It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair,

+it's a girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably

+foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They

+were Mrs. A. Kok, wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary,

+and two assistants, who rushed into the street as soon as

+they had determined my sex and literally "fell upon my neck."

+They had not seen a white woman since their arrival there

+four years ago and it seemed to them that I had suddenly

+dropped from the sky.</p>

+

+<p>While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the

+camp. They had chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled

+courtyard on the summit of a hill overlooking the city. It was

+wonderfully clean and when our beds, tables, and chairs were

+spread on the broad stone porch it seemed like a real home.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f108a" style="width: 368px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f108a.png" width="368" height="532" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">One of the Pagodas at Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">- 109 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller

+setting traps, and I working at my photography. We let it be

+known that we would pay well for specimens, and there was an

+almost uninterrupted procession of men and boys carrying long

+sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats, toads, and snakes.

+They would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm. Our

+fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame

+things&mdash;pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds,

+and I even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two,

+for mothers stood about with little brown kiddies on their

+backs as though they really would like to offer them to us but

+hardly dared.</p>

+

+<p>The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap,

+and hidden under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe

+that his religious vows did not allow him to handle animals&mdash;openly&mdash;and

+so he would beckon Roy into the darkness of the

+temple with a most mysterious air, and would extract all sorts

+of things from his sleeves just like a sleight-of-hand performer.

+He was a rich man when we left!</p>

+

+<p>The people are mostly tribesmen&mdash;Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans,

+and many others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in

+front and with a long plait in back. They wash their hair

+once&mdash;on their wedding day&mdash;and then it is wrapped up in

+turbans for the rest of their lives. The Tibetan women dress

+their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but I don't believe there is

+any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves either.</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never

+had a better one. On the morning after our arrival

+Heller found mammals in half his traps, and in the

+afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which

+brought us fifty mammals of eleven species. This was

+a wonderful relief after the many days of travel through

+country devoid of animal life.</p>

+

+<p>Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow

+voles, Asiatic white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels,

+and tree shrews. The small mammals were exceedingly

+abundant and easy to catch, but after the first day

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">- 110 -</span>

+we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole

+our traps. We usually marked them with a bit of cotton,

+and the boys would follow an entire line down a

+hedge, taking every one. Sometimes they even brought

+specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught

+in our stolen traps!</p>

+

+<p>The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the

+grass where we found the "runways" or paths which

+mice, rats and voles often make. These animals begin

+to move about just after dark, and we usually would

+inspect our traps with a lantern about nine o'clock in

+the evening. This not only gave the trap a double chance

+to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens, for

+such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and

+almost every night, if the specimens were not taken out

+early in the evening, several would be partly eaten.</p>

+

+<p>Small mammals are often of much greater interest

+and importance scientifically than large ones, for, especially

+among the Insectivores, there are many primitive

+forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and

+throw light on the evolutionary history of other living

+groups.</p>

+

+<p>Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance

+for the Tibetans bring down vast quantities of skins for

+sale and trade. Lambs, goats, foxes, cats, civets, pandas,

+and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are dozens

+of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.</p>

+

+<p>This city is a most interesting place especially on

+market day, for its inhabitants represent many different

+tribes with but comparatively few Chinese. By far the

+greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who are

+semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally

+an independent race who ruled a considerable part

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">- 111 -</span>

+of northern Y&uuml;n-nan, and Li-chiang was their ancient

+capital. To the effeminate and "highly civilized" Chinese

+they are "barbarians," but we found them to be

+simple, honest and wholly delightful people. Many of

+those whom we met later had never seen a white woman,

+and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast

+to that of the Chinese who consider themselves so

+immeasurably their superior.</p>

+

+<p>The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle,

+and this is the one place in the Orient except in large

+cities along the coast, where we could obtain fresh milk

+and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered tea and

+<i>tsamba</i> (parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but

+they also grow quantities of delicious vegetables and

+fruit. Buttered tea is prepared by churning fresh butter

+into hot tea until the two have become well mixed.

+It is then thickened with finely ground <i>tsamba</i> until a

+ball is formed which is eaten with the fingers. The

+combination is distinctly good when the ingredients are

+fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less

+said of it the better.</p>

+

+<p>The natives of this region are largely agriculturists

+and raise great quantities of squash, turnips, carrots,

+cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn, peas, beans, oranges,

+pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling we filled

+our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or

+chestnuts and could replenish our stock at almost any

+village along the road.</p>

+

+<p>Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually

+about eight cents (Mexican) a dozen, and we could

+always purchase a chicken for an empty tin can, or

+two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest

+desideratum and when offers of money failed to induce

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">- 112 -</span>

+a native to pose for the camera a bottle nearly always

+would decide matters in our favor.</p>

+

+<p>In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting

+only twelve miles north of the city on the Snow Mountain

+range, the highest peak of which rises 18,000 feet

+above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr.

+Kok's house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules

+to take us to the hunting grounds. Mr. Kok assisted

+us in numberless ways while we were in the vicinity

+of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took

+charge of all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned

+us money when it was difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu

+and helped us to engage servants and caravans.</p>

+

+<p>It had rained almost continually for five days and a

+dense gray curtain of fog hung far down in the valley,

+but on the morning of October 11 we awoke to find ourselves

+in another world. We were in a vast amphitheater

+of encircling mountains, white almost to their bases,

+rising ridge on ridge, like the foamy billows of a mighty

+ocean. At the north, silhouetted against the vivid blue

+of a cloudless sky, towered the great Snow Mountain,

+its jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning

+sun had kissed their summits. We rode toward it across

+a level rock-strewn plain and watched the fleecy clouds

+form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves

+in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. It

+was an inspiration, that beautiful mountain, lying so

+white and still in its cradle of dark green trees. Each

+hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its

+grandeur, and we were glad to be of the chosen few to

+look upon its sacred beauty.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f112a" style="width: 282px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f112a.png" width="282" height="354" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Moso Herder</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f112b" style="width: 246px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f112b.png" width="246" height="355" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Moso Woman</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">- 113 -</span></p>

+

+<p>In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple

+which nestled into a grove of spruce trees on the

+outskirts of a straggling village. To the north the Snow

+Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and

+south a grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle

+undulations to a range of hills which jutted into the valley

+like a great recumbent dragon.</p>

+

+<p>A short time after our camp was established we had

+a visit from an Austrian botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,

+who had been in the village for two weeks. He had

+come to Y&uuml;n-nan for the Vienna Museum before the

+war, expecting to remain a year, but already had been

+there three. Surrounded as he was by Tibet, Burma,

+and Tonking, his only possible exit was by way of the

+four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had little

+money and for two years had been living on Chinese

+food. He dined with us in the evening, and his enjoyment

+of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other

+canned goods was almost pathetic.</p>

+

+<p>A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti

+left for Y&uuml;n-nan Fu and eventually reached Shanghai

+which, however, became a closed port to him upon

+China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped

+that his collections, which must be of great scientific

+value and importance, have arrived at a place of safety

+long ere this book issues from the press.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">- 114 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain

+village. They were picturesque fellows, supposedly

+dressed in skins, but their garments were so ragged and

+patched that it was difficult to determine the original

+material of which they were made.</p>

+

+<p>One of them was armed with a most extraordinary

+gun which, it was said, came from Tibet. Its barrel was

+more than six feet long, and the stock was curved like

+a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in

+the side of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was

+fastened a forked spring. At his waist the man carried

+a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of which

+was placed in the crotched spring. When about to shoot

+the native placed the butt of the weapon against his

+cheek, pressed the spring so that the burning rope's end

+touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun.</p>

+

+<p>The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned

+arrows. They were remarkably good shots and

+at a distance of one hundred feet could place an arrow

+in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found

+later that crossbows are in common use throughout the

+more remote parts of Y&uuml;n-nan and were only another

+evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the

+Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth

+century equipment, were anachronisms.</p>

+

+<p>The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">- 115 -</span>

+even with such primitive weapons for they depend largely

+upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to bay

+against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. The

+dogs are a mongrel breed which appears to be largely

+hound, and some are really excellent hunters. White is

+the usual color but a few are mixed black and brown, or

+fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos, owned a good pack

+and we all came to love its big red leader. This fine dog

+could be depended upon to dig out game if there was

+any in the mountains, but his life with us was short for

+he was killed by our first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable

+and the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for

+the loss of a faithful friend.</p>

+

+<p>Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we

+saw while passing through Chinese villages were nauseating

+in their unsightliness, for at least thirty per cent

+of them were more or less diseased. Barely able to

+walk, they would stagger across the street or lie in the

+gutter in indescribable filth. One longed to put them

+out of their misery with a bullet but, although they

+seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner

+appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.</p>

+

+<p>The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly

+good condition and there seemed to be comparatively

+little disease among them. Our hunters treated their

+hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves,

+although loyal to their masters, manifested but

+little affection. In Korea dogs are eaten by the natives,

+but none of the tribes with which we came in contact in

+Y&uuml;n-nan used them for food.</p>

+

+<p>On our first day in the temple Heller went up the

+Snow Mountain for a reconnaissance and the party secured

+a fine porcupine. It is quite a different animal

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">- 116 -</span>

+from the American tree porcupines and represents a

+genus (<i>Hystrix</i>) which is found in Asia, Africa, and

+southern Europe. This species lives in burrows and,

+when hunting big game, we were often greatly annoyed

+to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of

+these animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing

+about the burrow yelping excitedly instead of having

+a goral at bay as we had expected.</p>

+

+<p>Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills

+are more than twelve inches long and very sharp. A porcupine

+will keep an entire pack of dogs at bay and is almost

+sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies

+of some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short

+time. The Mosos eat the flesh which is white and fine.</p>

+

+<p>Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang

+the traps yielded four shrews and one mouse which were

+new to our collection. The natives brought in three

+bats which we had not previously seen and began a

+thriving business in toads and frogs with now and then

+a snake.</p>

+

+<p>The temple was an excellent place for small mammals

+but it was evident that we would have to move high up

+on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and other big

+game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while Heller

+prepared a number of bat skins we started out on horse-back

+to hunt a camp site.</p>

+

+<p>It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly

+from a cloudless sky and just a touch of autumn snap

+in the air. We crossed the sloping rock-strewn plain

+to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which

+led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main

+peaks. An hour of steady climbing brought us to

+the summit of the ridge where we struck into the woods

+toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The trail

+led us along the brink of a steep escarpment from which

+we could look over the valley and away into the blue

+distance toward Li-chiang. Three thousand feet below

+us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering

+pine trees, and the herds of sheep and cattle

+massed themselves into moving patches on the smooth

+brown plain.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f116a" style="width: 471px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f116a.png" width="471" height="368" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Snow Mountain</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">- 117 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We pushed our way through the spruce forest with

+the glistening snow bed as a beacon and suddenly

+emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the

+ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place to

+camp," we both exclaimed. "If we can only find water,

+let's come tomorrow."</p>

+

+<p>The hunters had assured us that there were no streams

+on this end of the mountain but we hoped to find a snow

+bank which would supply our camp for a few days at

+least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the

+grandeur of the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling

+very small and helpless amid surroundings where nature

+had so magnificently expressed herself.</p>

+

+<p>At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry

+creek bed which led upward through the dense spruce

+forest. "Where water has been, water may be again,"

+we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way

+among the trees and over fallen logs to a fairly open

+hill slope where we attempted to ride, but our animals

+were nearly done. After climbing a few feet they stood

+with heaving sides and trembling legs the breath rasping

+through distended nostrils. We felt the altitude

+almost as badly as the horses for the meadow itself was

+twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and the

+air was very thin.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">- 118 -</span></p>

+

+<p>There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable

+snow bank when it was slowly borne in upon us

+that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound of

+water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined.

+Above and to the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of

+feet in height, and as we toiled upward and emerged

+beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver ribbon

+streaming down its face. It came from a melting

+snow crater and we could follow its course with our

+eyes to where it swung downward along a rock wall not

+far from the upper end of the meadow. It was so hidden

+by the trees that had we not climbed above timber

+line, it never would have been discovered.</p>

+

+<p>This solved the question of our camp and we looked

+about us happily. On the way through the forest we

+had noticed small mammal runways under almost every

+log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy

+slope was cut by an intricate network of tiny tunnels.

+These were plainly the work of a meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>)

+and at this altitude it certainly would prove to be a

+species new to our collection.</p>

+

+<p>The sun had already dropped behind the mountain

+and the meadow was in shadow when we reached it again

+on our homeward way. By five o'clock we were in the

+temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations

+for an early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the

+morning three of the mules had strayed, and we did not

+arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the afternoon.</p>

+

+<p>Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce

+forest a few hundred yards from the snow stream. As

+soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy slope

+above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of traps

+in the vole runways and under logs and stumps in the

+forest.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f118a" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f118a.png" width="367" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Cheek Gun Used by One of Our Hunters</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f118b" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f118b.png" width="367" height="261" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The First Goral Killed on the Snow Mountain</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">- 119 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a

+short distance away and slept in their ragged clothes

+without a blanket or shelter of any kind. It was delightfully

+warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was

+out, but as soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and

+the nights were freezing cold; yet the natives did not

+seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our offer

+of a canvas tent fly.</p>

+

+<p>We never will forget that first night on the Snow

+Mountain. As we sat at dinner about the camp-fire

+we could see the somber mass of the forest losing itself

+in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of

+the mighty peaks standing guard about our mountain

+home. We slept, breathing the strong, sweet perfume

+of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering

+alone through the forest opening the treasure

+boxes of the Wild.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">- 120 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE FIRST GORAL</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> were awakened before daylight by Wu's long

+drawn call to the hunters, "<i>L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o,

+L-a-o-u H-o.</i>" The steady drum of rain on our tent shot

+a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened my

+eyes, but before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags

+and dressed it lessened to a gentle patter and soon

+ceased altogether. It left a cold, gray morning with

+dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but,

+nevertheless, I decided to go out with the hunters to

+try for goral.</p>

+

+<p>Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a

+high rock shoulder sparsely covered with scrub spruce

+while I went up the opposite slope accompanied by

+the other two. We had not been away from camp half

+an hour when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately

+we heard them coming around the summit of

+the ridge in our direction. The hunters made frantic

+signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the

+thin air with my heart pounding like a trip hammer I

+could not go faster than a walk.</p>

+

+<p>We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly

+the dogs appeared on the side of the cliff near

+the summit. Just in front of them was a bounding

+gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs

+and animals but ten minutes later a blessed gust of wind

+drifted the fog away and the goral was indistinctly

+visible with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. The

+big red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for

+a nip at the animal's throat but was kept at bay by its

+vicious lunges and sharp horns.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f120a" style="width: 282px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f120a.png" width="282" height="366" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Hotenfa, One of Our Moso Hunters,

+Bringing in a Goral</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f120b" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f120b.png" width="286" height="371" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Another Moso Hunter with a Porcupine</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">- 121 -</span></p>

+

+<p>It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud

+was drifting in again and I dropped down for a shot.

+The hunters were running up the slope, frantically

+waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot

+at that distance. I could just see the gray form through

+the sights and the first two shots spattered the loose

+rock about a foot low. For the third I got a dead rest

+over a stone and as the crash of the little Mannlicher

+echoed up the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air

+whirling over and over onto the rocks below.</p>

+

+<p>The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill

+and down into the stream bed, and when I arrived the

+goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the water. The

+animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through

+its lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed

+on the rocks, its horns were uninjured and the beautiful

+gray coat was in perfect condition. It so happened

+that this ram was the largest which we killed on the

+entire trip.</p>

+

+<p>When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp

+we met Yvette and Heller on their way to visit the

+traps just below snow line, and she returned with me

+to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies

+which I knew would be performed. One of the natives

+cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon it and at the

+first cut chanted a prayer. Then laying several leaves

+one upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart,

+wrapped it carefully in the leaves and placed it in a

+nearby tree as an offering to the God of the Hunt.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">- 122 -</span></p>

+

+<p>I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters

+perform similar ceremonies at the death of an animal,

+and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate the God

+of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting in

+Korea in 1912, and also in other parts of China, if

+luck had been against us for a few days the hunters

+would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some

+animal to sacrifice for "good joss."</p>

+

+<p>After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood

+we again climbed the cliff at the end of the meadow.

+When we were nearly 2,000 feet above camp the clouds

+shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped

+itself about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for

+it to drift away.</p>

+

+<p>After an hour the fog began to thin and the men

+sent the hounds toward a talus slope at the base of the

+highest peak. Almost immediately the big red dog

+picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with

+the pack yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly

+as possible over such hard going but before we reached

+the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp pinnacle

+and disappeared far below us. Expecting that the goral

+would swing about the base of the peak the hunters sent

+me back across the talus to watch for a shot, but the

+animal ran down the valley and into a heavily wooded

+ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance

+above camp.</p>

+

+<p>I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich

+haul from the traps. As we supposed, the runways which

+Yvette and I had discovered above timber line were

+made by a meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>) and in the forest

+almost every trap had caught a white-footed mouse

+(<i>Apodemus</i>). He also had several new shrews and we

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">- 123 -</span>

+caught eight different species of these important little

+animals at this one camp.</p>

+

+<p>Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came

+to me one day in great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese

+dictionary. He had looked up the word "shrew"

+and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"</p>

+

+<p>The following day Heller went out with the hunters

+and saw two gorals but did not get a shot. In the

+meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and prepared the

+small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side,

+Baron Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with

+ropes and an alpine snow ax. He was about to attempt

+to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended

+but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet

+from the summit. He dined at our camp and as all

+of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we spent a

+very pleasant evening. During his three years in Y&uuml;n-nan

+he had explored and mapped many sections of the

+province which had not been visited previously by foreigners

+and from him we obtained much valuable information.</p>

+

+<p>On the third morning we were up before daylight and

+I left with the hunters in the gray dawn. We climbed

+steadily for an hour after leaving camp and, when well

+up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak

+through a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets,

+emerging upon a steep grassy meadow; this abutted

+on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and below ran

+into a thick evergreen forest.</p>

+

+<p>As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog,

+trotted off by himself toward the rock wall above us,

+and in a few moments we heard his sharp yelps near

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">- 124 -</span>

+the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing out

+in a long line up the hillside.</p>

+

+<p>We had nearly crossed the open slope and were

+standing on the edge of a deep gully when the dogs

+gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure they

+were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom

+of the gorge and began the sharp ascent on the other

+side. It was almost straight up and before we had gone

+a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my

+legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of

+the dogs sounding closer and closer kept us going.</p>

+

+<p>When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill

+I was absolutely done. I lay flat on my back for a few

+minutes and got to my knees just as the goral appeared

+on the opposite cliff. The sight of the magnificent animal

+bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet

+seemed hardly to touch down the face of a sheer wall,

+will remain in my memory as long as I live. He seemed

+the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks

+and crags, vibrant with the breath of the clouds. Selecting

+a spot which he must touch in the next flying

+leap, I waited until his body darkened the sights and

+then pulled the trigger.</p>

+

+<p>The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to

+his feet, and with a tremendous leap landed on a projecting

+shelf of rock four yards below. Instantly I

+fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass

+not two feet from the edge of the precipice which fell

+away in a dizzy drop of six hundred feet.</p>

+

+<p>The dogs were on him long before we had worked

+our way down the ca&ntilde;on and up to the shelf where

+he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as the first

+one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">- 125 -</span>

+were very tired from their two days of hunting, so I

+decided to return to camp with the men. On the way a

+second goral was started but it swung about the summit

+of the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction,

+giving one of the hunters a shot with his crossbow,

+which he missed.</p>

+

+<p>It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear

+and blue but the clouds still lay thickly over the meadow

+and the camp was invisible. The billowy masses clung

+to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we

+could look far across the valley into the blue distance

+where the snow-covered summits of range after range

+of magnificent mountains lay shining in the sun like

+beaten silver. There was a strange fascination about

+those mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that

+for twelve long months I was free to roam where I willed

+and explore their hidden mysteries.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">- 126 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">MORE GORALS</p>

+

+

+<p>Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns.

+Their hair was thick and soft, pale olive-buff tipped

+with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon bones" were

+buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. Their

+color made them practically invisible against the rocks

+and when I killed the second goral my only distinct impression

+as he dashed down the face of the precipice, was

+of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body

+which I could hardly see.</p>

+

+<p>This invisibility, combined with the fact that the

+Snow Mountain gorals lived on almost inaccessible cliffs

+thickly covered with scrub spruce forest, made "still

+hunting" impossible. In fact. Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,

+who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains fairly

+thoroughly in his search for plants, had never seen

+a goral, and did not know that such an animal existed

+there.</p>

+

+<p>Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although

+he saw several gorals, he was not successful in

+getting one until we had been in camp almost a week.

+His was a young male not more than a year old with

+horns about an inch long. It was a valuable addition

+to our collection for I was anxious to obtain specimens

+of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat group" in

+the Museum and we lacked only a female.</p>

+

+<p>The preparation of the group required the greatest

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">- 127 -</span>

+care and study. First, we selected a proper spot to

+reproduce in the Museum, and Yvette took a series of

+natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting

+the background. Next she made detail photographs

+of the surroundings. Then we collected portions of the

+rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss and

+leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. In

+a large group, perhaps several thousand leaves will be

+required, but the field naturalist need select typical specimens

+of only five or six different sizes from each of

+which a plaster mold can be made at the Museum and

+the leaves reproduced in wax.</p>

+

+<p>After two days of rain during which I had a hard

+and unsuccessful hunt for serows we decided to return

+to the temple at the foot of the mountain which was

+nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We

+had already been in our camp on the meadow for nine

+days and, besides the gorals, had gathered a large and

+valuable collection of small mammals. The shrews were

+especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series

+of meadow voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained

+a new weasel and a single specimen of a tiny rock-cony

+or little chief hare, an Asiatic genus (<i>Ochotona</i>) which

+is also found in the western part of North America on

+the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Although we

+set dozens of traps among the rocks we did not get another

+on the entire expedition nor did we see indications

+of their presence in other localities.</p>

+

+<p>The almost complete absence of carnivores at this

+camp was a great surprise. Except for weasels we saw

+no others and the hunters said that foxes or civets did

+not occur on this side of the mountain even though food

+was abundant.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">- 128 -</span></p>

+

+<p>On the day before we went to the temple I had a

+magnificent hunt. We left camp at daylight in a heavy

+fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow trail.

+We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the

+upper edge of a little meadow and expected the animal

+to break cover any moment, but it turned down the

+mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce

+woods.</p>

+

+<p>We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were

+well above the clouds, which lay in a thick white blanket

+over the camp, and headed for the ca&ntilde;on where I had

+shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go lower

+down into the forests but I prevailed upon him to stay

+along the open slopes and, while we were resting, the

+big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and

+to the right of us. It was in the exact spot where my

+second goral had been started and we were on the <i>qui

+vive</i> when the rest of the pack dashed up the mountain-side

+to join their leader.</p>

+

+<p>In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard

+them swinging about in our direction. Just then the

+clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank below us,

+began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the

+ca&ntilde;on. On and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps

+of the dogs. I was trembling with impatience and

+swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the

+gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the

+ravine, until we were enveloped so completely that I

+could hardly see the length of my gun barrel. A moment

+later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff

+not a hundred yards away.</p>

+

+<p>With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each

+hoof beat and the stones which his flying feet sent

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">- 129 -</span>

+rattling into the gorge. Then the dogs came past, and

+we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing

+fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The

+goral was lost, and as though the Fates were laughing

+at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind sucked the cloud

+out of the ca&ntilde;on as swiftly as it had come, and above

+us shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.</p>

+

+<p>Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I

+had loaned him my three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .808

+Savage) and he was as excited as a child with a new

+toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered

+the safety catches in a short time even though

+he had never before seen a breach-loading gun.</p>

+

+<p>There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain

+for the dogs might bring the goral to bay on one

+of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes we stood

+on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest.

+One of the hunters picked his way down the rock

+wall while Hotenfa and I circled the top of the spur.</p>

+

+<p>We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter

+shouted that a goral was running in our direction. Hotenfa

+reached the edge of the ridge before me, and I

+saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which

+disappeared into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt

+only a few feet behind the animal although it must have

+been well beyond a hundred yards and almost straight

+below us.</p>

+

+<p>Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other

+hunter brought us again to the edge of the cliff just in

+time to see a second goral dash into the forest a good

+three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the

+gorge.</p>

+

+<p>Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">- 130 -</span>

+Hotenfa made signs which said as plainly as words, "I

+told you so. The gorals are not on the peaks but down

+in the forest. We ought to have come here first."</p>

+

+<p>There were not many moments for regret, however,

+for this was "our busy day." Suddenly a burst of frantic

+yelps from the red dog turned us off to the left and

+we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which

+we had just left. One of the other hunters was standing

+there and his crossbow twanged as the goral passed

+only a few yards from him, but the wicked little poisoned

+dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches

+above the animal's back.</p>

+

+<p>The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the

+second hunter who was too surprised to shoot and only

+yelled that it was coming toward us on the cliff below.

+Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat

+himself, and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting

+shelf which overhung the gorge.</p>

+

+<p>We reached the rim at the same moment and saw

+a huge ram standing on a narrow ledge a hundred

+yards below. I fired instantly and the noble animal,

+with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched

+himself into space falling six hundred feet to the rocks

+beneath us.</p>

+

+<p>As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to

+go insane. Yelling with joy, he threw his arms about

+my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me

+on the back until I thought he would throw us both off

+the cliff. I was utterly dumbfounded but seized his three-barrel

+gun to unload it for in his excitement there was

+imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or

+me.</p>

+

+<p>Then I realized what it was all about. We had both

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">- 131 -</span>

+fired simultaneously and neither had heard the other's

+shot. By mistake Hotenfa had discharged a load of

+buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the

+goral but his joy was so great that I would not for anything

+have disillusioned him.</p>

+

+<p>It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place

+where the goral had fallen. The dogs were already there

+lying quietly beside the animal when we arrived. My bullet

+had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and

+ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself

+against the breast bone; the jacket had split, one piece

+tearing into the heart, so that the ram was probably

+dead before it struck the rocks.</p>

+

+<p>I photographed the goral where it lay and after it

+had been eviscerated, and the hunters had performed

+their ceremonies to the God of the Hunt, I sent one

+of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked toward

+the bottom of the ca&ntilde;on in the hope of finding the other

+animals.</p>

+

+<p>It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me

+in his vivid sign language that the gorals were likely to

+be asleep on the sunny side of the ravine; therefore we

+worked up the opposite slope.</p>

+

+<p>It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours

+we plodded steadily upward, clinging by feet and hands

+to bushes and rocks, and were almost exhausted when

+we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds

+of the way to the summit.</p>

+

+<p>We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin,

+toiled on again. I had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa

+was still sitting down, when I saw him wave his arm

+excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped down

+to his side just as he fired at a big female goral which

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">- 132 -</span>

+was sound asleep in an open patch of grass on the

+mountain-side.</p>

+

+<p>Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the

+knee but without the slightest sign of injury she dashed

+down the cliff. I fired as she ran, striking her squarely

+in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the bushes

+a hundred feet below.</p>

+

+<p>How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the

+summit of the ridge I never can understand, for with a

+light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all I could

+do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely

+done when we finally threw ourselves on the grass at

+the edge of the meadow which we had left in the morning.

+Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the

+goral, but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for

+my bullet had smashed the heart to a pulp.</p>

+

+<p>On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead

+tired, disappeared alone into the heavy forest below us.

+Suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up the hill in

+our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens

+and ran to an opening in the forest where we thought

+the animal must pass.</p>

+

+<p>Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared

+higher up at the heels of a crested muntjac

+(<i>Elaphodus</i>), which was bounding along at full speed,

+its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish

+back. I had one chance for a shot at about one hundred

+and fifty yards as the pair crossed a little opening in

+the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot for, had I

+missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been

+killed.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f132a" style="width: 373px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f132a.png" width="373" height="647" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Typical Goral Cliff on the Snow Mountain</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">- 133 -</span></p>

+

+<p>I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is

+an exceedingly rare species, but a few days later a

+shepherd brought in another which had been wounded

+by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the

+plains to die.</p>

+

+<p>When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out

+to meet us, falling over logs and bushes in her eagerness

+to see what we were carrying. No dinner which I have

+ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak

+that night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping

+bag, dead tired in body but with a happy heart.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">- 134 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain

+and camped in the temple which we had formerly occupied.

+This was directly below the forests inhabited

+by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively

+toward obtaining a representative series of these

+animals.</p>

+

+<p>Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the

+palm of my right hand almost immediately, and had it

+not been for the devoted care of my wife I should not

+have left China alive. Through terrible nights of delirium

+when the poison was threatening to spread over

+my entire body, she nursed me with an utter disregard

+of her own health and slept only during a few restless

+hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I could

+do no work but at last was able to bend my "trigger

+finger" and resume hunting although I did not entirely

+recover the use of my hand for several months.</p>

+

+<p>However, the work of the expedition by no means

+ceased because of my illness. Mr. Heller continued to

+collect small mammals with great energy and the day

+after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new

+native hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit

+from the independent tribe of S'suchuan and they

+proved to be excellent men.</p>

+

+<p>The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our

+third day in the temple. Heller went out with the hunters

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">- 135 -</span>

+but in a few hours returned alone. A short time

+after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail

+of a huge serow and followed it for three miles through

+the spruce forest. They finally brought the animal to

+bay against a cliff and a furious fight ensued. One

+dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust

+in the side, and the big red leader was thrown

+over a cliff to the rocks below. More of the hounds

+undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters

+arrived and shot the animal.</p>

+

+<p>The men brought the serow in late at night but our

+joy was considerably dampened by the loss of the red

+dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms and laid him

+gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal

+died during the night. His master cried like a

+child and I am sure that he felt more real sorrow than

+he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for wives

+are much easier to get in China than good hunting

+dogs.</p>

+

+<p>The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from

+fighting, and had lost one horn by falling over a cliff

+when he was killed. He was brownish black, with rusty

+red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was

+nine and three-quarters inches in length and five and

+three-quarters inches in circumference at the base and

+the effectiveness with which he had used his horns against

+the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means

+only for ornaments. In the next chapter the habits

+and relationships of the gorals and serows will be considered

+more fully.</p>

+

+<p>On the morning following the capture of the first

+serow the last rain of the season began and continued for

+nine days almost without ceasing. The weather made

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">- 136 -</span>

+hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so

+thickly over the woods that one could not see a hundred

+feet and Heller found that many of his small traps were

+sprung by the raindrops. The Lolos had disappeared,

+and we believed that they had returned to their village,

+but they had been hunting in spite of the weather and

+on the fifth day arrived with a fine male serow in perfect

+condition. It showed a most interesting color variation

+for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with

+hardly a tinge of reddish.</p>

+

+<p>November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless

+sky and during the remainder of the winter we had as

+perfect weather as one could wish. Yvette's constant

+mussing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion

+of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread

+of the poison in my hand and my nights were no longer

+haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but I

+was as helpless as a babe. I could do nothing but sit

+with steaming cloths wrapped about my arm and rail

+at the fate which kept me useless in the temple.</p>

+

+<p>The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just

+above our camp but the animal fell into a rock fissure

+more than a hundred feet deep and was recovered only

+after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging

+ladder from tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the

+serow bodily up the cliff; as it weighed nearly three

+hundred pounds this was by no means an easy undertaking.</p>

+

+<p>Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led

+by a slender young chief with patrician features who

+ruled his village like an autocrat with absolute power

+of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people who

+at one time probably occupied much of the region south

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">- 137 -</span>

+of the Yangtze River but were pushed south and west

+by the Chinese and, except in one instance, now exist

+only in scattered units in the provinces of Kwei-chau

+and Y&uuml;n-nan.</p>

+

+<p>In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which

+is absolutely closed to the Chinese on pain of death

+and over which they exercise no control. Several expeditions

+have been launched against the Lolos but all

+have ended in disaster.</p>

+

+<p>Only a few weeks before we arrived in Y&uuml;n-nan a

+number of Chinese soldiers butchered nearly a hundred

+Lolos whom they had encountered outside the independent

+territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned

+several villages almost under the walls of a fortified city

+in which were five hundred soldiers, massacred all the

+men and boys, and carried off the women as slaves.</p>

+

+<p>The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with

+comparatively fair complexions, and often with straight

+features, suggesting a mixture of Mongolian with some

+more straight-featured race. Their appearance marks

+them as closely connected by race with the eastern Tibetans,

+the latter being, if anything, rather the bigger men

+of the two."<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> They are great wanderers and over a very

+large part of Y&uuml;n-nan form the bulk of the hill population,

+being the most numerous of all the non-Chinese

+tribes in the province.</p>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> "Y&uuml;n-nan, the Link between India and the Yangtze," by Major

+H. R. Davies, 1909, p. 389.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<p>Like almost every race which has been conquered by

+the Chinese or has come into continual contact with them

+for a few generations, the Lolos of Y&uuml;n-nan, where they

+are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the Chinese.

+We found, as did Major Davies, that in some

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">- 138 -</span>

+instances they were giving up their language and beginning

+to talk Chinese even among themselves. The

+women already had begun to tie up their feet in the

+Chinese fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.</p>

+

+<p>Those whom we employed were living entirely by

+hunting and, although we found them amiable enough,

+they were exceedingly independent. They preferred to

+hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased

+chance for game our high-power rifles gave them, and

+eventually left us while I was away on a short trip,

+even though we still owed them considerable money.</p>

+

+<p>The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of

+Y&uuml;n-nan. Major Davies has considered this question

+in his valuable book to which I have already referred,

+and I cannot do better than quote his remarks here.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters

+in western China, form perhaps one of the most interesting

+features of travel in that country. It is safe to assert that in

+hardly any other part of the world is there such a large variety

+of languages and dialects, as are to be heard in the country

+which lies between Assam and the eastern border of Y&uuml;n-nan

+and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of this

+region.</p>

+

+<p>The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical

+characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges

+and the deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the

+differences in customs and language, and the innumerable

+tribal distinctions, which are so perplexing to the enquirer into

+Indo-Chinese ethnology.</p>

+

+<p>A tribe has entered Y&uuml;n-nan from their original Himalayan

+or Tibetan home, and after increasing in numbers have found

+the land they have settled on not equal to their wants. The natural

+result has been the emigration of part of the colony. The

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">- 139 -</span>

+emigrants, having surmounted pathless mountains and crossed

+unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts, have found a new

+place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to undertake

+such a journey again to revisit their old home.</p>

+

+<p>Being without a written character in which to preserve their

+traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside

+world, and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support

+themselves, the recollection of their connection with their

+original ancestors has died out. It is not then surprising that

+they should now consider themselves a totally distinct race from

+the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and the practice of slave

+raiding so common among the wilder members of the Indo-Chinese

+family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In

+fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated

+for hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands,

+of years, the languages of two distant tribes of the same family

+should bear to each other the marked general resemblance

+which is still to be found.</p>

+

+<p>The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of

+good means of communication have also naturally militated

+against the formation of any large kingdoms with effective control

+over the mountainous districts. Directly we get to a flat

+country with good roads and navigable rivers, we find the

+tribal distinctions disappear, and the whole of the inhabitants

+are welded into a homogeneous people under a settled government,

+speaking one language.</p>

+

+<p>Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the

+same everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will

+find one language spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition

+of the same length in the hilly country to the east or

+to the west of the Irrawaddy valley would bring him into contact

+with twenty mutually unintelligible tongues.</p>

+

+<p>The same state of things applies to Siam and Tonking&mdash;one

+nation speaking one language in the flat country and a

+Tower of Babel in the hills (<i>loc. cit.</i>, pp. 332-883).</p>

+</div>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">- 140 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">GORALS AND SEROWS</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Gorals</span> and serows belong to the subfamily <i>Rupicaprin&aelig;</i>

+which is an early mountain-living offshoot of the

+<i>Bovid&aelig;</i>; it also includes the chamois, takin, and the

+so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America. The animals

+are commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in

+order to express the intermediate position which they

+apparently hold between the goats and antelopes. They

+are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine antelopes

+from the scientific name of the chamois (<i>Rupicapra</i>).</p>

+

+<p>The horns of all members of the group are finely

+ridged, subcylindrical and are present in both sexes,

+being almost as long in the female as in the male. Although

+no one would suspect that the gorals are more

+closely related to the takins than to the serows, which

+they resemble superficially, such seems to be the case,

+but the cranial differences between the two genera are

+to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of the small

+Japanese serow (<i>Capricornulus crispus</i>). This species

+is most interesting because of its intermediate position.

+In size it is larger than a goral but smaller than a serow;

+its long coat and its horns resemble those of a goral but

+it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. It is

+found in Japan, Manchuria and southern Siberia.</p>

+

+<p>The principal external difference between the gorals

+and serows, besides that of size, is in the fact that the

+serows have a short tail and a well developed face gland,

+which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice, while

+the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f140a" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f140a.png" width="365" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Serow Killed on the Snow Mountain</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f140b" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f140b.png" width="367" height="288" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Head of a Serow</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">- 141 -</span></p>

+

+<p>In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are

+similar to some of the antelopes but in their clumsy

+build, heavy limbs and stout hoofs as well as in habits

+they resemble goats. The serow has a long, melancholy-looking

+face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese

+in Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey"

+but in Y&uuml;n-nan it is called "wild cow."</p>

+

+<p>The specific relationships of the serows are by no

+means satisfactorily determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent

+of the London Zo&ouml;logical Society's Gardens,

+has recently devoted considerable study to the serows

+of British India and considers them all to be races of

+the single species <i>Capricornis sumatrensis</i>. With this

+opinion I am inclined to agree, although I have not yet

+had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject

+in the light of our new material.</p>

+

+<p>These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration,

+and fall into three groups all of which partake

+more or less of the characters of each other. Chinese

+serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in

+Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern

+Burma and Malayan forms.</p>

+

+<p>The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain

+can probably be referred to <i>Capricornis

+sumatrensis milne-edwardsi</i>, those of Fukien obtained by Mr.

+Caldwell represent the white-maned serow <i>Capricornis

+sumatrensis argyroch&aelig;tes</i> and one which I shot in May,

+1917, near Teng-yueh, not far from the Burma frontier,

+is apparently an undescribed form.</p>

+

+<p>Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable

+individual variation exists in the color of the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">- 142 -</span>

+legs of these animals; this character was considered to

+be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree,

+but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed

+to be.</p>

+

+<p>Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain

+have the lower legs rusty red, while in two others these

+parts are buff colored. The animals, all males of

+nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain,

+and virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no

+important differences and there is no reason to believe

+that they represent anything but an extreme individual

+variation.</p>

+

+<p>The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping

+are even more surprising. The old female is coal

+black, but the young male is distinctly brownish-black

+with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along

+the mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a

+ridge. The horns of the female are nearly parallel for

+half their extent and approach each other at the tips;

+their surfaces are remarkably smooth. The horns of the

+young male diverge like a V from the skull and are very

+heavily ridged. The latter character is undoubtedly due

+to youth.</p>

+

+<p>These serows are an excellent example of the necessity

+for collecting a large number of specimens from

+the same locality. Only by this means is it possible to

+learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual

+variation and what are its really important characters.

+In the case of the gorals, our Expedition obtained

+at Hui-yao such a splendid series of all ages

+that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent

+study. Serows are entirely Asian and found in China,

+Japan, India, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">- 143 -</span></p>

+

+<p>On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly

+at altitudes of from 9,000 to 13,000 feet in dense spruce

+forests, among the cliffs. The animals seemed to be

+fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were

+constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive

+use. Apparently serows seldom come out into

+the open, but feed on leaves and grass while in the

+thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill

+them without the aid of dogs or beaters.</p>

+

+<p>Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or

+four miles, and eventually lose them or it may turn at

+bay and fight the pack after only a short chase; a large

+serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds if

+in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back.

+The animal can use its strong curved horns with deadly

+effect for it is remarkably agile for a beast of its size.</p>

+

+<p>In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high

+mountain clothed with a dense jungle of dwarf bamboo.

+It was in quite different country from that which the

+animals inhabit in Y&uuml;n-nan for although the cover was

+exceedingly thick it was without such high cliffs and

+there were extensive grassy meadows. We did not see

+any serows in Fukien because of the ignorance of our

+beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks.

+The natives said that in late September the animals

+could often be found in the forests of the lower mountain

+slopes when they came to browse upon the new

+grown mushrooms.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin

+of a splendid female serow and a short time later obtained

+a young male. The latter was seen swimming

+across the river just below the city wall and was caught

+alive by the natives. The female weighed three

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">- 144 -</span>

+hundred and ten pounds and the male two hundred and

+ninety pounds.</p>

+

+<p>Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather

+dangerous pets unless tamed when very young. We

+are reproducing a photograph taken and kindly loaned

+by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the

+Berlin Zo&ouml;logical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zo&ouml;logical

+Park at Calcutta and one from Darjeeling is

+owned by the London Zo&ouml;logical Society.</p>

+

+<p>Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the

+chamois. The species which we killed on the Snow

+Mountain can probably be referred to <i>N&aelig;morhedus griseus</i>,

+but I have not yet had an opportunity to study our

+specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals

+have blackish brown tails which from the roots to the

+end of the hairs measure about 10 inches in length. The

+horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal

+half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The

+male horns are strongly recurved and are thick and

+round at the base but narrow rapidly to the tips; the

+female horns are straighter and more slender. The

+longest horns in the series which we received measured

+six inches in length and three and three-quarters inches

+in circumference at the base. Like the serows, gorals

+are confined to Asia and are found in northern India,

+Burma, and China, and northwards through Korea and

+southern Manchuria.</p>

+

+<p>We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain

+for in this particular region they could be killed in no

+other way. There was so much cover, even at altitudes

+of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so

+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still

+hunting" and never see a goral. They are vicious fighters,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">- 145 -</span>

+and often back up to a cliff where they can keep

+the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds while

+hunting alone, brought a goral to bay and was found

+dead next day by the hunters with its side ripped open.</p>

+

+<p>On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly

+but at Hui-yao, not far from the Burma frontier, where

+we hunted another species in the spring, they were

+almost universally in herds of from six to seven or

+eight. It was at the latter place that we had our best

+opportunity to observe gorals and learn something of

+their habits. We were camping on the banks of a

+branch of the Shweli River, which had cut a narrow

+gorge for itself; on one side this was seven or eight hundred

+feet deep. A herd of about fifty gorals had been

+living for many years on one of the mountain sides not

+far from the village, and although they were seen constantly

+the natives had no weapons with which to kill

+them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to

+shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred

+to four hundred yards.</p>

+

+<p>We could scan every inch of the hillside through our

+field glasses and watch the gorals as they moved about

+quite unconscious of our presence. At this place they

+were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low

+bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where

+the slopes had been partly burned over. We found them

+browsing from daylight until about nine o'clock, and

+from four in the afternoon until dark. They would

+move slowly among the bushes, picking off the new

+leaves, and usually about the middle of the morning

+would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon

+the rocks, and go to sleep.</p>

+

+<p>Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">- 146 -</span>

+as do many hoofed animals, but doubled their forelegs

+under them, stretched their necks and hind legs straight

+out, and rested on their bellies. It was a most uncomfortable

+looking attitude, and the first time I saw an

+animal resting thus I thought it had been wounded, but

+both Mr. Heller and myself saw them repeatedly at

+other times, and realized that this was their natural position

+when asleep.</p>

+

+<p>When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or

+goats, they would run a short distance and stop to look

+back. This was usually their undoing, for they offered

+excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the

+sky. They were very difficult to see when lying down

+among the rocks, but our native hunters, who had most

+extraordinary eyesight, often would discover them when

+it was almost impossible for me to find them even with

+the field glasses. We never could be sure that there

+were no gorals on a mountain-side, for they were adepts

+at hiding, and made use of a bunch of grass or the smallest

+crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it

+so completely that they seemed to have vanished from

+the earth.</p>

+

+<p>Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where

+it seemed impossible for any animal to move. I have

+seen a goral run down the face of a cliff which appeared

+to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared

+not venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock

+it would bounce off as though made of rubber, and leap

+eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which did not seem

+large enough to support a rabbit.</p>

+

+<p>The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is

+largely due to the animal's foot structure. Professor

+Henry Fairfield Osborn has investigated this matter in

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">- 147 -</span>

+the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost

+equally well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote

+them here:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme

+front. Behind this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which

+gives the horny hoof a chance to get its hold. Both the main

+digits and the dewclaws terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded

+and expanded soles, which are of great service in securing a

+firm footing on the shelving rocks and narrow ledges on which

+the animal travels with such ease. This sole, Smith states,

+softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is leaving the

+ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place. The

+rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by

+no means useless; they project back below the horny part of

+the hoof, and Mr. Smith has actually observed the young captive

+goats supporting themselves solely on their dewclaws on

+the edge of a roof. It is probable that they are similarly used

+on the rocks and precipices, since on a very narrow ledge they

+would serve favorably to alter the center of gravity by enabling

+the limb to be extended somewhat farther forward.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>

+</div>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> "Mountain Goat Hunting with the Camera," by Henry Fairfield

+Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth <i>Annual Report of the New

+York Zo&ouml;logical Society</i>, 1906, pp. 18-14.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<p>There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes

+at Hui-yao which the gorals must have used continually,

+judging by the way in which these were worn. We also

+found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on

+projecting ledges to indicate that these were definite

+resorts for numbers of the animals. Many which we

+saw were young or of varying ages running with the

+herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they

+had mastered the art of self-concealment even when

+hardly a year old. Although at Hui-yao almost all

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">- 148 -</span>

+were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to

+be especially averse to water, and several times I

+watched wounded animals swim across the stream.</p>

+

+<p>Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little

+brutes inspire the sportsman with admiration, besides

+leading him over peaks which try his nerve to the

+utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my

+life the wonderful hunts in Y&uuml;n-nan, far above the

+clouds, at the edge of the snow.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">- 149 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE "WHITE WATER"</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">October</span> had slipped into November when we left

+the temple and shifted camp to the other side of the

+Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It was a brilliant

+day and the ride up the valley could not have been

+more beautiful. Crossing the <i>gangheisa</i> or "dry sea,"

+a great grassy plain which was evidently a dry lake

+basin, we followed the trail into the forest and down

+the side of a deep ca&ntilde;on to a mountain stream where

+the waters spread themselves in a thin, green veil over

+a bed of white stones.</p>

+

+<p>We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the

+stream at the edge of the spruce forest. Above us towered

+the highest peak of the mountain, with a glacier

+nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered

+slopes extending in a glorious shining crescent about

+our camp. The moon was full, and each night as we

+sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned

+crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to

+purest silver at the touch of the white moonlight. We

+have had many camps in many lands but none more

+beautiful than the one at the "White Water."</p>

+

+<p>The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone

+in a cloudless blue sky and in the morning the ground

+was frozen hard and covered with snowlike frost, but

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">- 150 -</span>

+the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that we

+could be happy at the "White Water" forever, but it

+did not prove to be as good a hunting ground as that

+on the other side of the mountain. The Lolos killed

+a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in

+a young goral a short time later, but big game was by

+no means abundant. At the "White Water" we obtained

+our first Lady Amherst's pheasant (<i>Thaumalea

+amhersti&aelig;</i>) one of the most remarkable species of a

+family containing the most beautiful birds of the world.

+The rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are

+made more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff

+about the neck. The first birds brought alive to England

+were two males which had been presented to the

+Countess Amherst after whom the species was named.

+We found this pheasant inhabiting thick forests where

+it is by no means easy to discover or shoot. It is fairly

+abundant in Y&uuml;n-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan

+but its habits are not well known. Although the camp

+yielded several small mammals new to our collection,

+we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a new caravan

+for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller

+remained in camp.</p>

+

+<p>The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter

+than by way of the Snow Mountain village and at three

+o'clock in the afternoon our beloved "Temple of the

+Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city.

+As we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque

+gathering on the porch and heard the sound of many

+voices laughing and talking. The beautiful garden-like

+courtyard was filled with women and children of every

+age and description, and all the doors from one side

+of the temple had been removed, leaving a large open

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">- 151 -</span>

+space where huge cauldrons were boiling and steaming.</p>

+

+<p>We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the

+young priest was delighted to see us and insisted that

+we wait until Wu arrived. We were glad that we did

+not seek other quarters for we were to witness an

+interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of

+Chinese life. It seemed that about five years before

+a gentleman of Li-chiang had "shuffled off this mortal

+coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his mortal

+coil" certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited

+a few hundred dollars several years later and

+the village "astrologer" informed them that according

+to the <i>feng-shui</i>, or omnipotent spirits of the earth,

+wind, and water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's

+grave was ill-chosen and that if they ever hoped

+to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up,

+give the customary feast in his honor and have another

+burial site chosen.</p>

+

+<p>Every village has a "wise man" who is always called

+upon to select the resting place of the dead, his remuneration

+varying from two dollars to two thousand

+dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's

+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether

+or not the spot will prove a propitious one and if the

+family later sell any property, receive a legacy, or are

+known to have obtained money in other ways, the astrologer

+usually finds that the <i>feng-shui</i> do not favor

+the original place and he will exact another fee for

+choosing a second grave.</p>

+

+<p>The dead are never buried until the astrologer has

+named an auspicious day as well as an appropriate site,

+with the result that unburied coffins are to be seen

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">- 152 -</span>

+in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in

+the back yards of many houses.</p>

+

+<p>Any interference by foreigners with this custom is

+liable to bring about dire results as in the case of the

+rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A number of French residents

+objected to a temple near by being used to store

+a score or more of bodies until a convenient time for

+burial and the result was the death of many people in

+the fighting which ensued. Mr. Tyler Dennet cites an

+amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling

+of the problem by a native mandarin in Yen-ping where

+we visited Mr. Caldwell:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was

+the presence of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate

+had a census taken of the coffins above ground in the city and

+found that they actually numbered sixteen thousand. The city

+itself is estimated to have only about twenty thousand inhabitants.</p>

+

+<p>It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily

+move in such a way as to bring the whole city down about his

+head. But the Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps

+the cleverest people on earth. He finally devised a way out. A

+proclamation was issued levying a tax of fifty cents on every

+unburied coffin. The Chinese may be superstitious, but they

+are even more thrifty. For a few weeks Yen-ping devoted itself

+to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little city,

+one of the most isolated in China, can truly be said to be on

+the road to health.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>

+</div>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> "Doctoring China," by Tyler Dennet, <i>Asia</i>, February, 1918,

+p. 114.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f152a" style="width: 368px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f152a.png" width="368" height="500" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The "White Water"</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">- 153 -</span></p>

+

+<p>There are very few such progressive cities in China,

+however, and a missionary told us that recently a young

+child and his grandfather were buried on the same day

+although their deaths had been nearly fifty years apart.

+The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but

+it is the great ambition of every Chinese to have his

+resting place as near as possible to those of his ancestors.

+That is one of the reasons why they are so loath to

+emigrate.</p>

+

+<p>We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under

+the load of a heavy coffin, transporting a body sometimes

+a month's journey or more to bury it at the dead

+man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be fastened

+to the coffin for, according to the Y&uuml;n-nan superstition,

+the spirit of the man enters the bird and is conveyed

+by it to his home.</p>

+

+<p>There is a strange absence of the fear of death among

+the Chinese. One often sees large planks of wood stored

+in a corner of a house and one is told that these are

+destined to become the coffins of the man's father or

+mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying

+the most robust health. Indeed, among the

+poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most fitting gift

+for a son to present to his father.</p>

+

+<p>We established our camp on the porch of the temple

+at Li-chiang and from its vantage point could watch

+the festivities going on about us. The feasting continued

+until after dark and at daylight the kettles were

+again steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.</p>

+

+<p>By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour

+later there came a partial stillness which was broken by

+a sudden burst of music (?) from Chinese violins and

+pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests

+standing about an improvised altar. The foot of the

+coffin was just visible in the midst of the paper decorations

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">- 154 -</span>

+and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes

+of tempting food. These were meant as an offering

+to the spirit of the departed one, but we knew this would

+not prevent the sorrowing relatives from eating the food

+with much relish later on.</p>

+

+<p>In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting

+a figure clothed in white with a hood drawn

+over her face. She was bent nearly to the ground and

+muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her

+veil as she prostrated herself in front of the altar. For

+more than an hour this chief mourner, the wife of the

+deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure shaking

+with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. This

+same lady, however, moved about later among her guests

+an amiable hostess, with beaming countenance, the gayest

+of the gay. But every morning while the festivities

+lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate

+herself before the coffin and display heartrending grief

+in the presence of the unmoved spectators in order to

+satisfy the demands of "custom."</p>

+

+<p>Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities

+with the Chinese, and such a display of feigned emotion

+is required on certain prescribed occasions. As one

+missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all face

+and no heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night

+while passing down a deserted street in a Chinese village

+he was startled to hear the most piercing shrieks

+issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone was

+being murdered, he rushed through the courtyard only

+to find that a girl who was to be married the following

+day, according to Chinese custom, was displaying the

+most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">- 155 -</span>

+family, even though she probably was enchanted with

+the idea.</p>

+

+<p>On the third day of the celebration in the temple at

+Li-chiang the feasting ended in a burst of splendor.

+From one o'clock until far past sundown the friends

+and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any person

+could receive an invitation by bringing a small present,

+even if it were only a bowl of rice or a few hundred cash

+(ten or fifteen cents).</p>

+

+<p>All during the morning girls and women flocked up

+the hill with trays of gifts. There were many Mosos

+and other tribesmen among them as well as Chinese.

+The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the

+sides and hanging in long narrow plaits down their

+backs. They wore white leather capes (at least that was

+the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver and

+coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay

+with glowing red cheeks and laughing eyes they were

+decidedly attractive. The guests were seated in groups

+of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. Small

+boys acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of

+vegetables and huge straw platters heaped high with rice.

+As soon as each guest had stuffed himself to satisfaction

+he relinquished his place to someone else and the

+food was passed again. We were frequently pressed

+to eat with them and in the evening when the last guest

+had departed the "chief mourner" brought us some delicious

+fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that

+they had fed three hundred people during the day and

+we could well believe it. The next morning the coffin

+was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of anguished

+wails and we were left once more to the peace

+and quiet of our beautiful temple courtyard.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">- 156 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for

+generations to come to provide a suitable funeral for

+one of its members, because to bury the dead without

+the proper display would not only be to "lose face"

+but subject them to the possible persecution of the angered

+spirits. This is only one of the pernicious results

+of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that most

+of the evils in China's social order today can be traced,

+directly or indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.</p>

+

+<p>A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants

+to worship at his grave and appease his spirit. The

+more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who walk in

+his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. As

+a missionary humorously says "the only law of God

+that ever has been obeyed in China is to be fruitful and

+multiply." Craving for progeny has brought into existence

+thousands upon thousands of human beings who

+exist on the very brink of starvation. Nowhere in the

+civilized world is there a more sordid and desperate

+struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty.

+But fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind

+breeding. The apparent atrophy of the entire race is

+due to ancestor worship which binds it with chains of

+iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these bonds

+are severed can China expect to take her place among

+the progressive nations of the earth.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">- 157 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE</p>

+

+

+<p>In mid-November we left the White Water with a

+caravan of twenty-six mules and horses. Following the

+road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze, we crossed the

+"Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several

+tremendous wooded ridges, each higher than the

+last, to the summit of the divide.</p>

+

+<p>The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine

+and spruce forest. Some of the trees were at least one

+hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped with

+beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from

+branch to branch and hung suspended in delicate

+streamers yards in length. The forest was choked with

+underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and

+the hundreds of fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss,

+made ideal conditions for small mammal collecting.

+However, as all the species would probably be similar

+to those we had obtained on the Snow Mountain, we

+did not feel that it was worth while stopping to trap.</p>

+

+<p>At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a

+beautiful hill in a pine forest which was absolutely

+devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was thinly

+overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso

+hunter, who acted as our guide, assured us that the river

+was only three miles away, it proved to be more than

+fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half past

+one the next afternoon.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">- 158 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in

+China is, by the inaccuracy of the natives, and especially

+of the Chinese. Their ideas of distance are most

+extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it

+is to a certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen

+<i>li</i> to go, but thirty <i>li</i> when you come back." After a

+short experience one learns how to interpret such an

+answer, for it means that when going the road is down

+hill and that the return uphill will require double the

+time.</p>

+

+<p>Caravans are supposed to travel ten <i>li</i> an hour, although

+they seldom do more than eight, and all calculations

+of distance are based upon time so far as the

+<i>mafus</i> are concerned. If the day's march is eight hours

+you invariably will be informed that the distance is

+eighty <i>li</i>, although in reality it may not be half as

+great.</p>

+

+<p>In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith

+gives many illuminating observations on the inaccuracy

+of the Chinese. In regard to distance he says:</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the

+distance is given in "miles" (<i>li</i>), whether the "miles" are

+"large" or not! That there is some basis for estimates of distances

+we do not deny, but what we do deny is that these estimates

+or measurements are either accurate or uniform.</p>

+

+<p>It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment

+one leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become

+"long." If 120 <i>li</i> constitute a fair day's journey on the main

+road, then on country roads it will take fully as long to go 100

+<i>li</i>, and in the mountains the whole day will be spent in getting

+over 80 <i>li</i> (p. 51).</p>

+

+<p>In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of

+his oxen gives a figure which seems much too low, until he

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">- 159 -</span>

+explains that he has omitted to estimate the bones! A servant

+who was asked his height mentioned a measure which was

+ridiculously inadequate to cover his length, and upon being

+questioned admitted that he had left out of account all above his

+shoulders! He had once been a soldier, where the heft of the

+men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of burdens.

+And since a Chinese soldier is to all practical purposes

+complete without his head, this was omitted.</p>

+

+<p>Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who

+affirmed that he lived "ninety <i>li</i> from the city," but upon cross-examination

+he consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning

+both to the city and back, the real distance being as he admitted,

+only "forty-five <i>li</i> one way!" (p. 49) ...</p>

+

+<p>The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads

+to much vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few

+tens," or perhaps "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate

+enumeration is one of the rarest of experiences in China....

+An acquaintance told the writer that two men had spent "200

+strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition, adding a moment

+later, "It was 173 strings, but that is the same as 200&mdash;is it

+not?" (p. 64).</p>

+

+<p>A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that

+he himself "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious

+from his narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city.

+Upon inquiry, he admitted that he did not <i>now</i> live in the village,

+and further investigation revealed the fact that the removal

+took place nineteen generations ago! "But do you not

+almost consider yourself a resident of the city now?" he was

+asked. "Yes," he replied simply, "we do live there now, but

+the old root is in that village."</p>

+

+<p>... The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a

+line of assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed,

+and they can ill comprehend the mania which seems to

+possess the Occidental to ascertain everything with unerring

+exactness. The Chinese does not know how many families there

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">- 160 -</span>

+are in his native village, and he does not wish to know. What

+any human being can want to know this number for is to him

+an insoluble riddle. It is "a few hundred," "several hundreds"

+or "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was

+and never will be. (p. 65.)</p>

+</div>

+

+<p>After breaking camp on the day following our departure

+from the "White Water" we rode along a

+broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in the

+late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one

+of the most impressive sights which China has to offer.

+At the left, and a thousand feet below, the mighty

+Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge

+almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been

+carved out of the solid rock, sharp and clean, with a

+giant's knife. A few miles to the right the mountains

+widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the

+river. Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys

+which stretch upward between the hills, is under

+cultivation, giving support for three villages, the largest

+of which is Taku.</p>

+

+<p>The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for

+miles where the river can be crossed. The south bank

+is so precipitous that the trail from the plain twists and

+turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow

+sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river

+is a vertical wall of rock which slopes back a little at

+the lower end to form a steep hillside covered with short

+grass. The landing place is a mass of jagged rocks

+fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the

+face of the cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by

+any loaded animal; therefore all the packs must be unstrapped

+and laboriously carted up the slope on the

+backs of the <i>mafus</i>.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">- 161 -</span></p>

+

+<p>At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the

+boat, which carried only two animals and their packs,

+for the first trip across the river. It was difficult to

+get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved

+and actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the

+ferrymen first drew the craft along the rocks by a long

+rope, then climbed up the face of what appeared to be

+an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close

+beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the dory was

+worked well up stream and when pushed into the swift

+current was rowed diagonally to the other side.</p>

+

+<p>After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen

+decided to stop work although there was yet more than

+an hour of daylight and they could not be persuaded to

+cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an

+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do

+but camp where we were even though the greater part

+of our baggage was on the other side, with only the

+<i>mafus</i> to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.</p>

+

+<p>About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a

+sandy cornfield on a level shelf just above the water,

+and pitched our tents. A slight wind was blowing and

+before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds,

+sand in our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller

+went down the river with a bag of traps while we set

+forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of

+goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of

+the day, we crawled into our sandy beds.</p>

+

+<p>At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported

+that the loads were safe but that one of the boatmen

+had gone to the village and no one knew when he would

+return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as

+breakfast was over and spent an aggravating hour trying

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">- 162 -</span>

+by alternate threats and cajoling to persuade the

+remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. But it

+was useless, for the louder I swore the more frightened

+he became and he finally retired into a rock cave from

+which the <i>mafus</i> had to drag him out bodily and drive

+him into the boat.</p>

+

+<p>The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten

+o'clock and we felt like beating them both, but Wu

+impressed upon us the necessity for patience if we ever

+expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed

+our wrath; nevertheless, we decided not to leave until

+the loads and mules were on the other side, and we ate

+a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand.</p>

+

+<p>Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty

+small mammals (one of which was a new rat) that our

+traps had yielded. We took a good many photographs

+and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of

+the <i>mafus</i> to get the mules aboard. Some of them went

+in quietly enough but others absolutely refused to step

+into the boat. One of the <i>mafus</i> would pull, another

+push, a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its

+feet singly over the side. With the accompaniment of

+yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the performance was

+picturesque to say the least.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f162a" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f162a.png" width="286" height="356" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Liso Hunter Carrying a Flying Squirrel</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f162b" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f162b.png" width="286" height="353" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Chief of Our Lolo Hunters</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">- 163 -</span></p>

+

+<p>By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken

+across the racing green water and we had some time

+before dark in which to investigate the caverns with

+which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. They

+were of two kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves.

+The latter consist of a long central shaft, just high

+enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens into

+a circular room. Along the sides of the corridor shallow

+nests have been scooped out to serve as beds and all

+the cooking is done not far from the door. The caves,

+although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living

+quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling

+as the ordinary native house. The mines are straight

+shafts dug into the cliffs where the rock is quarried

+and crushed by hand.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">- 164 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail

+through an open pine and spruce forest along the rim

+of the Yangtze gorge where the view was magnificent.

+Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand

+Ca&ntilde;on for the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and

+then immediately begins to describe it. Thus it was

+with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of this

+titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in

+delicate tints of blue and purple; in others, the sides

+fell away in sheer drops of hundreds of feet to the

+green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand

+five hundred miles away.</p>

+

+<p>The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all

+day and we were left far behind, for at each turn a

+view more beautiful than the last opened out before

+us, and until every color plate and negative in the

+holders had been exposed we worked steadily with the

+camera.</p>

+

+<p>We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped

+region which Baron Haendel-Mazzetti had

+skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and probably

+rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost

+bare mountain-sides we passed through a parklike

+spruce forest and reached Habala, a long thin village

+of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides of

+a narrow valley.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">- 165 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after

+ridge of dense spruce forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned

+peak and cut by deep ravines, the gloomy

+depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky

+cliffs&mdash;a veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our

+camping place was a grassy lawn as flat and smooth as

+the putting green of a golf course. Just below the

+tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably

+to itself and a huge dead tree was lying crushed

+and broken for the camp fire.</p>

+

+<p>The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in

+half an hour and, after setting a line of traps, we wandered

+slowly back through the darkness guided by the

+brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow

+glow over our little table spread for dinner.</p>

+

+<p>We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and

+after dinner four or five picturesque Mosos appeared.

+They said that there were many serow, goral, muntjac

+and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and

+we could well believe it, for there was never a more

+"likely looking" spot. Although the men did not claim

+to be professional hunters, nevertheless they said that

+they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and

+other animals.</p>

+

+<p>They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about

+two hours late, which was doing fairly well for natives.

+It was a brilliant day just warm enough for comfort

+in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However

+it did not take many hours to demonstrate that

+the men knew almost nothing about hunting and that

+their dogs were useless. Because of the dense cover

+"still hunting" was out of the question and, after a

+hard climb. We returned to camp to spend the remainder

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">- 166 -</span>

+of the afternoon developing photographs and preparing

+small mammals.</p>

+

+<p>Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver

+mole as well as a number of mice, rats, and meadow

+voles of species identical with those taken on the Snow

+Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze

+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution

+of even the smallest forms and that the region

+in which we were now working would not produce a

+different fauna. This was an important discovery from

+the standpoint of our distribution records but was also

+somewhat disappointing.</p>

+

+<p>The photographic work already had yielded excellent

+results. The Paget color plates were especially

+beautiful and the fact that everything was developed

+in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality

+of each negative.</p>

+

+<p>For this work the portable dark room was invaluable.

+It could be quickly erected and suspended from

+a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and offered an

+absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates.

+The moving-picture film required special treatment because

+of its size and we usually fastened in the servants'

+tent the red lining which had been made for this

+purpose in New York. Even then the space was so

+cramped that we were dead tired at the end of a few

+hours' work.</p>

+

+<p>One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and

+sees moving-picture film which has been obtained in

+such remote parts of the world does not realize the

+difficulties in its preparation. The water for developing

+almost invariably was dirty and in order to insure

+even a moderately clear film it always had to be strained.

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">- 167 -</span>

+For washing the negative pailful after pailful had to

+be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the

+film exposed for hours to the carelessness or curiosity

+of the natives. In our cramped quarters perhaps a corner

+of the tent would be pushed open admitting a

+stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to

+work, leaving us in complete darkness to finish the developing

+"by guess and by gosh," or any number of

+other accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we

+could not develop more than three hundred feet in an

+afternoon and we never breathed freely until it finally

+was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.</p>

+

+<p>We left Habala, on November 28, for a village called

+Phete where the natives had assured us we would find

+good hunters with dogs. For almost the entire distance

+the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and

+there the view of the great chasm was even more magnificent

+than that we had left. While its sides are not

+fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer than

+those of the Grand Ca&ntilde;on of the Colorado, nevertheless

+its grandeur is hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring.

+If Y&uuml;n-nan is ever made accessible by railroads this

+gorge should become a Mecca for tourists, for it is

+without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights

+in the world.</p>

+

+<p>About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three

+clusters of houses on a tableland which juts into a chasm

+cut by a tributary of the great river. One of them was

+Phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in

+half an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously

+around the hillside, down to the stream and up again

+that it was an hour and a half before we found a camping

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">- 168 -</span>

+place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the

+nearest houses.</p>

+

+<p>Next day we could not go to the village to find

+hunters until mid-forenoon because the natives of this

+region are very late risers and often have not yet opened

+their doors at ten o'clock. This is quite contrary to the

+custom in many other parts of China where the inhabitants

+are about their work in the first light of dawn.</p>

+

+<p>The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and

+every available inch of level ground is under cultivation

+with corn and a few rice paddys near the creek; the

+latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected

+to find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly

+picturesque but never have we met people of such

+utter and hopeless stupidity as its inhabitants. They

+were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a

+smile and salutation, but their brains seemed not to

+have kept pace with their bodies and when asked the

+simplest question they would only stare stupidly without

+the slightest glimmering of intelligence.</p>

+

+<p>It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more

+people to glean that there were no hunters in the village

+where they had lived all their lives, but Wu, our

+interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who told us of

+a hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the

+answer was "Not very far."</p>

+

+<p>"Well, is it ten <i>li!</i>"</p>

+

+<p>"I don't know how many <i>li</i>."</p>

+

+<p>"Have you ever been there?"</p>

+

+<p>"Yes; it is only a few steps."</p>

+

+<p>"How long will it take to get there?"</p>

+

+<p>"About the time of one meal."</p>

+

+<p>We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">- 169 -</span>

+with native ideas of distance, and we ate our tiffin

+before starting out on the "few steps." A steep trail

+led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding

+we reached the hunter's village of three large houses on

+a flat strip of cleared ground in the midst of a dense

+forest.</p>

+

+<p>The people looked much like those of Phete but were

+rather anemic specimens, and five out of eight had enormous

+goiters. They were exceedingly shy at first,

+watching us with side glances and through cracks in the

+wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons

+they had ever seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness

+was due to too close intermarriage, for these

+families had little intercourse with the people in Phete

+who were only "a few steps" away.</p>

+

+<p>As we were leaving they began to eat their supper

+in the courtyard. The principal dish consisted of mixed

+cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and green vegetables.

+All the women were busy husking corn which was hung

+to dry on great racks about the house. These racks

+we had noticed in every village since leaving Li-chiang

+and they seemed to be in universal use in the north.</p>

+

+<p>The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased

+one for $4.40 (Mexican) but there was considerable

+difficulty in paying for it since these people had never

+seen Chinese money even though living in China itself.

+For currency they used chunks of silver the size of a

+walnut and worth about one dollar (Mexican). The

+Chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the genuineness

+of our money and we purchased a few eggs

+and a little very delicious wild honey besides the sheep.

+These people as well as those of Phete spoke the Li-chiang

+dialect but with such variation that even our

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">- 170 -</span>

+<i>mafus</i> could understand them only with the greatest

+difficulty.</p>

+

+<p>When we returned to camp we found that the coolie

+who had been engaged to carry the motion-picture camera

+and tripod had left without the formality of saying

+"good-by" or asking for the money which was due him.

+We had had considerable trouble with the camera

+coolies since leaving Li-chiang. The first one carried

+the camera to the Taku ferry with many groans, and

+there engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place, for

+he thought the load too heavy. It only weighed fifty

+pounds, and in the Fukien Province where men seldom

+carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much

+as one hundred and fifty, it would have been considered

+as only half a burden. In Y&uuml;n-nan, however, animals

+do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at

+even an ordinary load.</p>

+

+<p>We left Phete in the early morning and camped

+about five hundred feet above the hunter's cabin in a

+beautiful little meadow. It was surrounded with splendid

+pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a

+knoll in the center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen

+little streams over the edge of a deep ravine where a

+mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo

+jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered inches

+deep with green moss, and altogether it was an ideal

+spot for small mammals. Our traps, however, yielded

+no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens

+every night.</p>

+

+<p>There were a few families of Lolos about two miles

+away and these were engaged as hunters. They told

+us that serow and muntjac were abundant and that

+wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">- 171 -</span>

+miles to the northward. Although the men had a large

+pack of good dogs they were such unsatisfactory hunters

+that we gave up in disgust after three days. They

+never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the

+morning when the sun had so dried the leaves that the

+scent was lost and the dogs could not follow a trail even

+if one were found. Moreover, the camp was a very uncomfortable

+one, due to the wind which roared through

+the trees night and day.</p>

+

+<p>We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us

+at the Taku ferry to see if he could get together a pack

+of dogs. He brought three hounds with him which he

+praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that

+they did not justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were

+glad to have Hotenfa back, for he was one of the most

+intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives

+whom we met in all Y&uuml;n-nan. He was an uncouth savage

+when he first came to us, but in a very short time

+he had learned our camp ways and was as good a servant

+as any we had.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">- 172 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Since</span> the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved

+so worthless and the traps had yielded no small mammals

+new to our collection, we decided to cross the

+mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into

+Tibet.</p>

+

+<p>The head <i>mafu</i> explored the trail and reported that

+it was impassable but, after an examination of some of

+the worst barriers, we decided that they could be cleared

+away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven

+in the morning.</p>

+

+<p>Before long we found that the <i>mafus</i> were right.

+The trail was a mass of tangled underbrush and fallen

+logs and led straight up a precipitous mountain through

+a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary

+to stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier

+or cut a passage through the bamboo thickets, and had

+it not been for the adjustable pack saddles we never

+could have taken the caravan over the trail.</p>

+

+<p>Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals

+dragged themselves to the summit of the mountain, for

+it was not a pass. In a few hours we had come from

+autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and

+covered with snow. We were at an altitude of more

+than 15,000 feet and far above all timber except the

+rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low

+gray mass along the ridges. It was difficult to make

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">- 173 -</span>

+the slightest exertion in the thin air and a bitterly cold

+wind swept across the peaks so that it was impossible

+to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats.</p>

+

+<p>The servants and <i>mafus</i> suffered considerably but it

+was too late to go on and there was no alternative but

+to spend the night on the mountain. As soon as the

+tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the

+fire, but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller

+went in the opposite direction. We expected to catch

+some new mammals during the night, for there were

+great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. The

+ground was frozen so solidly that it was necessary to

+cut into the little <i>Microtus</i> tunnels with a hatchet in

+order to set the traps and we were almost frozen before

+the work was completed. The next morning we had

+caught twenty specimens of a new white-bellied meadow

+vole and a remarkable shrew with a long curved proboscis.</p>

+

+<p>Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it

+was bitterly cold even in our sleeping bags and the men

+had sat up about the fire in order to keep from freezing.

+There was little difficulty in getting the caravan started

+in the gray light of early dawn and after descending

+abruptly four thousand feet on a precipitous trail to a

+Lolo village strung out along a beautiful little valley

+we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn.</p>

+

+<p>The natives here had never before seen a white person

+and in a few moments our tents were surrounded by

+a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. The chief

+of the village presented us with an enormous rooster

+and we made him happy by returning two tins of cigarettes.

+The Lolo women, the first we had seen, were

+especially surprising because of their graceful figures

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">- 174 -</span>

+and handsome faces. Their flat turbans, short jackets,

+and long skirts with huge flounces gave them a rather

+old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony with the

+metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they

+all wore.</p>

+

+<p>The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque

+group in their gray and brown felt capes which

+they gather about the neck by a draw string and, to

+the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing.

+We collected all the men for their photographs, and

+although they had not the slightest idea what we were

+about they stood quietly after Hotenfa had assured

+them that the strange-looking instrument would not

+go off. But most interesting of all was their astonishment

+when half an hour later they saw the negative and

+were able to identify themselves upon it.</p>

+

+<p>The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race.

+They are exceedingly independent, and although along

+the frontier of their own territory in S'suchuan they

+wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly

+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless

+he is under the protection of a chief who acts as a

+sponsor and passes him along to others. Mr. Brooke,

+an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was not

+properly "chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the

+French expedition lived among them safely for some

+time and gives them unstinted praise.</p>

+

+<p>Whenever we met tribesmen in Y&uuml;n-nan who had

+not seen white persons they behaved much like all other

+natives. They were, of course, always greatly astonished

+to see our caravan descend upon them and were

+invariably fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact

+everything about us, but were generally shy and decidedly

+less offensive in their curiosity than the Chinese

+of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by

+no means unknown. As a matter of fact we have found

+that our white skins, light eyes, and hair are a never

+failing source of interest and envy to almost all Orientals.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f174a" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f174a.png" width="367" height="284" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Lolo Village</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f174b" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f174b.png" width="366" height="282" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Lolos Seeing Their Photographs for the First Time</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">- 175 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially

+among the women, and as she wore knickerbockers and

+a flannel shirt there were times when the determination

+of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion.

+Her long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and

+then the women had decided the question of gender

+satisfactorily they often made timid, and most amusing,

+advances. One woman said she greatly admired her

+fair complexion and asked how many baths she took to

+keep her skin so white. Another wondered whether it

+was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost everyone

+wished to feel her clothes and shoes. She always

+would command more attention than anyone else by her

+camera operations, and a group would stand in speechless

+amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable

+dark room when she was developing photographs

+or loading plates.</p>

+

+<p>We made arrangements to go with a number of the

+Lolos to a spot fifteen miles away on the Chung-tien

+road to hunt wapiti (probably <i>Cervus macneilli</i>) which

+the natives call <i>maloo</i>. Our American wapiti, or elk,

+is a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and

+is probably a relative of the wapiti which is found in

+Central Asia, China, Manchuria and Korea.</p>

+

+<p>At present these deer are abundant in but few places.

+Throughout the Orient, and especially in China, the

+growing horns when they are soft, or in the "velvet,"

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">- 176 -</span>

+are considered of great medicinal value and, during the

+summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly

+by the natives. In Y&uuml;n-nan, when we were there,

+a pair of horns were worth $100 (Mexican).</p>

+

+<p>Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with

+occasional flurries of haillike snow, but we did not heed

+the cold, for the trail led over two high ridges and along

+the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the white

+summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically

+above the surrounding peaks and, in the gray

+light, the colors were beautiful beyond description. To

+the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes

+interspersed with open parklike meadows&mdash;splendid

+wapiti country.</p>

+

+<p>Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the

+Chung-tien road just within the edge of a stately, moss-draped

+forest. That night we celebrated with harmless

+bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded

+as they filled with steam and echoed among the

+trees like pistol shots. Marco Polo speaks of the same

+phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region over

+six hundred and thirty years ago.</p>

+

+<p>About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps

+with a lantern and besides several mice (<i>Apodemus</i>)

+found two rare shrews and a new mole (<i>Blarina</i>). I

+went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except

+an old wapiti track and a little sign. All during

+the following day a dense fog hung close to the ground

+so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the night of

+December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began

+bright and clear but clouded about ten o'clock and became

+so bitterly cold that the Lolos would not hunt.

+They really suffered considerably and that night they

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">- 177 -</span>

+all left us to return to their homes. We were greatly

+disappointed, for we had brilliant prospects of good

+wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs and in

+an unknown country there was little possibility of successful

+still hunting.</p>

+

+<p>The <i>mafus</i> were very much worried and refused to go

+further north. They were certain that we would not be

+able to cross the high passes which lay between us and

+the Mekong valley far to the westward and complained

+unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food

+for their animals. It was necessary to visit the Mekong

+River, for even though it might not be a good big game

+region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the

+fauna and important data on the distribution of small

+mammals. Therefore we decided to leave for the long

+ride as soon as the weather permitted.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">- 178 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> road near which we were camped was one of the

+great trade routes into Tibet and over it caravans were

+continually passing laden with tea or pork. Many of

+them had traveled the entire length of Y&uuml;n-nan to

+S'su-mao on the Tonking frontier where a special kind

+of tea is grown, and were hurrying northward to cross

+the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to

+the "Forbidden Land."</p>

+

+<p>The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to

+spend the night near our camp. As the horses came up,

+one by one the loads were lifted off, the animals turned

+loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and

+<i>tsamba</i><a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> each man stretched out upon the ground

+without shelter of any kind and heedless of the freezing

+cold. It is truly the life of primitive man and has bred

+a hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander

+over the boundless steppes and demanding from the

+outside world only to be let alone.</p>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> <i>Tsamba</i> is parched oats or barley, ground finely.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<p>They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in

+their swinging walk there is a care-free independence

+and an atmosphere of the bleak Tibetan steppes which

+are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a study

+for an artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">- 179 -</span>

+like a Russian blouse thrown carelessly off one shoulder

+and tied about the waist, blue or red trousers, and high

+boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. A

+long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of

+glass or stones, is half concealed beneath his coat, and

+he is seldom without a gun or a murderous looking

+spear.</p>

+

+<p>In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket,

+he carries a remarkable assortment of things; a pipe,

+tobacco, tea, <i>tsamba</i>, cooking pots, a snuff box and,

+hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him

+from bullets or sickness.</p>

+

+<p>The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique

+and great strength, and are frequently more than six

+feet in height. They have brick-red complexions and

+some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine

+way. Their straight features suggest a strong mixture

+of other than Mongolian stock and they are the direct

+antithesis of the Chinese in every particular. Their

+strength and virility and the dashing swing of their

+walk are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving,

+effeminate Chinaman whom one sees being carried

+along the road sprawled in a mountain chair.</p>

+

+<p>Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the

+Tibetans were the most difficult. It was almost impossible

+to bribe them with money or tin cans to stand for

+a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera

+set up beside the trail they would make long detours to

+avoid passing in front of it.</p>

+

+<p>What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by

+stealth and concealed ourselves behind bushes with the

+camera focused on a certain spot upon the road. The

+instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run like a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">- 180 -</span>

+frightened deer and in some mysterious way they seemed

+to have passed the word along that our camp was a

+spot to be avoided. Sometimes a bottle was too great

+a temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly

+like a bird with wings half spread, only to dash

+away as though the devil were after him, when he saw

+my head disappear beneath the focusing hood.</p>

+

+<p>Wu and a <i>mafu</i> who could speak a little Tibetan

+finally captured one picturesque looking fellow. He

+carefully tucked the tin cans, given for advance payment,

+inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery

+allowed me to place him where I wished. But the instant

+the motion picture camera swung in his direction

+he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. Wu tried to

+hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved it

+wildly about his head and took to his heels, yelling at

+the top of his lungs. He was well-nigh frightened to

+death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in

+the road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails

+flapping like a sail in the wind.</p>

+

+<p>One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture

+camera unawares. There were several women in the

+party and, as soon as the men realized that there was

+no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping

+her between him and the camera. They were taking no

+chances with their precious selves, for the women could

+be replaced easily enough if necessary.</p>

+

+<p>The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has

+the greatest possible suspicion and dislike for strangers.

+The Chinese he loathes and despises, and foreigners he

+knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and

+punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial

+peace. He is confirmed in his attitude by the

+Church which throughout Tibet has the monopoly of

+all the gold in the country. And the Church utterly

+declines to believe that any foreigner can come so far

+for any end less foolish than the discovery of gold and

+the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f180a" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f180a.png" width="365" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Travelers in the Mekong Valley</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f180b" style="width: 364px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f180b.png" width="364" height="284" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Two Tibetans</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">- 181 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Major Davies, who saw much of the Y&uuml;n-nan Tibetans,

+has remarked that it is curious how little impression

+the civilization and customs of the Chinese have

+produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal

+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power

+of absorbing other races, but with the Tibetans exactly

+the reverse takes place. The Chinese become Tibetanized

+and the children of a Chinaman married to a Tibetan

+woman are usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.</p>

+

+<p>Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan

+from being absorbed is the cold, inhospitable nature of

+his country. There is little to tempt the Chinese to emigrate

+into Tibet and consequently they never are there

+in sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around

+them. A similar cause has preserved some of the low-lying

+Shan states from absorption, the heat in this case

+being the reason that the Chinese do not settle there.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">- 182 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the night of December 4, there was a heavy

+fall of snow and in the morning we awoke to find ourselves

+in fairyland. We were living in a great white

+palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs.

+The long, delicate strands of gray moss which draped

+themselves from tree to tree and branch to branch were

+each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a

+filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.</p>

+

+<p>It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace,

+for every vista through the forest seemed more

+lovely than the one before, but we knew that another

+fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from

+the Mekong valley. The <i>mafus</i> even refused to try the

+direct route across the mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted

+on going southward to the Shih-ku ferry and up

+the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.</p>

+

+<p>It was a long trip and we looked forward with no

+pleasure to eight days of hard riding. The difficulty

+in obtaining hunters since leaving the Snow Mountain

+had made our big game collecting negligible although we

+had traveled through some excellent country. The

+Mekong valley might not be better but it was an unknown

+quantity and, whether or not it yielded specimens,

+the results from a survey of the mammal distribution

+would be none the less important, and we felt that

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">- 183 -</span>

+it must be done; otherwise we should have turned our

+backs on the north and returned to Ta-li Fu.</p>

+

+<p>As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan

+after caravan of Tibetans with heavily loaded

+horses, all bound for that land of mystery beyond the

+snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of

+the red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for

+a color photograph, but usually they only shook their

+heads stubbornly and hurried past with averted faces.

+We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were

+walking together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow

+and by giving each of them a glass jam tumbler

+they halted a moment. As soon as the photograph had

+been taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us

+to produce one and was thoroughly disgusted when we

+showed him that it was impossible.</p>

+

+<p>Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river

+gorge at the upper end of which Chung-tien is located

+and left the forests when we emerged on the main road.

+From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a

+magnificent view down the ca&ntilde;on to the snow-capped

+mountains, which were beautiful beyond description in

+their changing colors of purple and gold.</p>

+

+<p>Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several

+hundred horses each bearing two whole pigs bent

+double and tied to the saddles. The animals had been

+denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would

+be distributed among the villages somewhere in the interior

+of Tibet.</p>

+

+<p>On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned

+peaks as sharp and regular as the teeth of a

+saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it

+spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">- 184 -</span>

+the Yangtze. Here the mighty river, flowing proudly

+southward from its home in the wind-blown steppes of

+the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago found the

+great Snow Mountain range barring its path. Thrust

+aside, it doubled back upon itself along the barrier's

+base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the wall

+of rock. Far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's

+side again, broke through, and swung south

+gathering strength and volume from hundreds of tributaries

+as it rushed onward to the sea.</p>

+

+<p>For two days we rode along the river bank and

+crossed at the Shih-ku ferry. There was none of the

+difficulty here which we had experienced at Taku, for

+the river is wide and the current slow. It required only

+two hours to transport our entire caravan while at the

+other ferry we had waited a day and a half. Strangely

+enough, although there are dozens of villages along the

+Yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no

+sign of fishing. Moreover, we passed but three boats

+and five or six rafts and it was evident that this great

+waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its

+mouth influences the trade of China so profoundly, is

+here used but little by the natives.</p>

+

+<p>On the ride down the river we had good sport with

+the huge cranes (probably <i>Grus nigricollis</i>) which, in

+small flocks, were feeding along the river fields. The

+birds stood about five feet high and we could see their

+great black and white bodies and black necks farther

+than a man was visible. It was fairly easy to stalk them

+to within a hundred yards, but even at that distance they

+offered a rather small target, for they were so largely

+wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were never within shotgun

+range and indeed it would be difficult to kill the

+birds with anything smaller than BB or buckshot unless

+they were very near.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f184a" style="width: 368px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f184a.png" width="368" height="506" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Gorge of the Yangtze River</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">- 185 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage

+rifle. He stole upon five which were feeding in a meadow

+and fired while two were "lined up." One of the huge

+birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments

+and lay still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and

+started off at full speed across the fields. Two <i>mafus</i>

+left the caravan, yelling with excitement, and ran for

+nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. Then

+they were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long

+beak which is a really formidable weapon. As food the

+cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed with chestnut

+dressing and roasted. Each one provided two meals

+for three of us with enough left over for hash and our

+appetites were by no means birdlike.</p>

+

+<p>Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are

+not often successful, for the birds are very watchful and

+will not allow a man within a hundred yards. Such a

+distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well

+be a hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we

+were able to shoot as many as were needed for food.</p>

+

+<p>The birds almost invariably followed the river when

+flying and fed in the rice, barley, and corn fields not far

+from the water. It was an inspiring sight to see a flock

+of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground

+and then launch themselves into the air, their black and

+white wings flashing in the sunlight. They formed into

+orderly ranks like a company of soldiers or strung out

+in a long thin line across the sky.</p>

+

+<p>When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable

+feeding grounds they would sometimes whirl and circle

+above the fields, ascending higher and higher in great

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">- 186 -</span>

+spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices

+coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of

+happy children.</p>

+

+<p>When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January,

+cranes were very abundant in the fields about the lake.

+They had arrived in late October and would depart in

+early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often saw

+the birds on sand banks along the Yangtze, but they

+were usually resting or quietly walking about and were

+not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley, corn,

+or other grain.</p>

+

+<p>This species was discovered by the great traveler and

+naturalist, Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found

+it in the Koko-nor region of Tibet, and it was later recorded

+by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Ts'ang in the

+Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Y&uuml;n-nan

+have not been preserved in museums and the bird

+was not known to occur in this portion of China.</p>

+

+<p>Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a

+good many mallard ducks (<i>Anas boscas</i>) and ruddy

+sheldrakes (<i>Casarca casarca</i>); the latter are universally

+known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in Burma

+and Y&uuml;n-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name

+is derived from the bird's beautiful buff and rufous color

+which is somewhat like that of the robes worn by the

+Brahmin priests. In America the name "sheldrake" is

+applied erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and

+much confusion has thus arisen, for the two are quite

+unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct groups. The

+mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks

+quite unlike those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are

+entirely dissimilar.</p>

+

+<p>The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">- 187 -</span>

+bad eating. We usually found them feeding in fields

+not far from the river or in flooded rice dykes, and very

+often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water.

+They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is

+peculiarly fascinating to me and, like the honk of the

+Canada goose, awakens memories of sodden, wind-blown

+marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot

+through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.</p>

+

+<p>Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes,

+and we had good shooting along the river and

+in ponds and rice fields. We also saw a few teal but

+they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were

+scarce. We shot a few along the road and near some of

+our camps, but we found no place in Y&uuml;n-nan where one

+could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of

+a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea

+where in a walk over the hillsides a dozen or more

+pheasants can be flushed within an hour.</p>

+

+<p>After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze

+we turned westward toward Wei-hsi and camped on a

+beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered stream. It

+was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke

+about the fire we all turned in.</p>

+

+<p>Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam

+of angry exclamations and Chinese curses roused

+the whole camp. In a few moments Wu came to our

+tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered,

+"Damn fool soldiers come try to take our horses; say if

+<i>mafu</i> no give them horses they untie loads. Shall I tell

+<i>mafu</i> break their heads?" We did not entirely understand

+the situation but it seemed quite proper to give

+the <i>mafus</i> permission to do the head-breaking, and they

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">- 188 -</span>

+went at it with a will. After a volley of blows, there

+was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the

+soldiers retired considerably the worse for wear.</p>

+

+<p>When the battle was over, Wu explained matters

+more fully. It appeared that a large detachment of

+soldiers had recently passed up this road to A-tun-tzu

+and four or five had remained behind to attend to the

+transport of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity

+for "graft" the soldiers were stopping every caravan

+which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless

+the <i>mafus</i> gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity.

+Our <i>mafus</i>, with the protection which foreigners gave

+them, had paid off a few old scores with interest. That

+they had neglected no part of the reckoning was quite

+evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to

+apologize for their "mistake." One of them had a black

+and swollen eye and the other was nursing a deep cut

+on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did

+not venture into camp until they had been assured

+that we would not again loose our terrible <i>mafus</i> upon

+them.</p>

+

+<p>Such extortions are every day occurrences in many

+parts of China and it is little wonder that the military

+is cordially hated and feared by the peasants. The soldiers,

+taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the

+villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress.

+If a complaint is made a dozen soldiers stand

+ready to swear that the offense was justified or was

+never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he

+escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment.

+It is a disgrace to China that such conditions are

+allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped that ere many

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">- 189 -</span>

+years have passed the country will awake to a proper

+recognition of the rights of the individual. Until she

+does there never can be a national spirit of patriotism

+in China and without patriotism the Republic can be

+one in name only.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">- 190 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">On</span> December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a

+twelve thousand foot pass in a beautiful snow-covered

+meadow, from which we could see the glistening peaks

+of the vast mountain range which forms the Mekong-Salween

+divide. In the afternoon we readied Wei-hsi

+and camped in a grove of splendid pine trees on a hill

+overlooking the city. The place was rather disappointing

+after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and it was

+difficult to buy rice even though the entire valley was

+devoted to paddy fields, but we did get quantities of

+delicious persimmons.</p>

+

+<p>Wu told us that seven different languages were

+spoken in the city, and we could well believe it, for we

+recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and Tibetans. This

+region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso

+tribe which appears not to extend across the Mekong

+River.</p>

+

+<p>The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and

+proved to be one of the most courteous officials whom

+we met in Y&uuml;n-nan. We were sorry to learn that he

+was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our

+visit. Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on

+salt and fifteen hundred rebelled, attacked the city, and

+captured it after a sharp fight. It was reported that

+they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and

+children, and boiled him alive in oil.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f190a" style="width: 515px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f190a.png" width="515" height="366" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Quiet Curve of the Mekong River</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">- 191 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every

+way we could obtain no information concerning either

+hunting grounds or routes of travel. The flying squirrels

+which we had hoped to find near the city were reported

+to come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong

+in Burma, and Wei-hsi was merely a center of distribution

+for the skins. Moreover, the natives said it

+would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of

+the year, for the mountain passes were so heavily covered

+with snow that neither men nor caravans could cross

+them.</p>

+

+<p>It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong

+River in order to determine whether there would be a

+change in fauna, and on Major Davies' map a small road

+was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of a day and

+a half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen

+and snow-covered, brought us in sight of the green waters

+of the Mekong which has carved a gorge for itself

+in an almost straight line from the bleak Tibetan

+plateaus through Y&uuml;n-nan and Indo-China to the sea.</p>

+

+<p>Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a

+deep valley, near a small village. Wu said that the natives

+were Lutzus and I was inclined to believe he was

+right, although Major Davies indicates this region to be

+inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in

+physical appearance and dress were quite distinct from

+the Lisos whom we met later.</p>

+

+<p>They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the

+chief, accompanied by four venerable men, brought a

+present of rice. I gave him two tins of cigarettes and

+the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles.</p>

+

+<p>The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and

+quite unlike those of the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">- 192 -</span>

+women wore a long coat or jacket of blue cloth, trousers,

+and a very full pleated skirt. The men were dressed in

+plum colored coats and trousers.</p>

+

+<p>The natives said that monkeys (probably <i>Pygathrix</i>)

+were often seen when the corn was ripe and that even yet

+they might be found in the forest across the river. Heller

+spent a day hunting them, but found none and we obtained

+only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny

+mouse (<i>Micromys</i>) but the remainder of the fauna was

+essentially the same as that of the Yangtze valley and the

+intervening country.</p>

+

+<p>For three days we traveled down the Mekong River.

+Although the natives said that the trail was good, we discovered

+when it was too late that it was too narrow and

+difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as

+ours. It was necessary to continually remove the loads

+in order to lift them around sharp corners or over rocks,

+and the <i>mafus</i> sometimes had to cut away great sections

+of the bank. Usually only six or seven miles could be

+traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work,

+and we were glad when we could leave the river.</p>

+

+<p>The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred

+yards wide in this region and, like the Yangtze, the

+water is very green from the Tibetan snows. The prevailing

+rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone,

+as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the

+valley are so precipitous that it seems impossible for a

+human being to walk over them, and yet they are patched

+with brown corn fields from the summit to the water.

+Considering the small area available for cultivation there

+are a considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered

+into villages and seldom live in isolated houses

+as in the Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream comes

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">- 193 -</span>

+down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating

+ditches, the ground is beautifully terraced for

+rice paddys, but in other places, corn and peas appear to

+be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such as turnips,

+squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is

+rather remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the

+country between the Mekong and the Yangtze rivers.

+In several places the water was spanned by rope bridges.

+The cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end

+must necessarily be higher than the other, there are always

+two ropes, one to cross each way. The traveler is

+tied by leather thongs in a sitting position to a wooden

+"runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and shoots

+across the river at tremendous speed.</p>

+

+<p>The valley is hopeless from a zo&ouml;logical standpoint.

+It is too dry for small mammals and the mountain slopes

+are so precipitous, thinly forested, and generally undesirable,

+that, except for gorals, no other large game

+would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting.

+There are no cranes or sheldrakes and, except for

+a few flocks of mallards which feed in the rice fields, we

+saw no other ducks or geese.</p>

+

+<p>On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong

+valley and began to march southeast by east across an

+unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We camped at

+night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees

+just above a deep moist ravine. In the morning our

+traps contained several rare shrews, five silver moles, a

+number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous

+spiny rat. It was too good a place to leave and I sent

+Hotenfa to inquire from a family of natives if there was

+big game of any sort in the vicinity. He reported that

+there were goral not far away, and at half past eight

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">- 194 -</span>

+we rode down the trail for three miles when I left my

+horse at a peasant's house. They told us that the goral

+were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which rose

+two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour

+and a half we climbed steadily upward.</p>

+

+<p>We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep

+ca&ntilde;on when Hotenfa excitedly whispered, "<i>gnai-yang</i>"

+and held up three fingers. He tried to show the animals

+to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought was a

+goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of

+rock flew into the air while the three gorals disappeared

+among the trees two hundred feet above the spot where

+I had supposed them to be.</p>

+

+<p>I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started

+on a run for the other side of the gorge. When we arrived,

+Hotenfa motioned me to swing about to the right

+while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. No

+sooner had he reached the edge of the precipice than I

+saw him lean far out, fire with my three-barrel gun, and

+frantically wave for me to come. I ran to him and,

+throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked

+down. There directly under us stood a huge goral, but

+just as I was about to shoot, the earth gave way beneath

+my feet and I would have fallen squarely on the animal

+had Hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me

+back to safety.</p>

+

+<p>The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt

+and stones came from before I fired hurriedly, breaking

+his fore leg at the knee. Without the slightest sign of

+injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock.

+I dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running

+at full speed across a narrow open ledge toward a

+thick mass of cover on the opposite side of the ca&ntilde;on. I

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">- 195 -</span>

+fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the

+crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the

+mountain, stone dead.</p>

+

+<p>It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly

+to the bottom of the valley and, slipping and rolling in a

+cloud of red dust, dropped over a precipice. The ram

+brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred

+feet below us, and it required half an hour's hard work

+to reach the spot.</p>

+

+<p>When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which

+had been broken in the fall slipped through my fingers,

+and away went the goral on another rough and tumble

+descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven

+hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We

+returned to camp at noon bringing joy with us, for, as

+my wife had remarked the day before, "We will soon

+have to eat chickens or cans."</p>

+

+<p>Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following

+day and we left on December 23, camping at night on a

+flat terrace beside a stream at the end of a moist ravine.

+We intended to spend Christmas here for it was a beautiful

+spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration

+was to be on Christmas Eve. The following day

+dawned bright and clear. There had not been a drop of

+rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm

+enough for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at

+night the temperature dropped to about 16&deg;+ or 20&deg;+

+Fahr. The camp proved to be a good one, giving us two

+new mammals and, just after tiffin, Hotenfa came running

+in to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys

+(probably <i>Pygathrix</i>) in a cornfield a mile away.</p>

+

+<p>The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but

+while we were gone Yvette had been busy and, just

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">- 196 -</span>

+before dinner, she ushered us into our tent with great ceremony.

+It had been most wonderfully transformed. At

+the far end stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny

+candles and surrounded by masses of white cotton,

+through which shone red holly berries. Holly branches

+from the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and

+hung in green waves from the ridge pole. At the base of

+the tree gifts which she had purchased in Hongkong in

+the preceding August were laid out.</p>

+

+<p>Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from

+the Chinese wine and orange juice, and we drank to each

+other and to those at home while sitting on the ground

+and opening our packages. We had purchased two Tibetan

+rugs in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents

+for Yvette. These rugs usually are blue or red,

+with intricate designs in the center, and are well woven

+and attractive.</p>

+

+<p>To the servants and <i>mafus</i> we gave money and cigarettes.

+When the muleteers were brought to the tent to

+receive their gifts they evidently thought our blazing

+tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and began

+to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done

+before their heathen gods.</p>

+

+<p>Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days

+previously I had shot a pair of mallard ducks and they

+formed the <i>pi&egrave;ce de r&eacute;sistance</i>. The dinner consisted of

+soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked

+squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and

+crackers, coffee and cigarettes.</p>

+

+<p>Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon

+passed through a very dirty Chinese town in a deep valley

+near some extensive salt wells. Red clay dust lay

+thick over everything and the filth of the streets and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">- 197 -</span>

+houses was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a

+mile beyond the village, but were greatly annoyed by the

+Chinese who insisted on swarming into camp. Finally,

+unable longer to endure their insolent stares, I drove

+them with stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in

+row upon row exactly as in the "bleachers" at an

+American baseball game.</p>

+

+<p>When we left the following day we passed dozens of

+caravans and groups of men and women carrying great

+disks of salt. Each piece was stamped in red with the

+official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only

+licensed merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover,

+the importation of salt from foreign countries is forbidden.

+For the purposes of administration, China is

+divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which

+has its own sources of production and the salt obtained

+in one district may not be sold in another.</p>

+

+<p>In Y&uuml;n-nan the salt of the province is supplied from

+three regions. The water from the wells is boiled in

+great cauldrons for several days, and the resulting deposit

+is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed, mixed

+with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains.

+After passing a village of considerable size called Peiping,

+we began the ascent of an exceedingly steep mountain

+range twelve thousand feet high. All the afternoon

+we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening

+at a pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the

+way to the summit. During the night it snowed heavily

+and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed world.</p>

+

+<p>Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest

+white and between the branches we could look westward

+across the valley toward the Mekong and the purple

+mountain wall of the Burma border. There were

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">- 198 -</span>

+still one thousand feet of climbing between us and the

+summit of the pass. The trail was almost blocked, but

+by slow work we forced our way through the drifts.

+Some of the mules were already weak from exposure and

+underfeeding, and two of them had to be relieved of their

+loads; they died the next day. Our <i>mafus</i> did not appear

+to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from

+the knees down and their feet had no covering except

+straw sandals. Indeed when we discovered, on the summit

+of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was burning,

+they waited only a few moments to warm themselves.</p>

+

+<p>We met two other caravans fighting their way up the

+mountain from the other side, and by following the trail

+which they had broken through the drifts we made fairly

+good time on the descent. There had been no snow on

+the broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon

+and we found that its ponds and fields were alive

+with ducks, geese, and cranes. The birds were wild but

+we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning

+and killed enough to last us several days.</p>

+

+<p>On December 31, our weary days of crossing range

+after range of tremendous mountains were ended, and

+we stood on the last pass looking down upon the great

+Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the old

+city, which lies on the main A-tun-tzu-Ta-li Fu road,

+are two large marshy ponds and, away to the south, is an

+extensive lake. We camped just without the courtyard

+of a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette and I went

+over to the water which was swarming with ducks and

+geese.</p>

+

+<p>Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious

+afternoon sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as

+we neared the pond and circled high above our heads, but

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">- 199 -</span>

+now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail" would

+swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out

+the birds would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs

+or climb higher with frightened quacks if the shot went

+wild. An hour before dark the brahminy ducks began to

+come in. We could hear their melodious plaintive calls

+long before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves

+out in the grass and mud. Soon a thin, black line

+would streak the sky, and as they drew nearer, Yvette

+would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of

+wood and bone that the flock would swing and dive toward

+us in a rush of flashing wings. When we could see

+the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit up

+and bang away.</p>

+

+<p>Now and then a big white goose would drop into the

+pond or an ibis flap lazily overhead, seeming to realize

+that it had nothing to fear from the prostrate bodies

+which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of the marsh

+was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled

+in the wild, sweet clamor so dear to the heart of

+every sportsman. As the day began to die, hung about

+with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the

+rice fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It was

+our last camp for the year and, as if to bid us farewell as

+we journeyed toward the tropics, the peaks of the great

+Snow Mountain far to the north, had draped themselves

+in a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky

+of lavender and gold like white cathedral spires.</p>

+

+<p>On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a

+beautiful little plain beside a spring overhung with giant

+trees at the head of Erh Hai, or Ta-li Fu Lake, which is

+thirty miles long. The fields and marshes were alive

+with ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">- 200 -</span>

+glorious day of sport over decoys and on the water before

+we went on to Ta-li Fu.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip

+to the south of the province and we took possession of a

+pretty temple just within the north gate of the city.

+Here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned

+that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered

+from Hongkong had just arrived.</p>

+

+<p>Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager

+of the Standard Oil Company of Y&uuml;n-nan Fu, their

+passage through Tonking had been facilitated, and he

+had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu. Mr.

+Page rendered great assistance to the Expedition in

+numberless ways, and to him we owe our personal thanks

+as well as those of the American Museum of Natural

+History.</p>

+

+<p>All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li

+Fu but, with the aid of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much

+better personnel for the trip to the Burma frontier. The

+cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was an especially

+fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and

+competent as the other had been lazy and helpless.</p>

+

+<p>Our work in the north had brought us a collection of

+thirteen hundred mammals, as well as several hundred

+birds, much material for habitat groups, and a splendid

+series of photographic records in Paget color plates,

+black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But

+what was of first importance, we had covered an enormous

+extent of diverse country and learned much about

+the distribution of the fauna of northern Y&uuml;n-nan. The

+thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken

+in a more or less continuous line across six tremendous

+mountain ranges, and furnish an illuminating cross section

+of the entire region from Ta-li Fu, north to Chung-tien,

+and west to the Mekong River.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f200a" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f200a.png" width="366" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Temple in which We Camped at Ta-li Fu</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f200b" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f200b.png" width="365" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Crested Muntjac</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">- 201 -</span></p>

+

+<p>It is apparent that in this part of the province, which

+is all within one "life zone" even the smallest mammals

+are widely spread and that the principal factor in determining

+distribution is the flora. Neither the highest

+mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the

+Yangtze and the Mekong appear to act as effective

+barriers to migration, and as long as the vegetation

+remains constant, the fauna changes but little.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">- 202 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">During</span> our work in Fukien Province and in various

+parts of Y&uuml;n-nan we came into intimate personal contact

+with a great many missionaries; indeed every traveler in

+the interior of China will meet them unless he purposely

+avoids doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the

+missionary in his native habitat because, for the most

+part, he lives and works where the tourist does not go.</p>

+

+<p>Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise

+traveler from carrying back with him from the East a

+very definite impression of the missionary, which he has

+gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs where he hears

+him "damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously

+he adopts the popular attitude just as he enlarges his

+vocabulary to include "pidgin English" and such unfamiliar

+phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw."</p>

+

+<p>This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but

+simply a matter of fair play. We feel that in justice

+we ought to present our observations upon this subject,

+which is one of very general interest, as impartially as

+upon any phase of our scientific work. But it should be

+distinctly understood that we are writing <i>only</i> of those

+persons whom we met and lived with, and whose work

+we had an opportunity to know and to see; <i>we are not

+attempting generalizations on the accomplishments of

+missionaries in any other part of China</i>.</p>

+

+<p>There are three charges which we have heard most

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">- 203 -</span>

+frequently brought against the missionary: that he

+comes to the East because he can live better and more

+luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages

+in lucrative trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes

+little good, either religious or otherwise. It is

+said that his converts are only "rice Christians," and

+treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this

+manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more

+dishonest and unreliable than any others."</p>

+

+<p>It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town

+will be that of the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the

+mission buildings are imposing structures, and are placed

+upon a hill above and away from the rest of the city.

+Any white person who has traveled in the interior of

+China will remember the airless, lightless, native houses,

+opening, as they all do, on filthy streets and reeking

+sewers and he will understand that in order to exist at all

+a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean,

+well-ventilated house.</p>

+

+<p>Every missionary in China employs servants&mdash;many

+more servants than he could afford at home. So does

+every other foreigner, whatever his vocation. There is

+no such thing in China as the democracy of the West,

+and the missionary's status in the community demands

+that certain work in his house be done by servants; otherwise

+he and his family would be placed on a level with

+the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be

+discounted. But the chief reason is that the missionary's

+wife almost always has definite duties to which

+she could not attend if she were not relieved from some

+of the household cares. She leads in work among the

+women of the community by organizing clubs and "Mutual

+Improvement Societies" and in teaching in the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">- 204 -</span>

+schools or hospitals where young men and women are

+learning English as an asset to medical work among

+their own people. Servants are unbelievably cheap.

+While we were in Foochow a cook received $8.50

+(gold) per month, a laundryman $1.75 (gold) per

+month, and other wages were in proportion.</p>

+

+<p>In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two

+months' vacation. Anyone who has lived through a

+Fukien summer in the interior of the province will know

+why the missionaries are given this vacation. If they

+were not able to leave the deadly heat and filth and disease

+of the native cities for a few weeks every year,

+there would be no missionaries to carry on the work.

+The business man can surround himself with innumerable

+comforts both in his home and in his office which

+the missionary cannot afford and, during the summer,

+life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant.</p>

+

+<p>Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the

+Min River and it is by no means the most remote station

+in the province. Very few travelers reach these places

+during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated.

+Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at

+one time she saw only one foreigner in eight months.

+Miss Cordelia Morgan is the sole foreign resident of

+Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six days from

+Y&uuml;n-nan Fu. In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna,

+his wife and two other women, are fourteen days' ride

+from the nearest foreign settlement. In Li-chiang, Reverend

+and Mrs. A. Kok and their three small children

+live with two women missionaries. They are twenty-one

+days' travel from a doctor, and for four years previous

+to our visit they had not seen a white woman.</p>

+

+<p>These are some instances of missionaries whom we met

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">- 205 -</span>

+in China who have voluntarily exiled themselves to remote

+places where they expect to spend their entire lives

+surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population.

+Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this

+life because it is easier or more luxurious than that at

+home?</p>

+

+<p>Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business

+positions to take up medical or evangelistic work in

+China where their compensation is pitifully small&mdash;not

+one-third of the salary they were commanding at home.

+We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging

+in trade with the natives even though in some places

+there were excellent business opportunities.</p>

+

+<p>Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences

+which missionaries bring with them. We saw

+them in various parts of China doing a magnificent wort

+Dr. Bradley has established a great leper hospital at

+Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the

+latest and most scientific treatment and beginning to

+look at life with a new hope. In Yen-ping, at the time

+of the rebellion, we saw Dr. Trimble working hour after

+hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of

+rest. In Y&uuml;n-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was

+filled with patients suffering from almost every known

+disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw Mr. Hanna and his wife

+dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients

+waiting by the dozen, the fees received being not

+enough to pay for the cost of the medicines. Why is

+it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of China

+is supposed to be able to cure diseases? Certainly an

+important reason is because of the work done by the

+medical missionaries who have penetrated to the farthest

+corners of the most remote provinces.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">- 206 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in

+many instances the real pioneers of western civilization.

+They bring to the people new standards of living, both

+morally and physically. They open schools and emancipate

+the Chinese children in mind and body. They fight

+the barbarous customs of foot binding and the killing

+and selling of girl babies. Until recent years it was

+not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with

+from two to six tiny infants peddling his "goods" from

+village to village. Not many years ago such a man

+appeared before the mission compound at Ngu-cheng

+(Fukien) with four babies in his basket. Three of

+these had expired from exposure and the kerosene oil

+which had been poured down their throats to stupefy

+them and drown their cries. The fourth was purchased

+by the wife of the native preacher for ten cents in order

+to save its life. This child was reared and has since

+graduated from the mission schools with credit. In

+Foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription

+stands beside a stagnant pool: "Hereafter the

+throwing of babies into this pool will be punished by

+law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.</p>

+

+<p>Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna

+once remarked, "Y&uuml;n-nan Province has broken the heart

+of more than one missionary." The Chinese do not understand

+their point of view, and it is difficult to make

+them see it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure

+altruism does not enter into his scheme of life. As a rule

+he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his cash bag.

+It is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the

+missionary has not come with an ulterior motive&mdash;if not

+to engage in trade, perhaps as a spy for his government.

+Others believe that it is because China is so vastly

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">- 207 -</span>

+superior to the rest of the world that the missionaries wish

+to live there. Eventually the suspicions of the natives

+become quieted and they accept the missionary at some

+part of his true worth.</p>

+

+<p>At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw

+Harry Caldwell, Mr. Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save

+the lives of hundreds of people and the city from partial

+destruction because the Chinese officers of the opposing

+forces would trust the missionaries when they would

+not trust each other.</p>

+

+<p>An excellent piece of practical missionary work was

+done in Fukien Province, not long after our visit there.

+As we have related in Chapter III, several large bands

+of brigands were established in the hills about Yuchi.

+Brigandage began there in the following way. During

+a famine when the people were on the verge of starvation,

+a wealthy farmer, Su Ek by name, decided to do

+his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale a

+quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He approached

+another man of similar wealth who agreed

+with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price. Su Ek

+accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people

+and, when he had remaining only enough to sustain his

+own family until the following harvest, he sent the

+peasants to the second man who had also agreed to

+dispose of his grain.</p>

+

+<p>This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price,

+and the people, angered at his treachery, looted his

+sheds. He immediately went to Foochow and reported

+to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad

+in Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and

+that they had robbed and plundered his property.</p>

+

+<p>Without warning a company of soldiers swooped

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">- 208 -</span>

+down upon the community and arrested a number of

+men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek made

+his escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand

+chief, and was later joined by other farmers who had

+been similarly persecuted. Unable to return to their

+homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order

+to live.</p>

+

+<p>Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow

+upon the promise that their lives would be spared if

+they would induce their band to surrender. They met

+the conditions but the government officials broke faith

+and the men were executed. Similar attempts were

+made to enter into negotiations with the brigands and

+in 1915 two hundred were trapped and beheaded after

+pardons had been promised them. Naturally the robbers

+refused to trust the government officials again.</p>

+

+<p>The months which elapsed between this act of treachery

+and the spring of 1916, were filled with innumerable

+outrages. Many townships were completely devastated,

+either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers.

+Little will ever be known of what actually took place

+under the guise of settling brigandage, behind the

+mountains which separate Yuchi from the outer world.

+It is well that it should not be known.</p>

+

+<p>During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi.

+Business called him outside the city wall and just beyond

+the west gate he saw the bodies of ten persons who

+had that day been executed. Among these were two

+children, brothers, the sons of a man who was reported

+to have "sold rice to the brigands." The smaller child

+had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel beside

+his older brother further up in the row. He was too

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">- 209 -</span>

+small to realize what it all meant but he wanted to die

+beside his brother.</p>

+

+<p>In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was

+partly severed from his body and who had been shot

+through and through by the soldiers. He was lying

+upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of

+tea or for someone to put him out of his misery. The

+missionary learned the man's story. It appeared that

+years ago a law suit in which his father had been concerned

+had been decided in his favor. In order to

+square the score between the clans, the son of the man

+who had lost the suit had reported that he had seen this

+man carrying rice to the brigands. He had been arrested

+by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in

+the glaring sun from nine o'clock in the morning until

+dark suffering the agonies of crucifixion. Not one

+of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the

+parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having

+administered to a brigand.</p>

+

+<p>The missionary returned to the city that night vowing

+that he would make a recurrence of such a thing

+impossible or he would leave China. He took up the

+matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way

+and later with the military governor in Foochow. He

+was well known to the brigands by reputation and visited

+several of the chiefs in their strongholds. They

+declared that they had confidence in him but none in the

+government or its representatives. It was only after

+assuming full responsibility for any treachery that the

+brigands agreed to discuss terms.</p>

+

+<p>Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township,

+the missionary was escorted out to civilization by

+twenty-five picked men to whom the chief had entrusted

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">- 210 -</span>

+an important charge. As the group neared the township

+the missionary sent word ahead to the commander

+of the northern soldiers to prepare to receive the

+brigands.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="seal" style="width: 262px;">

+  <img src="images/seal.png" width="262" height="373" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Seal of a Pardoned Brigand.</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<p>As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit

+of a hill overlooking the city, soldiers could be seen

+forming into squads outside the barracks. Instantly

+the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their

+rifles, and threw in shells. The missionary realized that

+they suspected treachery and turning about he said, "I

+am the guarantee for your lives. If a short is fired kill

+me first."</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f210a" style="width: 370px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f210a.png" width="370" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The South Gate at Yung-chang</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f210b" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f210b.png" width="367" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Chinese Bride Returning to Her Mother's

+Home at New Year's</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">- 211 -</span></p>

+

+<p>With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied

+by the brigands he marched into the city, where they

+were received by the officials with all the punctilious

+ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It had

+been a dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a

+rifle had been fired by mistake, and Chinese are always

+shooting when they themselves least expect to, he would

+have been instantly killed.</p>

+

+<p>This conference, and others which followed, resulted

+in several hundred pardons being distributed to

+the brigands by the missionary himself. The men

+then returned to their abandoned homes and again took

+up their lives as respectable farmers. Thus the reign

+of terror in this portion of the province was ended

+through the efforts of one courageous man. It is such

+applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary

+and admire his work.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">- 212 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> last half of the expedition began January 18

+when we left Ta-li Fu with a caravan of thirty miles for

+Yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south. The <i>mafus</i>

+although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight"

+did not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence

+it was necessary to camp at Hsia-kuan at the

+foot of the lake.</p>

+

+<p>We improved our time there in hunting about for

+skins and finally purchased two fine leopards and a tiger.

+The latter had been brought from the Tonking frontier.

+There were a number of Tibetans wandering about the

+market place and in the morning a caravan of at least

+two hundred horses followed by twenty or thirty Tibetans,

+passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn.

+They were bringing tea from P'u-erh and S'su-mao in

+the south of the province and although they had already

+been nearly a month upon their journey there was still

+many long weeks of travel before them ere they reached

+the wind-blown steppes of their native land.</p>

+

+<p>The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful.

+We crossed a succession of dry, thinly forested

+mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high which near their

+summits were often clothed with a thick growth of rhododendron

+trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">- 213 -</span>

+fire balls among the green leaves, peach trees were in

+full blossom and in some spots the dry hills seemed

+about to break forth in the full glory of their spring

+verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called

+Shia-chai on a picturesque chain suspension bridge of a

+type which is not unusual in the southern and western

+part of the province. Several heavy iron chains are

+firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of

+the river and the roadway formed by planks laid upon

+them. Although the bridge shakes and swings in a

+rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it

+is perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.</p>

+

+<p>In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the

+mountain to the great Yung-chang plain, and for two

+hours trotted over a hard dirt road. The plain is

+eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its

+scattered villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy

+fields. The city itself includes about five thousand

+houses. It is exceedingly picturesque and is remarkable

+for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast

+strongly with those of the usual Chinese town. At

+the west, but still within the city walls, is a picturesque

+wooded hill occupied almost exclusively by temples.</p>

+

+<p>We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard

+of a large and exceptionally clean temple just outside

+the south gate of the city. It was the Chinese New

+Year and Wu told us that for several days at least it

+would be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect

+the natives to do any work whatever. It was a very

+pleasant place in which to stay although we chafed at the

+enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in

+photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting

+birds and making various excursions.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">- 214 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner

+and at Yung-chang we saw many of the customs attending

+its celebration. It is a time of feasting and merry

+making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will

+work on that day. Chinese families almost always live

+under one roof but should any male member be absent at

+this season the circumstances must be exceptional to prevent

+him from returning to his home.</p>

+

+<p>It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's

+house at New Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and

+for several days after leaving the city, we were continually

+passing young women mounted on mules or horses

+and accompanied by servants returning to their homes.

+New clothes are a leading feature of this season and the

+dresses of the brides and young matrons were usually

+of the most unexpected hues for, according to our conception

+of color, the Chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous

+for their good taste. Purple and blue, orange

+and red, pink and lavender clash distressingly, but are

+worn with inordinate pride.</p>

+

+<p>These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the

+bride's family. Dr. Smith says in "Chinese Characteristics":</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly

+business basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of

+sewing for her husband's family, which the wife's family must

+help her get through with. She is accompanied on each of

+these visits by as many of her children as possible, both to

+have her take care of them and to have them out of the way

+when she is not at hand to look after them, and most especially

+to have them fed at the expense of the family of the

+maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. In

+regions where visits of this sort are frequent, and where there

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">- 215 -</span>

+are many daughters in a family, their constant raids on the

+old home are a source of perpetual terror to the whole family,

+and a serious tax on the common resources.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>

+</div>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> "Chinese Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p. 200.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<p>Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous

+part in the New Year's celebration. At this time the

+"Kitchen God," according to current superstition, returns

+to heaven to render an account of the household's

+behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the

+lips of the departing deity with candy in order to

+"sweeten" his report of any evil which he may have witnessed

+during the year.</p>

+

+<p>Usually all the members of the family gather before

+the ancestral tablets, or should these be lacking as

+among many of the laboring classes, a scroll with a part

+of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed

+are appeased and honored by the burning of incense

+and the mumbling of incantations. While strict

+attention is paid to the religious observance to the dead,

+at New Year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered

+to the living.</p>

+

+<p>After the family have paid their respects to one another

+the younger male members go from house to

+house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to receive

+them. The following days are devoted to visits

+to relatives living in the neighboring towns and villages,

+and this continues, an endless routine, until fourteen

+days later the Feast of the Lanterns puts an end

+to the "epoch of national leisure."</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New

+Year's they turn feverishly to this form of amusement

+which is almost their only one. But they also have to

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">- 216 -</span>

+think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely

+necessary for all classes and conditions of men to

+meet their obligations at the end of the year.</p>

+

+<p>Almost everyone owes money in China. According

+to the clan system an individual having surplus cash

+is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate of interest)

+to any members of his family in need of help. However,

+a Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely

+obliged to and almost never settles a debt until he has

+been dunned repeatedly.</p>

+

+<p>The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.</p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in

+the task of trying to chase down the men who owe money to him,

+and compel them to pay up, and at the same time in trying to

+avoid the persons who are struggling to track him down and

+corkscrew from him the amount of his indebtedness to them!

+The dodges and subterfuges to which each is obliged to resort,

+increase in complexity and number with the advance of the season,

+until at the close of the month, the national activity is

+at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured then, it will go

+over till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status

+of a claim which has actually contrived to cheat the annual

+Day of Judgment. In spite of the excellent Chinese habit of

+making the close of a year a grand clearing-house for all debts,

+Chinese human nature is too much for Chinese custom, and

+there are many of these postponed debts which are a grief

+of mind to many a Chinese creditor.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most

+sentimental of the human race. New Year mist not be violated

+by duns for debts, and the debts must be collected New

+Year though it be. For this reason one sometimes sees an urgent

+creditor going about early on the first day of the year

+carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [= debtor]. His

+artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">- 217 -</span>

+risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed. . . .</p>

+

+<p>We have but to imagine the application of the principles

+which we have named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we

+get new light upon the nature of the Chinese New Year festivities.

+They are a time of rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing

+so keen as that of a ruined debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd

+devices in avoiding the most relentless of his creditors and

+has thus postponed his ruin for at least another twelve months.</p>

+

+<p>For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year,

+the debtor finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters,

+where he cannot be molested. Even should his creditors

+meet him on New Year's day, there could be no possibility

+of mentioning the fact of the previous day's disgraceful flight

+and concealment, or indeed of alluding to business at all, for

+this would not be "good form" and to the Chinese "Good Form"

+(otherwise known as custom), is the chief national divinity.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>

+</div>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> "Village Life in China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907,

+pp. 208-209.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+<p>Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited

+by Chinese and in no part of the province did we see

+foot-binding more in evidence. Practically every

+woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station

+in life was crippled in this brutal way. The women

+wear long full coats with flaring skirts which hang

+straight from their shoulders to their knees. When the

+trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles,

+they look in a side view exactly like huge umbrellas.</p>

+

+<p>One day we visited a cave thirty <i>li</i> north of the city

+where we hoped to find new bats. A beautiful little

+temple has been built over the entrance to the cavern

+which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into

+the rock. But twenty <i>li</i> south of Yung-chang, just beyond

+the village of A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">- 218 -</span>

+which is reported to extend entirely through the hill.

+Whether or not this is true we can not say for although

+we explored it in part we did not reach the end. The

+central corridor is about thirty feet wide and at least

+sixty or seventy high. We followed the main gallery

+for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which

+led off at a sharp angle. We were not equipped with

+sufficient candles to pursue the exploration more extensively

+and did not have time to visit it again. The

+cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable

+size, but the limestone was a dull lead color. We

+found only one bat and these animals appear not to

+have used it extensively since there was little sign upon

+the floor.</p>

+

+<p>At Yung-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first

+time in Y&uuml;n-nan but found them to be in universal use

+farther to the south and west. The huge brutes are as

+docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child

+but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better

+part of valor where they are concerned.</p>

+

+<p>Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the

+rice fields but Chinese cows are used as burden bearers

+in this part of the province. Such caravans travel

+much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals

+are not loaded as heavily. Two or three of the

+leading cows usually carry upon their backs large bells

+hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no

+means unmelodious when heard at a distance. Marco

+Polo, the great Venetian traveler, refers to Yung-chang

+as "Vochang." His account of a battle which

+was fought in its vicinity in the year 1272 between the

+King of Burma and Bengal and one of Kublai Khan's

+generals is so interesting that I am quoting it below:</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">- 219 -</span></p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal],

+in India, who was powerful in the number of his subjects, in

+extent of territory, and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars

+had arrived at Vochang [Yung-chang] he took the resolution

+of advancing immediately to attack it, in order that by

+its destruction the grand khan should be deterred from again

+attempting to station a force upon the borders of his dominions.

+For this purpose he assembled a very large army, including

+a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his

+country abounds), upon whose backs were placed battlements

+or castles, of wood, capable of containing to the number of

+twelve or sixteen in each. With these, and a numerous army

+of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang, where the grand

+khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance from it,

+intended to give his troops a few days of rest.</p>

+

+<p>As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great

+a force, was known to Nestardin, who commanded the troops of

+the grand khan, although a brave and able officer, he felt much

+alarmed, not having under his orders more than twelve thousand

+men (veterans, indeed, and valiant soldiers); whereas the

+enemy had sixty thousand, besides the elephants armed as has

+been described. He did not, however, betray any sign of apprehension,

+but descending into the plain of Vochang, took a

+position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large

+trees, whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants,

+which his troops might not be able to sustain, they could retire,

+and from thence, in security, annoy them with their arrows....</p>

+

+<p>Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended

+into the plain, he immediately put his army in motion,

+took up his ground at the distance of about a mile from the

+enemy, and made a disposition of his force, placing the elephants

+in the front, and the cavalry and infantry, in two extended

+wings, in their rear, but leaving between them a considerable

+interval. Here he took his own station, and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">- 220 -</span>

+proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly,

+assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority

+of their numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable

+body of armed elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had

+never before been engaged with such combatants, could by

+no means resist. Then giving orders for sounding a prodigious

+number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his

+whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm,

+making no movement, but suffering them to approach their

+entrenchments.</p>

+

+<p>They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness

+to engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses,

+unused to the sight of such huge animals, with their castles,

+were terrified, and by wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor

+could their riders by any exertions restrain them, whilst the

+king, with the whole of his forces, was every moment gaining

+ground. As soon as the prudent commander perceived this

+unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of mind, he

+instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount

+and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they

+were fastened to the trees.</p>

+

+<p>When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced

+on foot towards the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk

+discharge of arrows; whilst, on the other side, those who were

+stationed in the castles, and the rest of the king's army, shot

+volleys in return with great activity; but their arrows did not

+make the same impression as those of the Tartars, whose bows

+were drawn with a stronger arm. So incessant were the discharges

+of the latter, and all their weapons (according to the

+instructions of their commander) being directed against the

+elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly

+giving way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who

+were thereby thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible

+for their drivers to manage them, either by force or address.

+Smarting under the pain of their wounds, and terrified

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">- 221 -</span>

+by the shouting of the assailants, they were no longer governable,

+but without guidance or control ran about in all directions,

+until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed

+into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The

+consequence of this was, that from the closeness of the branches

+of large trees, they broke, with loud crashes, the battlements

+or castles that were upon their backs, and involved in the destruction

+those who sat upon them.</p>

+

+<p>Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired

+fresh courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order

+and regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined

+their several divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat

+was renewed. On the part of the king's troops there was no

+want of valor, and he himself went amongst the ranks entreating

+them to stand firm, and not to be alarmed by the accident

+that had befallen the elephants. But the Tartars by their

+consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for them, and

+galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being provided

+with such armor as was worn by the former.</p>

+

+<p>The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men

+grasped their swords and iron maces, and violently encountered

+each other. Then in an instant were to be seen many

+horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and multitudes falling to

+the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion of blood as

+was dreadful to behold. So great also was the clangor of

+arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise

+seemed to ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became

+a valiant chief, was present wherever the greatest danger

+appeared, animating his soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain

+their ground with resolution. He ordered fresh squadrons

+from the reserve to advance to the support of those that

+were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was impossible

+any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the

+impetuosity of the Tartars, the greater part of his troops

+being either killed or wounded, and all the field covered with

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">- 222 -</span>

+the carcasses of men and horses, whilst those who survived were

+beginning to give way, he also found himself compelled to take

+to flight with the wreck of his army, numbers of whom were

+afterwards slain in the pursuit....</p>

+

+<p>The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter

+of the enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants

+had fled for shelter, in order to take possession of them,

+where they found that the men who had escaped from the overthrow

+were employed in cutting down trees and barricading

+the passages, with the intent of defending themselves. But

+their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who

+slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed

+to the management of the elephants, they possessed

+themselves of these to the number of two hundred or more.

+From the period of this battle the grand khan has always

+chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which before that

+time he had not done. The consequences of the victory were,

+that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of

+the king of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>

+</div>

+

+<div class="footnote">

+

+<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> "The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian." Everyman's

+Library. J. M. Dent &amp; Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 255-256.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">- 223 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday,

+January 28. Our stay there would have been exceedingly

+pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was impossible

+not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the

+caravan. Traveling southward for two days over bare

+brown mountain-sides, their monotony unrelieved except

+by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended

+abruptly into the great subtropical valley at

+Shih-tien.</p>

+

+<p>Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in

+a succession of rice paddys and fields of sugar cane

+interspersed with patches of graceful bamboo, their summits

+drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes;

+the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the

+surrounding hills is delightful. However, we were disappointed

+in the shooting for, although it appeared to

+be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we

+killed only five teal, and the great ponds were almost

+devoid of bird life. Even herons, so abundant in the

+north, were conspicuous by their absence and we saw

+no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards.</p>

+

+<p>At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard

+on the outskirts of the town, and with Wu I returned

+to the village to inquire about shooting places. We

+seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within

+ten minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">- 224 -</span>

+room, overflowed through the door and windows, and

+formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which completely

+blocked the street outside. It was a simple way

+of getting all the village together and Wu questioned

+everyone who looked intelligent.</p>

+

+<p>We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang,

+five days' travel south, and we returned to the temple

+just in time to receive a visit from the resident mandarin.

+He was a good-looking, intellectual man, with

+charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen

+whom we met in China.</p>

+

+<p>During his visit, and until dinner was over and we

+had retired to our tents, hundreds of men, women and

+children crowded into the temple yard to gaze curiously

+at us. After the gates had been closed they climbed

+the walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows.

+Their curiosity was insatiable but not unfriendly and

+nowhere throughout our expedition did we find such

+extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested

+by the people in this immediate region. They were

+largely Chinese and most of them must have met foreigners

+before, yet their curiosity was much greater than

+that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white

+persons for the first time.</p>

+

+<p>Just before camping the next day we passed through

+a large village where we were given a most flattering

+reception. We had stopped to do some shooting and

+were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The

+<i>mafus</i> must have announced our coming, for the populace

+was out <i>en masse</i> to greet us and lined the streets

+three deep. It was a veritable triumphal entry and

+crowds of men and children followed us for half a

+mile outside the town, running beside our horses and

+staring with saucer-like eyes.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f224a" style="width: 286px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f224a.png" width="286" height="364" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Chinese Patriarch</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f224b" style="width: 285px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f224b.png" width="285" height="355" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Young China</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">- 225 -</span></p>

+

+<p>On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high

+mountain and wound down a sharp descent for about

+4,000 feet into a valley only 2,800 feet above sea level.

+We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a

+biting wind and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and

+coats over flannel shirts. After going down about 1,000

+feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets, on the

+second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the

+remainder of the descent rode with sleeves rolled up

+and shirts open at the throat. We had come from mid-winter

+into summer in two hours and the change was

+most startling. It was as though we had suddenly

+ridden into an artificially heated building like the rooms

+for tropical plants at botanical gardens.</p>

+

+<p>Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river

+where we had a splendid view of the wide valley which

+was like the bottom of a well with high mountains rising

+abruptly on all sides. It was a place of strange contrasts.

+The bushes and trees were in full green foliage

+but the grass and paddy fields were dry and brown as

+in mid-winter. The thick trees at the base of the hills

+were literally alive with doves but there were few mammal

+runways and our traps yielded no results. That

+night a muntjac, the first we had heard, barked hoarsely

+behind the tents.</p>

+

+<p>The <i>yamen</i> "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien

+delivered his official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo)

+which lies farther down the valley. The magistrate,

+who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon

+after with ten or twelve men and we discovered that

+there was but one man in the village who spoke Chinese.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">- 226 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to

+have the responsibility of our safety thrust upon him

+and consequently assured us that there were neither

+game nor hunters in this village. Although his anxiety

+to be rid of us was apparent, he was probably telling

+the truth, for the valley is so highly cultivated (rice),

+and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited, that it

+is doubtful if much game remains.</p>

+

+<p>In the morning the entire valley was filled with a

+dense white fog but we climbed out of it almost immediately,

+and by noon were back again in winter on

+the summits of the ridges. The country through which

+we passed <i>en route</i> to Gen-kang was similar to that

+which had oppressed us during the preceding week&mdash;cultivated

+valleys between high barren mountains relieved

+here and there by scattered groves of planted fir

+trees. It was a region utterly hopeless from a naturalist's

+standpoint and when we arrived at a large

+town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged.</p>

+

+<p>During almost a month of travel we had been guided

+by native information which without exception had

+proved worthless. It seemed useless to rely upon it further,

+and yet there was no other alternative, for none

+of the foreigners whom we had met in Y&uuml;n-nan knew

+anything about this part of the province. We were certain

+to reach a tropical region farther south and the

+fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the

+market offered slight encouragement. These were said

+to come from a village called Meng-ting, "a little more

+far," to the tune of four or five days' travel, over on

+the Burma frontier.</p>

+

+<p>With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of

+the weather, we left in a pouring rain on February 6,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">- 227 -</span>

+to slip and splash southward through veritable rivers of

+mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the

+second day the country suddenly changed. The trail

+led through a wide grassy valley, bordered by heavily

+forested hills, into a deep ravine. Along the banks of

+a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered

+logs and dense vegetation made ideal conditions

+for small mammalian life.</p>

+

+<p>We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky

+gateway. At the right a green-clothed mountain rose

+out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the left wave

+after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves

+in the low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley

+filled with stately trees which spread into a thick

+green canopy overhead.</p>

+

+<p>We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the

+forest. While the tents were being pitched, I set a

+line of traps along the base of the opposite mountain

+and found a "runway" under almost every log. About

+eight o'clock I ran my traps and, with the aid of a

+lantern, stumbled about in the bushes and high grass,

+over logs and into holes. When I emptied my pockets

+there were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing

+seven species and <i>all new to our collection</i>. Heller

+brought in eight specimens and added two new species.

+We forthwith decided to stay right where we were

+until this "gold mine" had been exhausted.</p>

+

+<p>In the morning our traps were full of mammals and

+sixty-two were laid out on the table ready for skinning.

+The length, tail, hind foot, and ear of each specimen was

+first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in

+the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our

+serial number; then an incision was made in the belly,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">- 228 -</span>

+the skin stripped off, poisoned with arsenic, stuffed with

+cotton, and sewed up. The animal was then pinned in

+position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden

+tray which fitted in the collecting trunk.</p>

+

+<p>The specimens were put in the sun on every bright

+day until they were thoroughly dry and could be

+wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight trunks or

+boxes. We have found that the regulation U. S. Army

+officer's fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It

+measures thirty inches long by thirteen deep and sixteen

+inches wide and will remain quite dry in an ordinary

+rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in

+water. The skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons

+of some, are numbered like the skin, strung upon a wire,

+and dried in the sun. Also individuals of every species

+are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical

+study.</p>

+

+<p>Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As

+soon as the skin has been removed and cleaned of flesh

+and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it and the hide

+rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the water

+which has been extracted by the salt poured off, and

+the skin hung over a rope or a tree branch to dry. If

+it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may be kept

+in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field

+conditions it should be placed in the sun. Before it becomes

+too hard, the hide is rolled or folded into a

+convenient package hair side in, tied into shape and allowed

+to become "bone dry." In this condition it will

+keep indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the

+salt absorbs moisture from the air and alternate wetting

+and drying is fatal.</p>

+

+<p>We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">- 229 -</span>

+both large and small animals and they became

+quite expert. They required constant watching, however,

+and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or

+I examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.</p>

+

+<p>On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the

+village of Mu-cheng ten <i>li</i> distant. The men assured

+us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac in the

+neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no

+dogs and were armed with crossbows, antiquated guns,

+and bows and arrows, but they showed us the skins of

+two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game.</p>

+

+<p>Like most of the other natives, with the exception

+of the Mosos on the Snow Mountain, these men had

+no definite plan in hunting. The first day I went out

+with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill

+not far from camp. Without giving me an opportunity

+to reach a position in front of them, they began to

+work up the hill, and I had a fleeting glimpse of a

+sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the

+summit.</p>

+

+<p>Two days later while I was out with ten other men

+who had a fairly good pack of dogs, the first party succeeded

+in killing a female sambur. The animal weighed

+at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our

+camp and we purchased the skin for ten <i>rupees</i>. South

+of Gen-kang the money of the region, like all of Y&uuml;n-nan

+for some distance from the Burma frontier, is the

+Indian <i>rupee</i> which equals thirty-three cents American

+gold in that part of the province adjoining Tonking,

+French Indo-China money is current.</p>

+

+<p>My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this

+camp, which we called "Good Hope."</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">- 230 -</span></p>

+

+<div class="blockquot">

+

+<p>The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough

+for comfort and the nights are clear and cold. How we do

+sleep! It seems hardly an hour from the time we go to bed

+until we hear Wu rousing the servants, and the crackle of the

+camp-fire outside the tent. We half dress in our sleeping bags

+and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our high

+boots in its comfortable warmth.</p>

+

+<p>After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I

+inspect the traps. The ground is white with frost and the

+trees and bushes are dressed in silver. Every trap holds an

+individual interest and we follow the line through the forest,

+resetting some, and finding new mammals in others. Yvette

+has conquered her feminine repugnance far enough to remove

+shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring and

+dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches

+them.</p>

+

+<p>We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with

+the men, the lady of the camp works at her photography. I

+return in the late afternoon and after tea we wander through

+the woods together. It is the most delightful part of the day

+when the sun goes down and the shadows lengthen. We sit on

+a log in a small clearing where we can watch the upper

+branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of a great colony of

+red-bellied squirrels (<i>Callosciurus erythr&aelig;us</i> subsp.) and

+after a few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along

+a branch, my gun roars out, and there is a thud upon the

+ground.</p>

+

+<p>Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died

+away in the forest the gun bangs again. We have already

+shot a dozen squirrels from this tree and yet more are there.

+Sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk (<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>

+subsp.) will appear on the lower branches, searching the bark

+for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to find him in

+the brown leaves. When it is too dark to see the squirrels, we

+wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">- 231 -</span>

+broiled deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke

+and talk of the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps."</p>

+

+<p>Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a

+gun we pick our way among the trees until we strike the trail

+along which the traps are set. On the soft ground our feet

+are noiseless and, extinguishing the lanterns, we sit on a log

+to listen to the night sounds. The woods are full of life. Almost

+beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a scurry among

+the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite

+hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. Suddenly

+there is a sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards

+away has done its work. Even in the tree tops the night life

+is active. Dead twigs drop to the ground with an unnatural

+noise, and soft-winged owls show black against the sky as they

+flit across an opening in the branches.</p>

+

+<p>We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into

+a cuplike hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already

+half of them are full. In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by

+the tail as he ran across the trap; another holds a veritable

+treasure, and at my exclamation of delight Yvette runs up excitedly.

+It is a rare Insectivore of the genus <i>Hylomys</i> and

+possibly a species new to science. We examine it beside the

+lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket

+by itself.</p>

+

+<p>The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log.

+The trap is gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over

+every inch of ground. Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet

+away and stifles a scream for in it, caught by the neck and still

+alive, is a huge rat nearly two feet long; it too is a species

+which may prove new.</p>

+

+<p>When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail

+to the edge of the forest and into the clearing where the tents

+glow in the darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is

+delightfully warmed by the charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably

+on the beds, we write our daily records or read Dickens

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">- 232 -</span>

+for half an hour. It is with a feeling of great contentment

+that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out the

+candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the moonlight.</p>

+</div>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">- 233 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the eight days in which we remained at the

+"Good Hope" camp, two hundred specimens comprising

+twenty-one species were added to our collection. Although

+the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was

+quite unlike that of any region in which we had previously

+collected, and that undoubtedly was responsible

+for the complete change of fauna. We were on the very

+edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the Tonking

+and Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west

+of the province.</p>

+

+<p>It was already mid-February and if we were to work

+in the fever-stricken valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high

+time we were on the way southward. The information

+which we had obtained near Gen-kang had been supplemented

+by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to

+go to Meng-ting as soon as possible.</p>

+

+<p>The first march was long and uneventful but at its

+end, from the summit of a high ridge, we could see a

+wide valley which we reached in the early morning of

+the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly

+left us on a jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly

+down a steep ravine to lose itself in a veritable

+forest of tree ferns and sword grass. The slanting rays

+of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious

+depths of the mist-filled valley. To the right a giant

+sentinel peak of granite rose gaunt and naked from out

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">- 234 -</span>

+the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to the

+left in huge ascending billows.</p>

+

+<p>We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of

+the bell on the leading mule announced the approach

+of the caravan and then we picked our way slowly down

+the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation.

+In an hour we were breathing the moist warm air of

+the tropics and riding across a wide valley as level as a

+floor. The long stretches of rank grass, far higher than

+our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos,

+banana palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled

+vines.</p>

+

+<p>Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled

+into the grass. The bamboo houses, sheltered by trees

+and bushes, were roofed in the shape of an overturned

+boat with thatch and the single street was wide and

+clean. Could this really be China? Verily, it was a

+different China from that we had seen before! It

+might be Burma, India, Java, but never China!</p>

+

+<p>Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning.

+A real Priscilla, somewhat strange in dress to

+be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel nut, but

+Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside

+her stood John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers,

+hitched far up over one leg to show the intricate

+tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban

+completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun almost

+as ancient in design as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla

+kept her eyes upon the spinning wheel, but John's

+gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent

+even before we appeared around a corner of the house

+and the pretty picture resolved into its rightful components&mdash;a

+surprised, but not unlovely Shan girl and

+a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide

+brown eyes And open mouth at what must have seemed

+to him the fancy of a disordered brain.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f234a" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f234a.png" width="366" height="284" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Shan Village</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f234b" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f234b.png" width="366" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Shan Woman Spinning</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">- 235 -</span></p>

+

+<p>For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and

+quiet, where every day was exactly like the day before,

+had suddenly ridden two big men with white skins and

+blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a

+broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little one

+had jumped from the horse and pointed a black box with

+a shiny front at him and his Priscilla. At once, but

+without loss of dignity, Priscilla vanished into the house,

+but John Alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new

+tin can had been thrust into his hand and before he had

+really discovered what it was the little person had smiled

+at him and turned her attention to the charming street

+of his village. There the great water buffaloes lazily

+chewed their cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned

+natives who played trustingly with the calves

+almost beneath their feet.</p>

+

+<p>Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had

+ever seen, and regretfully we rode away across the plain

+between the walls of waving grass toward the Nam-ting

+River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and

+tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs

+were soon across the muddy stream and the mules were

+made to swim to the other bank. Shortly after leaving

+the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank

+grass on to the open rice paddys which stretched away in

+a gently undulating plain from the river to the mountains.

+Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese, but

+three great flocks of cranes (probably <i>Grus communis</i>)

+rose from the fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">- 236 -</span>

+above our heads until they were lost in the blue depths

+of the sky.</p>

+

+<p>Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a

+few wisps of smoke curling above its summit, but not

+until we were well-nigh there did we realize that its beautiful

+trees sheltered the thatched roofs of Meng-ting.

+But this was only the "'residential section" of the village

+and below the knoll on the opposite side of a shallow

+stream lay the shops and markets.</p>

+

+<p>We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of

+jungle separated us from the nearest house. As soon

+as the tents were up I announced our coming to the

+mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock.

+Wu and I found the <i>yamen</i> to be a large well-built

+house, delightfully cool and exhibiting several foreign

+articles which evinced its proximity to Burma.</p>

+

+<p>We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who

+shortly introduced the mandarin&mdash;a young Shan not

+more than twenty years old who only recently had succeeded

+his late father as chief of the village. The boy

+was dressed in an exceedingly long frock coat, rather

+green and frayed about the elbows, which in combination

+with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a

+most extraordinary appearance.</p>

+

+<p>We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who

+did all the talking was the "power behind the throne."

+He accepted my gift of a package of tea with great

+pleasure, but the information about hunting localities

+for which we asked was not forthcoming. He first said

+that he knew of a place where there were tiger and

+leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us for

+we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be

+responsible for our deaths; bringing to his attention the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">- 237 -</span>

+fact that tigers had never been recorded from the Meng-ting

+region did not impress him in the slightest.</p>

+

+<p>It did tend to send him off on another track, however,

+and he next remarked that if he sent us to a place

+where the hunting was disappointing we probably would

+report him to the district mandarin. Assurances to the

+contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that he

+wished only to get us out of his district and thus relieve

+himself of the responsibility of our safety. During the

+conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the young

+Shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he

+sat stolidly in his chair, hardly winking, and except for

+the constant supply of cigarettes which passed between

+his fingers there was no evidence that he even breathed.</p>

+

+<p>The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman

+that he would make inquiries concerning hunting

+grounds and communicate with us in the morning. We

+returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives

+arrived from the <i>yamen</i> bearing about one hundred

+pounds of rice, a sack of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three

+chickens, and a great bundle of fire wood. These were

+deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin.</p>

+

+<p>We were at a loss to account for such generosity until

+Wu explained that whenever a high official visited a

+village it was customary for the mandarin to supply his

+entire party with food during their stay. It would be

+quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however,

+for the supplies were levied from the inhabitants

+of the town. We kept the eggs and chickens, giving the

+<i>yamen</i> "runners" considerably more than their value in

+money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and

+potatoes.</p>

+

+<p>On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">- 238 -</span>

+Buddhist monastery, bamboo walled and thatched with

+straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant of

+childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley.

+All day long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the

+mud walls about the temple like a flock of birds peering

+at us with bright round eyes. They were wild as hawks,

+these little priests and, although they sometimes left the

+shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below

+the bushy hedge about our rice field.</p>

+

+<p>In the village we saw them often, wandering about

+the streets or sitting in yellow groups beneath the giant

+trees which threw a welcome shade over almost every

+house. They were not all children, and finely built

+youths or men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits

+of lemon peel, passed to and fro to the temple on the hill.</p>

+

+<p>There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the

+village with male children is required to send at least

+one boy to live a part of his life under the tutelage of

+the Church. He must remain three years, and longer, if

+he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and

+their clothing is not an important item of expenditure

+as it consists merely of a straw hat and a yellow robe.

+They lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn

+in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness.</p>

+

+<p>The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the

+weekly market was held, and when Wu and I crossed

+the little stream to the business part of the village, we

+found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque

+crowd of natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It

+was a group flashing with color, and every individual

+a study for an artist. There were blue-clad Chinese,

+Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">- 239 -</span>

+Burmans dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned

+Lisos, flat-faced Palaungs, Was, and

+Kachins in black and red strung about with beads or

+shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of those

+who did not carry a spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked

+looking daggers peeped from beneath their sashes.

+Every man carried a weapon ready for instant use.</p>

+

+<p>Nine tribes were present in the market that day and

+almost as many languages were being spoken. It was

+a veritable Babel and half the trading was done by signs.

+The narrow street was choked with goods of every kind

+spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails,

+knives, swords, hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats,

+crossbows, arrows, pottery, tea, opium, and scores of

+other articles for food or household use.</p>

+

+<p>Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing

+new goods or packing up their purchases; under

+open, thatched pavilions were silent groups of men gambling

+with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses" white-faced

+natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling

+"pills" of opium and oblivious to the constant stream of

+passers-by.</p>

+

+<p>It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic

+mass of life and color, where Chinese from civilized

+Canton drank, and gambled, and smoked with wild

+natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken

+jungles.</p>

+

+<p>After one glimpse of the picture in the market I

+dashed back to camp to bring the "Lady of the Camera."

+On the way I met her, hot and breathless, half coaxing,

+half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent

+in yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying

+vainly to photograph a priest and had discovered these

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">- 240 -</span>

+splendid fellows when all her color plates had been exposed.

+She might have succeeded in bringing them to

+camp had I not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage

+and rushed away with averted faces.</p>

+

+<p>When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried

+back to the market followed by two coolies with the

+cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work alone I set

+up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less

+than a minute the narrow space in front of us was

+packed with a seething mass of natives. It was impossible

+to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly

+disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused

+the camera on the irregular line of heads and swung it

+back and forth registering a variety of facial expressions

+which it would be hard to duplicate. For some

+time it was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even

+for a moment, but after one or two had conquered their

+fear and been liberally rewarded, there was a rush for

+places. Wu asked several of the natives who could

+speak Chinese if they knew what we were doing but

+they all shook their heads. None of them had ever seen

+a camera or a photograph.</p>

+

+<p>The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all

+the tribes as well as the most difficult to photograph.

+Yvette was not able to get them at all, and I could do

+so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two or three

+squatting near their baskets on the ground I moved

+slowly up behind them keeping in the center of the

+crowd. After the "movie camera" was in position Wu

+suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the

+women realized what was happening they were registered

+on twenty-five or thirty feet of film.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f240a" style="width: 285px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f240a.png" width="285" height="355" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Kachin Woman in the Market<br />

+   at Meng-ting</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f240b" style="width: 281px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f240b.png" width="281" height="366" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">One of Our Shan Hunters with Two Yellow

+Gibbons</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">- 241 -</span></p>

+

+<p>One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much,

+suddenly became belligerent when I pointed the camera

+in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn knife.

+I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down

+in a heap. He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine,

+but it took all of the fight out of him for he received no

+sympathy from the spectators.</p>

+

+<p>Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera

+operations and a less determined person would have

+given up in despair. The natives were so shy and suspicious

+that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to

+stand for a second and it was only after three hours of

+aggravating work in the stifling heat and dust that she

+at last succeeded in exposing all her plates. Her

+patience and determination were really wonderful and

+I am quite sure that I should not have obtained half her

+results.</p>

+

+<p>The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals.

+They were short, and strongly built, with a

+mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and thick

+lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of a

+short black jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and

+ornamented with strings of beads and pieces of brass or

+silver. This tribe forms the largest part of the population

+in northern Burma and also extends into Assam.

+Y&uuml;n-nan is fortunate in having comparatively few of

+them along its western frontier for they are an uncivilized

+and quarrelsome race and frequently give the British

+government considerable trouble.</p>

+

+<p>There were only a few Burmans in the market

+although the border is hardly a dozen miles to the west,

+but the girls were especially attractive. Their bright

+pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile

+and their graceful figures draped in brilliant sarongs

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">- 242 -</span>

+were in delightful contrast to the other, not over-dean,

+natives.</p>

+

+<p>The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which

+added to their distinction. The lips of virtually every

+other woman and man were stained from the red juice,

+which is in universal use throughout India, the Malay

+Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Y&uuml;n-nan

+we first noted it at the "Good Hope" camp, and the

+Shans are generally addicted to the practice.</p>

+

+<p>The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely

+Shan, but during the winter a good many Cantonese

+Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The drug is

+smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative

+trade is carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five

+cents (Mexican) an ounce in Burma and sold for two

+dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Y&uuml;n-nan Fu and for ten

+dollars in Shanghai.</p>

+

+<p>Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The

+drug is cooked over an alcohol lamp and when the "pill"

+is properly prepared it is placed in the tiny bowl of the

+pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. The

+process is a rather complicated one and during it the

+natives always recline. No visible effect is produced

+even after smoking several pipefuls, but the deathly

+paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate

+opium user.</p>

+

+<p>There can be no doubt that the Chinese government

+has been, and is, genuinely anxious to suppress the use

+of opium and it has succeeded to a remarkable degree.

+We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in

+Y&uuml;n-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a

+guard of soldiers, on inspection trips. Indeed, while we

+were in Meng-ting the district mandarin arrived. We

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">- 243 -</span>

+were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of

+deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They

+were like the chimes of far away cathedral bells sounding

+nearer and louder, but losing none of the sweetness.

+Soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the

+camp bearing in their midst a covered chair. The mandarin

+established himself in a spacious temple on the

+opposite side of the village, where I visited him the following

+day and explained the difficulty we had had at

+the Meng-ting <i>yamen</i>. He aided us so effectually that

+all opposition to our plans ended and we obtained a

+guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting

+River, three miles from the Burma border.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">- 244 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Every</span> morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled

+with a thick white mist and when we broke camp at daylight

+each mule was swallowed up in the fog as soon as

+it left the rice field. We followed the sound of the leader's

+bell, but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan

+visible. For thirty U the valley is broad and flat as at

+Meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant growth of rank

+grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved

+its way through a range of hills.</p>

+

+<p>The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through

+a dense, tropical jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved

+bananas, and giant trees laced and interlaced with

+thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall

+of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel.

+We followed the trail all day, sometimes picking our

+way among the rocks high above the river or padding

+along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. At

+night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous

+native had fought the jungle and been defeated;

+his bamboo hut was in ruins and the fields were overgrown

+with a tangle of throttling vegetation.</p>

+

+<p>We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road

+were fascinating. Brilliant green parrots screamed in

+the tree tops and tiny sun-birds dressed in garments of

+red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail like living

+jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">- 245 -</span>

+huge hornbill flapping heavily over the river, every

+beat of his stiff wing feathers sounding like the motor

+of an a&euml;roplane. Bamboo partridges called from the

+bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air.</p>

+

+<p>At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed

+two thatched huts in a little clearing beside the trail and

+the guide remarked that our camping place was not far

+away. We reached it shortly and were delighted. Two

+enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark

+shade above a sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned

+rice field. From a patch of ground as level as a

+floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look across

+the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle

+and up to the green mountain beyond. A half mile

+farther down the trail, but hidden away in the jungle,

+lay a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the

+guide said we should be able to find hunters.</p>

+

+<p>As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with

+a bag of steel traps to set them on the tiny trails which

+wound through the jungle in every direction. Selecting

+a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center,

+covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body

+of a bird or a chunk of meat by a wire over the pan

+about three feet from the ground. A light branch was

+fastened to the chain as a "drag." When the trap is

+pulled this invariably catches in the grass or vines and,

+while holding the animal firmly, still gives enough

+"spring" to prevent its freeing itself.</p>

+

+<p>Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest

+of wits between the trapper and the animal with

+the odds by no means in favor of the former. The

+trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings

+may be unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">- 246 -</span>

+may linger about the bait, or there may be numberless

+other possibilities to frighten the suspicious animal.</p>

+

+<p>In the evening our guide brought a strange individual

+whom he introduced as the best hunter in the village.

+He was a tall Mohammedan Chinese who dressed

+like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He

+seemed to be afflicted with mental and physical inertia,

+for when he spoke it was in slow drawl hardly louder

+than a whisper, and every movement of his body was correspondingly

+deliberate. We immediately named him

+the "Dying Rabbit" but discovered very shortly that

+he really had boundless energy and was an excellent

+hunter.</p>

+

+<p>The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for

+beaters and we drove a patch of jungle above camp but

+without success. There were many sambur tracks in

+the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to

+be difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the

+open places were so few and small that a sambur had

+every chance to break through without giving a shot.</p>

+

+<p>Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying

+Rabbit" was armed with a .45-caliber bolt action rifle

+into which he had managed to fit a .808 shell and several

+of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875.

+The guns had all been brought from Burma and most

+were without ammunition, but each man had an assortment

+of different cartridges and used whichever he could

+force into his rifle.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f246a" style="width: 364px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f246a.png" width="364" height="283" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Our Camp on the Nam-ting River</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f246b" style="width: 364px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f246b.png" width="364" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Shan Village at Nam-ka</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">- 247 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The men worked splendidly under the direction of the

+"Dying Rabbit." On the second day they put up a

+sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but was

+absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned

+to camp we found that a civet (<i>Viverra</i>) had

+walked past our tent and begun to eat the scraps about

+the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the <i>mafus</i> and

+servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun.

+After considerable difficulty they persuaded him that

+there really was some cause for their excitement and he

+shot the animal. It was probably ill, for its flesh was

+dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition.</p>

+

+<p>Civets belong to the family <i>Viverrid&aelig;</i> and are found

+only in Asia and Africa. Although they resemble cats

+superficially they are not directly related to them and

+their claws are only partly retractile. They are very

+beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with

+black, a ringed tail, and a black and white striped

+pointed head. A scent gland near the base of the tail

+secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating,

+is not particularly disagreeable. The animals

+move about chiefly in the early morning and evening and

+at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals, fish,

+and frogs. One which we caught and photographed had

+a curious habit of raising the hair on the middle of its

+back from the neck to the tail whenever it was angry or

+frightened.</p>

+

+<p>Although there were no houses within half a mile of

+camp we were surprised on our first night to hear cocks

+crowing in the jungle. The note was like that of the

+ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat

+more abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer

+and all his harem in a deserted rice field, and he

+flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and gold.</p>

+

+<p>I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left

+of "sixes" and found that they were jungle fowl (<i>Gallus

+gallus</i>) in full plumage. The cock was a splendid bird.

+The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his back

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">- 248 -</span>

+and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was

+hardly more beautiful than the black of his underparts

+and green-glossed tail. Picture to yourself a "black-breasted

+red" gamecock and you have him in all his

+glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more

+pheasant-like in his general bearing. The female was a

+trim little bird with a lilac sheen to her brown feathers

+and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen.</p>

+

+<p>The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard

+hens and roosters which were probably first domesticated

+in Burma and adjacent countries long before the dawn

+of authentic history. According to tradition the Chinese

+received their poultry from the West about 1400 B.C.

+and they are figured in Babylonian cylinders between the

+sixth and seventh centuries B.C.; although they were

+probably introduced in Greece through Persia there is

+no direct evidence as to when and how they reached

+Europe.</p>

+

+<p>The black-breasted jungle fowl (<i>Gallus gallus</i>) inhabit

+northern India, Burma, Indo-Chinese countries,

+the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine Islands; a

+related species, <i>G. lafayetti</i>, is found in Ceylon; another,

+<i>G. sonnerati</i>, in southern India, and a fourth, <i>G. varius</i>,

+in Java.</p>

+

+<p>We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even

+where they were seldom hunted. During the heat of the

+day they remain in thick cover, but in cloudy weather

+and in the early morning and evening they come out into

+clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River

+we could usually put up a few birds on the edge of the

+deserted rice fields which stretched up into the jungle,

+but they were never far away from the edge of the

+forest.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">- 249 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but

+usually a cock had with him six or eight hens. It was

+interesting to watch such a flock feeding in the open.

+The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a

+piece of gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and

+industriously ran about among his trim little hens,

+rounding up the stragglers and directing his harem with

+a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually

+tempting food.</p>

+

+<p>It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually

+would send the flock whirring into the jungle while

+they were well beyond shotgun range. When flushed

+from the open the birds nearly always would alight in

+the first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying

+deeper into the jungle. We caught several hens in

+our steel traps, and one morning at the edge of a swamp

+I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and

+left" as they flushed together.</p>

+

+<p>We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of

+the mating season for the jungle fowl. It is said that

+they brood from January to April according to locality,

+laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a

+bamboo clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves

+have been scratched together for a nest. The hen announces

+the laying of an egg by means of a proud cackle,

+and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep,

+peep, peep" of the domestic birds. After the breeding

+season the beautiful red and gold neck hackles of the

+male sometimes are molted and replaced by short blackish

+feathers.</p>

+

+<p>There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the

+cocks are polygamous, but our observations tend to show

+that they are. We never saw more than one male in a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">- 250 -</span>

+flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in

+pairs. The cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic

+birds and their long curved spurs are exceedingly effective

+weapons.</p>

+

+<p>We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting

+River camp and on the second afternoon it contained

+a splendid polecat. This animal is a member of

+the family Mustelid&aelig; which includes mink, otter, weasels,

+skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep

+yellow throat, and long tail is really very handsome.

+Polecats inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and are

+closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated

+and used in hunting rats and rabbits. We found them

+to be abundant in the low valleys along the Burma border

+and often saw them during the day running across

+a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The

+polecat is a blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything

+that comes in its way for the pure love of killing, even

+when its appetite has been satisfied.</p>

+

+<p>On the third morning we found two civets in the traps.

+The cook told me that some animal had stolen a chicken

+from one of his boxes during the night and we set a trap

+only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading into

+the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook

+boxes were not bothered again.</p>

+

+<p>Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was

+a delightful part of our camp life. It was like opening

+a Christmas package as we walked up the trails, for each

+one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of

+the region were so varied that surprises were always in

+store for us. Besides civets and polecats, we caught

+mongooses, palm civets, and other carnivores. The

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">- 251 -</span>

+small traps yielded a new <i>Hylomys</i>, several new rats,

+and an interesting shrew.</p>

+

+<p>We saw a few huge squirrels (<i>Ratufa gigantea</i>) and

+shot one. It was thirty-six inches long, coal black above

+and yellow below. The animals were very shy and as

+they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no

+means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting

+group confined to India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula,

+the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and Borneo.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">- 252 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">MONKEY HUNTING</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">Our</span> most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was

+hunting monkeys. Every morning we heard querulous

+notes which sounded much like the squealing of very

+young puppies and which were followed by long, siren

+wails; when the shrill notes had reached their highest

+pitch they would sink into low mellow tones exceedingly

+musical.</p>

+

+<p>The calls usually started shortly after daylight and

+continued until about nine o'clock, or later if the day was

+dark or rainy. They would be answered from different

+parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen

+places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the

+cries were made by <i>hod-zu</i> (monkeys) and several times

+we started in pursuit, but they always ceased long before

+we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from

+which they came. At last we succeeded in locating the

+animals.</p>

+

+<p>We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a

+trail which led up a valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly

+the puppy-like squealing began, followed by a low

+tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but

+the trees were empty. We stole silently along the trail

+for a hundred yards and turned into a dry creek bed

+which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. With

+infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we

+slipped along, scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">- 253 -</span>

+sitting on a dead branch caught sight of us and

+flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. A flock

+of parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel

+followed persistently scolding at the top of its voice, but

+the monkeys continued to call.</p>

+

+<p>The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood

+motionless beside a tree. For an instant the countless

+jungle sounds were hushed in a breathless stillness; then,

+low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which swelled

+into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all

+the forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again

+and again it floated over the tree tops and we listened

+strangely moved, for it was like the music of an exquisite

+contralto voice. At last it ceased but, ere the echoes had

+reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely

+siren screech.</p>

+

+<p>The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and

+tense. The trees stretched upward full one hundred and

+fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy roof. Long

+ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant

+growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant

+trunks in a swaying mass of living green. Far above

+the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the forest

+towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost branches

+we could just discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from

+which proceeded discordant squeals.</p>

+

+<p>It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all

+in camp. I fired a charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey

+and as the gun roared out the tree tops suddenly sprang

+into life. They were filled with running, leaping, hairy

+forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to

+branch; not a dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow,

+brown, and gray.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">- 254 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and

+threw itself full twenty feet to a horizontal limb, below

+and to the right. I fired again and he stopped, ran a

+few steps forward and swung to the underside of the

+branch. At the third charge he hung suspended by one

+arm and dropped heavily to the ground stone dead.</p>

+

+<p>We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up

+the hill where the branches were still swaying as the

+monkeys traveled through the tree tops. They had a

+long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every step

+our clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our

+hands were torn, and our faces scratched and bleeding.

+In ten minutes they had disappeared and we turned

+about to find the dead animal. Suddenly Yvette saw a

+splash of leaves in the top of a tree below us and a

+big brown monkey swung out on a pendent vine. I

+fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled

+slowly around and dropped to the ground. Before I had

+reloaded my gun it gathered itself together and dashed

+off through the woods on three legs faster than a man

+could run. The animal had been hiding on a branch

+and when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered.</p>

+

+<p>We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the

+creek bed and sat down to examine it. It was evidently

+a gibbon (<i>Hylobates</i>), for its long arms, round head,

+and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species

+with which I was familiar the male was black. This one

+was yellow and we knew it to be a prize. That there

+were two other species in the herd was certain for we

+had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed

+away among the trees, but the gibbons were far more

+interesting than the others.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f254a" style="width: 367px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f254a.png" width="367" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Head of a Gibbon Killed on the Nam-ting River</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f254b" style="width: 368px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f254b.png" width="368" height="288" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Civet</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">- 255 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and

+teeth of all the anthropoid, or manlike, apes,&mdash;the group

+which also includes the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.

+They are apparently an earlier offshoot of the

+anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the

+giant apes and man are probably a later branch. Gibbons

+are essentially Oriental being found in India,

+Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the Islands of

+Hainan, Sulu, Sumatra, and Java.</p>

+

+<p>For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River

+camp we devoted ourselves to hunting monkeys and

+soon discovered that the three species we had first seen

+were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon, another

+a brown baboon (<i>Macacus</i>), and the third a huge

+gray ape with a long tail (<i>Pygathrix</i>) known as the

+"langur." On the first day all three species were together

+feeding upon some large green beans and this

+happened once again, but usually they were in separate

+herds.</p>

+

+<p>The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although

+the same troop could usually be found in the

+valley where we had first discovered them, they chose

+hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them

+because of the thorny jungle. Usually when they

+called, it was from the upper branches of a dead tree

+where they could not only scan every inch of the ground

+below, but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun.

+Sometimes we climbed upward almost on our hands

+and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing ourselves

+up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs

+and bushes, slipping, falling, scrambling through the

+indescribable tangle. We went forward only when the

+calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">- 256 -</span>

+motionless as the wailing ceased. But in spite of all our

+care they would see or hear us. Then in sudden silence

+there would be a tremor of the branches, splash after

+splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away

+through the trackless tree tops.</p>

+

+<p>The gibbons are well named <i>Hylobates</i> or "tree-walkers"

+for they are entirely arboreal and, although

+awkward and almost helpless on the ground, once

+their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed

+as by a miracle.</p>

+

+<p>They launch themselves into space, catch a limb

+twenty feet away, swing for an instant, and hurl themselves

+to another. It is possible for them to travel

+through the trees faster than a man can run even on

+open ground, and when one examines their limbs the

+reason is apparent. The fore arms are so exceedingly

+long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground

+when the animal stands erect, and the slender hands are

+longer than the feet.</p>

+

+<p>The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and

+would never drop until stone dead. Once I shot an

+old male with my 6&frac12; mm. Mannlicher rifle at about

+one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone

+clear through his body, he hung for several minutes before

+he dropped into a tangle of vines.</p>

+

+<p>It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work

+our way through the jungle to the spot where the animal

+had fallen, and we had been searching for nearly

+half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a

+monkey was running along a branch above our heads. I

+fired with the shotgun at a mass of moving leaves and

+killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the

+thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">- 257 -</span>

+sometimes disappear as completely as though they had

+vanished in the air. After being fooled several times

+we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we

+could watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys

+would try to steal away.</p>

+

+<p>The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild

+as the gibbons and were found in larger herds. Some

+of the langurs were carrying babies which clung to their

+mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede

+them in the slightest on their leaps through the

+tree tops.</p>

+

+<p>The young of this species are bright orange-red and

+strangely unlike the gray adults. As they grow older

+the red hair is gradually replaced by gray, but the tail

+is the last part of the body to change. Heller captured

+one of the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to

+camp in his coat pocket. The little fellow was only a

+few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless.</p>

+

+<p>When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer

+little wizened face and blue eyes visible it had a startling

+resemblance to a human baby until its long tail

+would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion.

+It lived only four days in spite of constant care.</p>

+

+<p>There are fifty-five species of langurs (<i>Pygathrix</i>)

+all of which are confined to the Orient. In some parts

+of India the animals are sacred and climb about the

+houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without

+fear. At times they do so much damage to crops

+that the natives who do not dare to kill the animals

+themselves implore foreigners to do so. The langurs

+are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan mountains

+range far up into the snow and enjoy the cold

+weather. In the market at Li-chiang we saw several

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">- 258 -</span>

+skins of these animals which had been brought down

+by the Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was

+used by the Chinese for rugs and coats.</p>

+

+<p>The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River

+camp, like all others of the genus <i>Pygathrix</i>, was interesting

+because of the long hairs of the head which form

+a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never heard the

+animals utter sounds, but it is said that the common

+Indian langur, <i>Pygathrix entellus</i>, gives a loud whoop

+as it runs through the tree tops. Often when a tiger

+is prowling about the jungle the Indian langurs will

+follow the beast, keeping in the branches just above its

+head and scolding loudly.</p>

+

+<p>The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting

+was a close relative of the species (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)

+which one sees parading solemnly about the streets of

+Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian cities. In Agra,

+the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey

+Temple is visited by every tourist. A large herd of

+macaques lives in the grounds and at a few chuckling

+calls from the native attendants will come trooping over

+the walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate.

+These animals are surprisingly tame and make most

+amusing pets.</p>

+

+<p>On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water

+hole in the midst of a dense jungle where the mud was

+trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar, and other

+animals. We decided to spend a night watching beside

+it, but the "Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the

+day time lost his courage as the sunlight waned. Very

+doubtfully he consented to go.</p>

+

+<p>Although the trip netted us no tangible results it

+was an experience of which we often think. We

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">- 259 -</span>

+started just at dusk and installed ourselves in the

+bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an

+hour the forest was enveloped in the velvety blackness

+of the tropic night. Not a star nor a gleam of light

+was visible and I could not see my hand before my face.</p>

+

+<p>We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the

+breath of the jungle, which although without definite

+sound, was vibrant with life. Now and then a muntjac

+barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag

+thrilled us like an electric shock. Once a wild boar

+grunted on the opposite bank of the river, the sound

+coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although

+the animal was far away.</p>

+

+<p>Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the

+leaves and a small animal ran across my wife's lap, leaping

+frantically down the hill as it felt her move. For

+five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. Although

+no animals came to the water hole we were silent

+with a great happiness as we groped our way back

+to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the jungle

+and were thrilled with the mystery of the night.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">- 260 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not

+only was there a village half a mile beyond our camp,

+but natives were passing continually along the trail on

+their way to and from the Burma frontier. The village

+was named Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when

+we arrived, but the natives were cordial and agreed to

+hunt with us; when the head man returned, however,

+he was most unfriendly. He forbade the villagers

+from coming to our camp and arguments were of no

+avail. It soon became evident that only force could

+change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants

+and <i>mafus</i>, we visited his house. He was informed

+that unless he ceased his opposition and ordered

+his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to

+Meng-ting for trial before the mandarin. He grudgingly

+complied and we had no further trouble.</p>

+

+<p>We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and

+honest people but abnormally lazy. During our three

+weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although the

+natives prized them highly, and often brought to us

+those in which animals had been caught. Shans were

+continually about our camp where boxes were left unlocked,

+but not an article of our equipment was missed.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f260a" style="width: 278px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f260a.png" width="278" height="355" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Shan Girl</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f260b" style="width: 273px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f260b.png" width="273" height="357" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Shan Boy</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">- 261 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot

+poles and built an open porch in front of the door, while

+the dwellings at Meng-ting and farther up the valley

+were all placed upon the ground. The thatched roofs

+overhung several feet and the sides of the houses were

+open so that the free passage of air kept them delightfully

+cool. Moreover, they were surprisingly clean,

+for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if

+they wore sandals, left them at the door. In the center

+of the single room, on a large flat stone, a small fire

+always burned, but much of the cooking was done on

+the porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over

+the hearth.</p>

+

+<p>The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support."

+The extensive rice paddys indicated that in the

+past there had been considerable cultivation but the

+fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers

+purchased all their vegetables from the Mohammedan

+hunter and two other Chinese who lived a mile up the

+trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes

+entertained. In all probability they lived upon the

+sale of smuggled opium for they were only a few miles

+from the Burma border.</p>

+

+<p>Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily

+tattooed. Usually the right leg alone, but sometimes

+both, were completely covered from the hip to the knee

+with intricate designs in black or red. The ornamentations

+often extended entirely around the body over the

+abdomen and waist, but less frequently on the breast

+and arms.</p>

+

+<p>All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations

+and usually fastened their wide trousers in

+such a way as to display them to the best advantage.

+We often could persuade a man to pose before the

+camera by admiring his tattoo marks and it was most

+amusing to watch his childlike pleasure.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">- 262 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions,

+and it is probable that at one time it inhabited a

+large part of China south of the Yangtze River; indeed,

+there is reason to believe that the Cantonese Chinamen

+are chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial resemblance

+between the two races certainly is remarkable.</p>

+

+<p>Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory

+in Y&uuml;n-nan before its conquest by the Mongol emperors

+of China in the thirteenth century A. D., and at one

+time actually subdued Burma and established a dynasty

+of their own, at present the only independent kingdom

+of the race is that of Siam. By far the greatest number

+of Shans live in semi-independent states tributary

+to Burma, China, and Siam, and in Y&uuml;n-nan inhabit

+almost all of the southern valleys below an altitude of

+4,000 feet.</p>

+

+<p>The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such

+an extent of fertile land is because the low plains are

+considered unhealthy and the Chinese cannot, or will

+not, live there. Whether or not the malarial fever of

+the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be

+proved, but the Chinese believe it to be so and the result

+is the same. Where the Shans are numerous

+enough to have a chief of their own they live in a semi-independent

+state, for although their head man is subordinate

+to the district Chinese official, the latter seldom

+interferes with the internal affairs of the tribe.</p>

+

+<p>The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct

+Mongolian type of features and rather fair complexions.

+Their dress varies decidedly with the region,

+but the men of the southern part of the province on the

+Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so

+baggy that they are almost skirtlike, a white jacket,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">- 263 -</span>

+and a large white or pink turban surmounted by a huge

+straw hat. The women dress in a white jacket and

+skirt of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans

+are of similar material and may be worn in a high cylinder,

+a low oval, or many other shapes according to the

+particular part of the province in which they live.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">- 264 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA</p>

+

+<p class="caption4"><i>Y. B. A.</i></p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one

+and we left it on March 7, with much regret. Its resources

+seemed to be almost exhausted and the Mohammedan

+hunter assured us that at a village called

+Ma-li-ling we would find excellent shooting. We

+asked him the distance and he replied, "About a long

+bamboo joint away." It required three days to get

+there!</p>

+

+<p>Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do

+not know but we eventually found it to be a tiny village

+built into the side of a hill in an absolutely barren

+country where there was not a vestige of cover.

+Our journey there was not uneventful. We left

+Nam-ka with high hopes which were somewhat dampened

+after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot

+where our caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.</p>

+

+<p>With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a

+good trail which led through dense jungle where there

+was not a clearing or a sign of life. In the afternoon

+we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and

+ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and

+emerged into an absolutely treeless valley between high

+barren hills. We knew that the Burma frontier could

+not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">- 265 -</span>

+large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the

+other side the hills were covered with bright green

+stalks and here and there a field glistened with white

+poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we were on

+the direct road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he

+said was in Burma. On our map it was marked well

+over the border in Chinese territory and we were

+greatly puzzled.</p>

+

+<p>About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were

+silhouetted against the sky on a tiny knoll in the midst

+of a grove of beautiful trees, and we camped at the

+edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid mud,

+but we were told that it was the only water supply of

+the village and its cattle. As though to prove the

+statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the hill,

+and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly

+chewing their cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women

+with buckets in their hands were constantly arriving at

+the pond for their evening supply of water. We had

+no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the

+filthy liquid but there was no alternative and after repeated

+boiling and several strainings we settled it with

+alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup.</p>

+

+<p>After dinner we questioned the few natives who

+spoke Chinese, but we became only more and more confused.

+They knew of no such place as Ma-li-ling and

+our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they

+were familiar with the trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther

+west in Burma and, moreover, they said that two

+hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. We

+were quite certain that they must be native Indian

+troops but thought that a white officer might perhaps

+be in command.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">- 266 -</span></p>

+

+<p>We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible

+political difficulties since we had no permits to

+shoot in Burma, but there seemed to be no alternative,

+for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical Ma-li-ling.

+We eventually discovered that there were two

+villages by that name&mdash;one in Burma, and the other

+in China, where it was correctly placed on the map

+which we were using.</p>

+

+<p>While we were discussing the matter a tremendous

+altercation arose between the Chinese <i>mafus</i> and the

+servants. For some time Roy did not interfere, supposing

+it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance

+at last became unbearable. Calling Wu we learned

+that because we had been so careful to avoid English

+territory the <i>mafus</i> had conceived the idea that for some

+reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. Since

+we had inadvertently crossed into Burma it appeared

+to them that it would be an opportune time to extort

+an increase of wages. They announced, therefore, that

+unless extra money was given them at once they would

+untie the loads and leave us.</p>

+

+<p>They were hardly prepared for what followed, however.

+Taking his Mannlicher rifle, Roy called the

+<i>mafus</i> together and told them that if any man touched

+a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if

+they made the slightest resistance the gun would be

+turned on them. A <i>mafus'</i> mules represent all his

+property and they did not relish the turn affairs had

+taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads

+guarded during the night. In the morning the <i>mafus</i>

+were exceedingly surprised when they learned that we

+were going to Ma-li-pa and their change of front was

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">- 267 -</span>

+laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please

+as they had been belligerent the night before.</p>

+

+<p>The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills

+through which we had passed on the previous afternoon.

+There was only one village, but it was surrounded

+by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a

+rather difficult matter for a native living in China near

+the border to understand why he should not be allowed

+to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards

+away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without

+restriction. Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better

+than on level ground. The plants begin to blossom in

+late February and the petals, when about to fall, are collected

+for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to

+cover the balls of opium. The seed pods which are left

+after the petals drop off are scarified vertically, at intervals

+of two or three days, by means of a sharp cutting instrument.

+The operation is usually performed about

+four o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form

+of dried juice, is collected the next morning. When

+China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of opium and

+the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were

+from twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the

+Empire.</p>

+

+<p>We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon

+and found it to be a straggling village built on

+two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed population of

+Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly market

+day and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of

+Indian soldiers in khaki were standing about, and I

+called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of them speak

+English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with

+cap in hand, and said, "Yes, Madame, I speak English."</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">- 268 -</span></p>

+

+<p>One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our

+own language from a native in this out-of-the-way spot I

+He was the "compounder," or medical assistant, and

+told us that the hundred native troops were in charge

+of a white officer whose house was on the opposite side

+of the river gorge. He guided us to a temple and,

+while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a tall,

+handsome young British officer who introduced himself

+as Captain Clive. He was almost speechless with

+surprise at seeing me, for he had not spoken a sentence

+in English or seen a white person since his arrival at

+this lonely post five months before.</p>

+

+<p>He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin

+and we accepted gladly. On the way he gave us our

+first news of the outside world, for we had been beyond

+communication of any sort for months, and we learned

+that the United States had severed diplomatic relations

+with Germany.</p>

+

+<p>Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo

+house with a broad verandah and thatched with straw.

+It was delightfully cool and dark after the glare of the

+yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order.

+The care which Britishers take to keep from "letting

+down" while guarding the frontiers of their vast

+empire is proverbial, and Captain Clive was a splendid

+example of the Indian officer. He was as clean-shaved

+and well-groomed as though he had been expecting us

+for days and the tiffin to which we sat down was as

+dainty and well served as it could have been in the midst

+of civilization.</p>

+

+<p>The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of

+our young officer who had been temporarily detached

+from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis, and sent on border

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">- 269 -</span>

+duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers

+were in active service in East Africa, and he had

+tried to resign several times, but the Indian government

+would not release him. When we reached Rangoon

+some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined

+his regiment and was at the front. Ma-li-pa

+was a recently established "winter station" and in May

+would be abandoned when the troop returned to Lashio,

+ten days' journey away. Comfortable barracks, cook

+houses, and a hospital had been erected beside a large

+space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade

+ground.</p>

+

+<p>Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph

+with Lashio, at the end of the railroad, and received a

+<i>r&eacute;sum&eacute;</i> of world news two or three times a week. With

+mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages

+were flashed from one mountain top to another and,

+under favorable conditions, reached Lashio in seven or

+eight hours.</p>

+

+<p>We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks

+in an open field, for there was no available shade.

+Although Captain Clive was perfectly satisfied with

+our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed

+until he had communicated with the Indian government

+by heliograph. The border was being

+guarded very closely to prevent German sympathizers

+from crossing into Burma from China and inciting

+the native tribes to rebellion.</p>

+

+<p>In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among

+the Kachins in the Myitkyina district on the upper

+waters of the Irawadi River had been incited by a foreigner,

+I believe, and Clive had assisted in suppressing

+it. The Indian government was taking no further

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">- 270 -</span>

+chances and had given strict orders to arrest and hold

+anyone, other than a native, who crossed the border

+from China.</p>

+

+<p>Very fortunately H. B. M. Consul-General Goffe

+at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu had communicated with the Lieutenant-Governor

+of Burma concerning our Expedition and

+we consequently expected no trouble, but Captain Clive

+could not let us proceed until he had orders to do so

+from the Superintendent of the Northern Shan States.

+Through a delayed message this permission did not

+reach him for five days and in the meantime we made

+the most of the limited collecting resources which Ma-li-pa

+afforded.</p>

+

+<p>Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma.

+He rose at six o'clock and after coffee and rolls had

+drill for two hours. At half past ten a heavy meal took

+the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with sandwiches

+and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at

+eight. His company was composed of several different

+native tribes, and each religious caste had its own cook

+and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not prepare

+meals for men of another. It is an extraordinary

+system but one which appears to operate perfectly well

+under the adaptable English government. Certainly

+one of the great elements in the success of the British

+as colonizers is their respect for native customs and

+superstitions!</p>

+

+<p>The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised

+to hear all commands given in English although

+none of the men could understand that language. This

+is done to enable British and Indian troops to maneuver

+together. Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to

+his officers. In the evening the men played football

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">- 271 -</span>

+on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had

+suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic

+carpet of the Arabian Nights.</p>

+

+<p>Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned

+about nine o'clock. Conditions were not favorable

+for small mammals and although we could undoubtedly

+have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats

+we did not set a line of steel traps for we expected to

+leave at any time. Our attention was mostly devoted

+to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred

+interesting specimens.</p>

+

+<p>We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain

+Clive and he dined with us in the evening. He

+had brought with him from Lashio a large quantity of

+supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done

+at home. Although the days were very warm, the

+nights were cold and a camp fire was most acceptable.</p>

+

+<p>Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese

+authorities and, while we were there, a very old

+mandarin, blind and infirm, called to present his compliments.

+He had been an ardent sportsman and was

+especially interested in our guns; had we been willing

+to accept the commission he would have paid us the

+money then and there to purchase for him a Savage

+.250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old

+gentleman always had been very loyal to the British

+and had received several decorations for his services.</p>

+

+<p>A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman

+crawled into camp with his throat terribly cut. He had

+been attacked by brigands only a few miles over the

+border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The

+company "compounder" took him in charge and, when

+Clive asked him about the patient, his evasive answers

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">- 272 -</span>

+were most amusing; like all Orientals he would not

+commit himself to any definite statement because he

+might "lose face" if his opinion proved to be wrong.</p>

+

+<p>Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman

+will die?" Looking very judicial the native replied,

+"Sir, he <i>may</i> die, and yet, he may live." "But,"

+said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "Yes,"

+was the answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That

+was all the satisfaction he was able to get.</p>

+

+<p>Clive told us of another native who formerly had

+been in his company. He had been transferred and

+one day the Captain met him in Rangoon. When

+asked if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical,

+"Sir, it is good, but not <i>s-o-o</i> good!"</p>

+

+<p>On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a

+heliograph from Rangoon announced that "The Asiatic

+Zo&ouml;logical Expedition of the American Museum

+of Natural History is especially commended to His

+Majesty's Indian Government and permission is

+hereby granted to carry on its work in Burma wherever

+it may desire." This was only one of the many courtesies

+which we received from the British.</p>

+

+<p>The morning following the receipt of the heliogram

+we broke camp at daylight. When the last mule of

+the caravan had disappeared over the brown hills

+toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode

+away. If we are ever again made "prisoners of war"

+we hope our captor will be as delightful a gentleman as

+Captain Clive.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">- 273 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAPTER XXXIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">From</span> Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the

+Salween River. The country through which we

+passed was a succession of dry treeless hills, brown and

+barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of

+the third day we reached the Salween at a ferry a few

+miles from the village of Changlung where the river

+begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across

+the border from China into Burma.</p>

+

+<p>The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself

+through the mountains and the sides are so precipitous

+that the trail doubles back upon itself a dozen times before

+it reaches the river 3,500 feet below. The upper

+half of the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees,

+but in the lower part the grass is long and rank and a

+thin dry jungle straggles along the water's edge. The

+Salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide,

+but narrows to half that distance below the ferry and

+flows in a series of rapids between rocky shores.</p>

+

+<p>The valley is devoid of human life except for three

+boatmen who tend the ferry, but the deserted rice fields

+along a narrow shelf showed evidence of former cultivation.

+On the slopes far up the side of the ca&ntilde;on is

+a Miao village, a tribe which we had not seen before.

+Probably the valley is too unhealthy for any natives to

+live close to the water's edge and, even at the time of

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">- 274 -</span>

+our visit in early March, the heated air was laden with

+malaria.</p>

+

+<p>The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with

+opium, and assured us that there were no mammals

+near the river. They admitted that they sometimes

+heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched

+on a steep sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird

+catlike call of a peacock echoed up the valley. It was

+answered by another farther down the river, and the

+report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth

+a wild "pe-haun," "pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a

+dozen places.</p>

+

+<p>The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles

+lashed together with vines and creepers. It floated just

+above the surface and was half submerged when loaded.

+The natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in

+place of oars. It consisted of a piece of tightly woven

+bamboo matting three feet long and two feet wide at

+right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle.

+With these the men nonchalantly raked the water

+toward them from the bow and stem when they had

+poled the raft well into the current. The invested capital

+was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers"

+needed repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed

+to build an entirely new outfit.</p>

+

+<p>All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the

+river from our camp where the jungle was thickest.

+On the first morning my wife and I floated down the

+river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a

+peacock which had called frequently from a rocky point

+near the water's edge. We picked our way through

+the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old

+cock either saw or heard us before we were within range,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">- 275 -</span>

+and I caught just a glimpse of a brilliant green neck

+as he disappeared into the bushes. A second bird

+called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused

+to come into the open and as we started to stalk it in

+the jungle we heard a patter of feet among the dry

+leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw the bird

+sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a

+bush-clad hill.</p>

+

+<p>This was the only peacock which we were ever able

+to flush when it had already gained cover. Usually the

+birds depend entirely upon their ability to hide or run

+through the bushes. After several attempts we learned

+that it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully.

+The jungle was so crisp and parched that the dry leaves

+crackled at every step and even small birds made a

+loud noise while scratching on the ground.</p>

+

+<p>The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for

+them at the river when they came to drink in the early

+morning and evening. Between two rocky points

+where we had first seen the birds there was a long

+curved beach of fine white sand. One morning Heller

+waited on the point nearest camp while my wife and I

+posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river.

+We had been sitting quietly for half an hour when we

+heard a scratching in the jungle. Thinking it was a

+peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water and

+sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. Meanwhile,

+Heller witnessed an interesting little drama enacted

+behind us.</p>

+

+<p>An old male peacock with a splendid train stole

+around the point close to the water, jumped to a high

+stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a full minute

+craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">- 276 -</span>

+as we kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his

+presence. After he had satisfied his curiosity he hopped

+off the observation pinnacle and, with his body flattened

+close to the ground, slipped quietly away. It was an

+excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had

+Heller not witnessed the scene we should never have

+known how the clever old bird had fooled us.</p>

+

+<p>The following morning we got a peahen at the same

+place. Heller had concealed himself in the bushes on

+one side of the point while I watched the other.

+Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the

+jungle on set wings and alighted at the water's edge.

+She saw Heller almost instantly, although he was completely

+covered by the vines, and started to fly, but he

+dropped her with a broken wing. Recovering herself,

+she darted around the rocky point only to meet a

+charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was a beautiful

+bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow

+and blue face patch and a green neck and back, but

+her plumes were short and inconspicuous when compared

+with those of the male.</p>

+

+<p>Probably these birds had never before been hunted

+but they were exceedingly shy and difficult to kill.

+Although they called more or less during the entire day and

+we could locate them exactly, they were so far back

+in the jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made

+a stalk impossible. We tried to drive them but were

+unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush unless

+they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover.

+Apparently realizing that their brilliant plumage made

+them conspicuous objects, the birds relied entirely upon

+an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful sight

+and hearing to protect themselves from enemies.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">- 277 -</span></p>

+

+<p>They usually came to the river to drink very early in

+the morning and just before dusk in the afternoon, but

+on cloudy days they might appear at almost any hour.

+If undisturbed they would remain near the water's

+edge for a considerable time or strut about the sand

+beach just at the edge of the jungle. At the sound of

+a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks would

+answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the

+domesticated birds will do.</p>

+

+<p>The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is

+poison and our servants were horrified when they

+learned that we intended to eat it. They fully expected

+that we would not survive the night and, even when

+they saw we had experienced no ill effects, they could

+not be persuaded to touch any of it themselves. An

+old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds

+are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and

+roasted they are almost the equal of turkey.</p>

+

+<p>The species which we killed on the Salween River is

+the green peafowl (<i>Pavo munticus</i>) which inhabits

+Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. Its

+neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common

+Indian peacock (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>), and it is said that it

+is the most beautiful bird of the world.</p>

+

+<p>The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are

+dropped about August and the birds assume more simple

+barred plumes, but the molt is very irregular; usually

+the full plumage is resumed in March or even

+earlier. The train is, of course, an ornament to attract

+the female and, when a cock is strutting about with

+spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar

+rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.</p>

+

+<p>The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">- 278 -</span>

+under a bush in the dense jungle, are dull brownish white

+and nearly three inches long. The chicks are sometimes

+domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said

+they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The

+birds are omnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles,

+flower buds, young shoots, and grain.</p>

+

+<p>The common peafowl (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>) is a native of

+India, Ceylon, and Assam. It is held sacred by some

+religious castes and we saw dozens of the birds wandering

+about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra,

+and Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable

+pets because they often attack infirm persons and children

+and kill young poultry.</p>

+

+<p>In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so

+abundant and easily killed that they do not furnish even

+passable sport, but in other places they are as wild and

+difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the Salween

+River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen

+that wherever peafowls are common, there tiger

+will be found.</p>

+

+<p>A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen

+abruptly in domestication is the so-called "japanned"

+or black-shouldered peacock named <i>Pavo nigripennis</i> by

+Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is intermediate between

+<i>P. munticus</i> and <i>P. cristatus</i> and apparently

+"breeds true" but never has been found in a wild state.

+Albino specimens are by no means unusual and are a

+feature of many zo&ouml;logical gardens.</p>

+

+<p>Peacocks have been under domestication for many

+centuries and are mentioned in the Bible as having been

+imported into Palestine by Solomon; although the bird

+is referred to in mythology, the Greeks probably had but

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">- 279 -</span>

+little knowledge of it until after the conquests of Alexander.</p>

+

+<p>In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from

+our camp on the Salween River I put up a silver pheasant

+(<i>Euplocamus nycthemerus</i>), one of the earliest

+known and most beautiful species of the family Phasianid&aelig;.

+Its white mantle, delicately vermiculated with

+black, extends like a wedding veil over the head, back

+and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black underparts,

+red cheek patches, and red legs.</p>

+

+<p>This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon

+the heart and back badges of the official dresses of civil

+mandarins to denote the rank of the wearer, and is found

+only in southern and western China. It is by no means

+abundant in the parts of Y&uuml;n-nan which we visited and,

+moreover, lives in such dense jungle that it is difficult to

+find. The natives sometimes snare the birds and offer

+them for sale alive.</p>

+

+<p>We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween

+River, but were not successful in killing any. They

+were probably the Indian baboon (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)

+and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most

+extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and

+sometimes came down to the water to skip and dance

+along the sand and play among the rocks. The monkeys

+invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river

+from us and by the time we hunted up the boatmen and

+got the clumsy raft to the other shore the baboons had

+disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running

+through the trees up the mountain-side.</p>

+

+<p>The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping

+ground for either small or large mammals, but

+the birds were interesting and we secured a good many

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">- 280 -</span>

+species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were abundant

+and pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks

+along the river and only two cormorants.</p>

+

+<p>Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay,

+for it is a long way from the main road and the climb

+out of the gorge is too formidable to be undertaken if

+the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where

+the valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped

+at the river the heat was most uncomfortable during

+the middle of the day and was but little mitigated by

+the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer

+the valley at this point must be a veritable furnace and

+doubtless reeks with fever. We slept under nets at

+night and in the early evening, while we were watching

+for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">- 281 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAPTER XXXIV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley.

+We left on March 24 and all day crawled up the steep

+sides on a trail which doubled back and forth upon itself

+like an endless letter S. From our camp at night

+the river was just visible as a thin green line several

+thousand feet below, and for the first time in days, we

+needed a charcoal fire in our tents.</p>

+

+<p>We were <i>en route</i> to Lung-ling, a town of considerable

+size, where there was a possibility that mail might

+be awaiting us in care of the mandarin. Although ordinarily

+a three days' journey, it was more than four

+days before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack

+of malaria shortly after leaving the Salween River and

+we had to travel half stages.</p>

+

+<p>When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude

+of 6,000 feet, we arrived at a Chinese town. Its

+dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together in a crowded

+mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged

+children and foot-bound women, were in unpleasant

+contrast to the charming little Shan villages which we

+had seen in the low country. The inhabitants themselves

+appeared to no better advantage when compared with

+their Shan neighbors, for their stares and insolent curiosity

+were almost unbearable.</p>

+

+<p>The region between the Salween River at Changlung

+and Lung-ling is as uninteresting to the zo&ouml;logist

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">- 282 -</span>

+as it could possibly be, for the hills are dry and bare

+and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical Chinese

+town except that the streets are wide and it is not as

+dirty as usual. The mandarin was a jolly rotund little

+fellow who simulated great sympathy when he informed

+me that he had received no mail for us. We had left

+directions to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang

+and in the event that he did not find our camp to proceed

+to Lung-ling with the mail. We learned some

+weeks later that the runner had been frightened by brigands

+and had turned back long before he reached

+Meng-ting.</p>

+

+<p>We had heard from our <i>mafus</i> and other natives that

+black monkeys were to be found on a mountain pass

+not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu, on the main

+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain

+that they would prove to be gibbons, we decided to make

+that our next hunting camp. It was three stages from

+Lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we

+again descended to the Salween River.</p>

+

+<p>The valley at this point is several miles wide and is

+so dry that the few shrubs and bushes seem to be parched

+and barely able to live. At the upper end a picturesque

+village is set among extensive rice fields. Although a

+few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly Shans

+who are in a transitory state and are gradually adopting

+Chinese customs. The houses are joined to each other

+in the Chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with

+straw. In shape as well as in composition they are quite

+unlike the dwellings of the southern Shans. The women

+wore cylindrical turbans, about eighteen inches high,

+which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the men

+were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of Chinese

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">- 283 -</span>

+blue. I believe that some of the Shan women also had

+bound feet but of this I cannot be certain.</p>

+

+<p>We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree

+at the far end of the village street, and a short time

+after the tents were up we had a visit from the Shan

+magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow

+wearing foreign dress and quite <i>au courant</i> with foreign

+ways. He even owned a breech-loading shotgun,

+and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. He presented

+us with the usual chickens and I returned several tins

+of cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman

+and directed us to a place on the mountain above the

+village where he said monkeys were abundant.</p>

+

+<p>We left early in the morning with a guide and, after

+a hard climb, arrived at a little village near the forest

+to which the magistrate had directed us. Not only did

+the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys

+but we discovered for ourselves that the only water was

+more than a mile away, and that camping there was

+out of the question.</p>

+

+<p>The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu.

+It is a tiny village built into the mountain-side with

+hardly fifty yards of level ground about it, but commanding

+a magnificent view over the Salween valley.

+Although we reached there at half past two in the afternoon

+the <i>mafus</i> insisted on camping because they swore

+that there was no water within fifty <i>li</i> up the mountain.

+Very unwillingly I consented to camp and the next

+morning found, as usual, that the <i>mafus</i> had lied for

+there was a splendid camping place with good water not

+two hours from Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for

+the Chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small

+matters, and the head <i>mafu</i> blandly admitted that he

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">- 284 -</span>

+knew there was a camping place farther on but that he

+was tired and wanted to stop early.</p>

+

+<p>As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted

+with a ringing "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the

+forest five hundred feet below us; they were the calls of

+gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those

+of the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once

+and, after considerable prospecting, chose a flat place

+beside the road. It was by no means ideal but had the

+advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from

+either side of the ridge which for its entire length was

+scarcely two hundred feet in width. The sides fell away

+for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad slopes and,

+as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of

+mountains rolled outward in a great sea of green.</p>

+

+<p>Our camp would have been delightful except for the

+wind which swept across the pass night and day in an

+unceasing gale. My wife and I set a line of traps

+along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge,

+while Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced

+with the forest. The trees were immense

+spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed

+a solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft moss carpet

+underneath. Every trunk was clothed in a smothering

+mass of vines and ferns and parasitic plants and, from

+the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers

+swayed back and forth with every breath of wind. Below,

+the forest was fairly open save for occasional

+patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so

+close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more

+than a somber twilight beneath the trees.</p>

+

+<p>Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale

+which howled up the valley from the south and swept

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">- 285 -</span>

+across the ridge in a torrent of wind. The huge trees

+around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed

+about to be torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of

+branches and the roar of the wind it was impossible to

+hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question.

+We lay in our bags expecting every second to have the

+covering torn from above our heads, but the tough cloth

+held, and at midnight the gale began to lull. In the

+morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind

+never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was

+a breathless calm among the trees a few hundred feet

+below.</p>

+

+<p>My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our

+line of traps about nine o'clock in the morning when the

+forest suddenly resounded with the "hu-wa," "hu-wa,"

+"hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off at

+first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At

+the first note we seized our guns and dashed down the

+mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and falling. The

+animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet

+below the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we

+moved cautiously from tree to tree, going forward only

+when they called. It was one of the most exciting stalks

+I have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed

+always close above our heads.</p>

+

+<p>We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black

+monkey leaped out of a tree top just as I stepped from

+behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. For a full half

+minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head

+thrust forward staring intently; then launching himself

+into the air as though shot from a catapult he caught a

+branch twenty feet away, swung to another, and literally

+flew through the tree tops. Without a sound save the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">- 286 -</span>

+swish of the branches and splash after splash in the

+leaves, the entire herd followed him down the hill. It

+was out of range for the shotgun and my wife was ten

+feet behind me with the rifle, but had I had it in my

+hand I doubt if I could have hit one of those flying

+balls of fur.</p>

+

+<p>We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but

+two days later we redeemed ourselves and brought in the

+first new gibbons. We were sitting on a bed of fragrant

+pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been

+chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when

+suddenly the wild call of the monkeys echoed up the

+mountain-side.</p>

+

+<p>They were far away to the left, and we ran toward

+them, stumbling and slipping on the moss-covered rocks

+and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" sounding

+louder every moment. They seemed almost under us

+at times and we would stand motionless and silent only

+to hear the howls die away in the distance. At last we

+located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge

+filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny

+plants. It was an impossible place to cross, and we sat

+down, irresolute and discouraged. In a few moments

+a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black

+apes swinging along through the trees, two hundred

+yards away. Finally they stopped and began to feed.

+They were small marks at that distance but I rested

+my little Mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot

+while Yvette watched them with the glasses. One big

+fellow swung out on a branch and hung with one arm

+while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other. Yvette

+saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did

+not move, and at the roar of the second he dropped

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">- 287 -</span>

+heavily into the vines below. A brown female ran

+along the branch a few seconds later and peered down

+into the jungle where the first monkey had fallen. I

+covered her carefully with the ivory head of the front

+sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong off

+the tree.</p>

+

+<p>For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of

+leaves and three huge black males leaped into full view

+from the summit of a tall tree. They were silhouetted

+against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick succession

+registering two clean misses. The bullets must

+have whizzed too close for comfort and they faded instantly

+into the forest like three black shadows.</p>

+

+<p>For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense

+foliage hoping to catch a glimpse of a swaying branch.

+Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling in the low tree beneath

+which we were sitting and seized me violently by

+the arm, screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above

+us. Quick, quick, he's going!"</p>

+

+<p>I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not

+twenty feet away hung a huge brown monkey half the

+size of a man. Almost in a daze I fired with the shotgun.

+The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long

+arm and a pair of eyes blazing like living coals, stared

+into mine. I fired again point blank as the huge mouth,

+baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a blood-curdling

+howl. The monkey slowly swung back again,

+its arm relaxed and the animal fell at my feet, stone

+dead.</p>

+

+<p>It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance

+we had chosen, from all the trees in the forest, to sit

+under the very one in which the gibbon had been hiding

+and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">- 288 -</span></p>

+

+<p>While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of

+the gorge, I climbed down into the jungle to try and

+make my way up the opposite side where the other

+monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the

+rocks were covered with a thin layer of earth which

+supported a dense growth of vegetation. If I tried to

+let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern

+it would almost invariably strip away with a long layer

+of dirt and send me headlong.</p>

+

+<p>After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine

+where a mountain torrent leaped and foamed over

+the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade to a pool

+fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite

+side was more difficult than the descent and twice I had

+to return after finding the way impassable.</p>

+

+<p>A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated

+me from the spot where the gibbons had fallen.

+I skirted the rock face and had laboriously worked my

+way around and above it when a vine to which I had

+been clinging stripped off and I began to slide. Faster

+and faster I went, dragging a mass of ferns and creepers

+with me, for everything I grasped gave way.</p>

+

+<p>I thought it was the end of things for me because I

+was hardly ten feet above the precipice which fell away

+to the jagged rocks of the stream bed in a drop of seventy

+feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my life.

+Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me

+flattened out against the cliff. But even then I was

+far from safe, as I realized when I tried to twist about

+to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from

+a bush above my head.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f288a" style="width: 361px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f288a.png" width="361" height="288" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Suspension Bridge</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f288b" style="width: 355px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f288b.png" width="355" height="287" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Andrews Feeding One of Our Bear Cubs</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">- 289 -</span></p>

+

+<p>How I managed to crawl back to safety among the

+trees I can remember only vaguely. I finally got down

+to the bottom of the ca&ntilde;on, but felt weak and sick and

+it was half an hour before I could climb up to the place

+where my wife was waiting. She was already badly

+frightened for she had not seen me since I left her an

+hour before and, when I answered her call, she was

+about to follow into the jungle where I had disappeared.

+We left the two monkeys to be recovered from above

+and went slowly back to camp.</p>

+

+<p>The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of

+the Nam-ting River. They represent a well-known

+species called the "hoolock" (<i>Hylobates hoolock</i>) which

+is also found in Burma.</p>

+

+<p>The males, both old and young, are coal black with a

+fringe of white hairs about the face, and the females are

+light brown. Their note is totally unlike the Nam-ting

+River gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the top

+of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle

+for an hour or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty

+minutes as they swing through the branches and are silent

+during the remainder of the day. They called

+most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom

+heard them during cloudy weather.</p>

+

+<p>Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which

+were visited every day, but the herds seemed to cover

+a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons of the Nam-ting

+River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops

+at almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing

+things which I have ever witnessed was the way in

+which they could throw themselves from one tree to

+another with unerring precision.</p>

+

+<p>On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three

+months and our share amounted to 105 letters besides

+a great quantity of magazines. Wu had ridden to Teng-yueh

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">- 290 -</span>

+for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had

+a basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Renter's

+cablegrams which were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer

+and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of the Chinese

+Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen

+also sent a note telling us of a good hunting ground

+near Teng-yueh.</p>

+

+<p>We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our

+letters and papers and, through them, began to get in

+touch with the world again. It is strange how little one

+misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its

+reach and has properly adjusted one's mental perspective.

+And it is just as strange how essential it all seems

+immediately one is again within reach of such adjuncts

+of civilization.</p>

+

+<p>On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water

+fell in torrents, and the roar, as it drummed upon the

+tent, was so incessant that we could barely hear each

+other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp

+had not been made with reference to weather and during

+the night I waked to find that we were in the middle

+of a pond with fifteen inches of water in the tent. Shoes,

+clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface

+of the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our

+cots. This was the beginning of a ten days' rain after

+which we had six weeks of as delightful weather as one

+could wish.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">- 291 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAPTER XXXV</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">After</span> a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we

+shifted camp to a village called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles

+nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride along

+the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed

+through grove after grove of rhododendrons in full

+blossom. The trees were sometimes thirty feet in height

+and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living coals

+among their dark green leaves. In the northern part of

+Y&uuml;n-nan the rhododendrons grow above other timber

+line on mountains where it is too high even for spruces.</p>

+

+<p>It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu.

+I had another attack of the Salween malaria and for

+five or six days could do little work. Heller, however,

+made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned

+pheasant, Temminck's tragopan (<i>Ceriornis temmincki</i>),

+besides half a dozen langurs of the same species as

+those we had collected on the Nam-ting River. He also

+was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels

+(<i>Petaurista yunnanensis</i>) which we had hoped to

+get at Wei-hsi. He saw the animal in the upper branches

+of a dead tree on the first evening we were in Tai-ping-pu

+but was not able to get a shot. The next night he

+watched the same spot and killed the squirrel with a

+charge of "fours." It measured forty-two and one-quarter

+inches from the nose to the end of the tail and was a

+rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">- 292 -</span>

+underparts were cream white. As in all flying squirrels,

+the four legs were connected by a sheet of skin

+called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body.

+This acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail

+from tree to tree for, of course, it cannot fly like a

+bat As these huge squirrels are strictly nocturnal, they

+are not often seen even by the natives. We were told

+by the Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building

+huge fires in the woods they could attract the animals

+and shoot them with their crossbows.</p>

+

+<p>A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel

+from a native and kept it for several days in the hope

+that it might become tame. The animal was exceedingly

+savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at

+anyone who approached its basket. It could not be

+tempted to eat or drink and, as it was a valuable specimen,

+we eventually chloroformed it.</p>

+

+<p>Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half

+dozen families of Lisos were living, and we hired the

+men to hunt for us. They were good-natured fellows,

+as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and worked

+well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck

+which had been killed with their crossbows and poisoned

+darts. The arrows were about twelve inches long, made

+of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece of

+the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels

+were sharpened to a needle point, but the hunting darts

+were tipped with steel or iron. The poison they extracted

+from a plant, which I never saw, and it was said

+that it takes effect very rapidly.</p>

+

+<p>The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot

+in the side with a single arrow and they assured us that

+only the flesh immediately surrounding the wound had

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">- 293 -</span>

+been spoiled for food. These natives like the Mosos,

+Lolos, and others carried their darts in a quiver made

+from the leg skin of a black bear, and none of the men

+wished to sell their weapons; I finally did obtain a

+crossbow and quiver for six dollars (Mexican).</p>

+

+<p>Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the

+Lisos guided my wife and me to a large cave where

+they said there was a colony of bats. The cavern was

+an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult

+and dangerous place in the side of a cliff just above

+a swift mountain stream. We strung our gill net across

+the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to stir

+up the animals while we caught them as they flew out.

+In less than half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown

+bats, but our fingers were cut and bleeding from the

+vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. They all represented

+a widely distributed species which we had already

+obtained at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu.</p>

+

+<p>From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans

+at Ta-li Fu asking him to forward to Teng-yueh the

+specimens which we had left in his care, and the day

+following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing

+our cases passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves,

+were about ready to leave and two days later at ten

+o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain

+summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh

+plain which lay before us like a relief map. It is as

+flat as a plain well can be and, except where a dozen

+or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley

+is one vast watery rice field. Far in the distance, outside

+the gray city walls, we could see two temple-like

+buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds, and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">- 294 -</span>

+Wu told us they were the houses of the Customs officials.</p>

+

+<p>Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting"

+or second-class Chinese city, is one of the most important

+places in the province, for it stands as the door

+to India. All the trade of Burma and Y&uuml;n-nan flows

+back and forth through the gates of Teng-yueh, over

+the great caravan road to Bhamo on the upper Irawadi.</p>

+

+<p>An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs,

+which are administered by the British government as

+security for the Boxer indemnity, is situated in this

+city, and we were looking forward with the greatest

+interest to meeting its white population. At the time

+of our visit the foreigners included Messrs. H. G.

+Fletcher and Ralph C. Grierson, respectively Acting

+Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Customs;

+Messrs. W. R. Palmer and Abertsen, also of the Customs;

+Mr. Eastes, H. B. M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian

+Medical Officer, and Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the

+China Inland Mission; Mr. Eastes, accompanied by the

+resident mandarin, was absent on a three months' opium

+inspection tour so that we did not meet him.</p>

+

+<p>We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and

+camped in a temple outside the city walls. Immediately

+after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson and went with

+him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and

+Palmer were living. We found there a Scotch botanist,

+Mr. Forrest, an old traveler in Y&uuml;n-nan who

+was <i>en route</i> to A-tun-tzu on a three-year plant-hunting

+expedition for an English commercial firm. We had

+heard much of Forrest from Messrs. Kok and Hanna

+and were especially glad to meet him because of his

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">- 295 -</span>

+wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province.

+Mr. Forrest was interested chiefly in primroses

+and rhododendrons, I believe, and in former years obtained

+a rather remarkable collection of these plants.</p>

+

+<p>From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United

+States had declared war on Germany. It had been announced

+only a week before, and the information had

+reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately.

+It came as welcome news to us Americans

+who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to ourselves

+and others our country's lethargy in the face of Teuton

+insolence, and made us feel that once again we could

+acknowledge our nationality with the pride we used

+to feel.</p>

+

+<p>On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his

+guests and to move our caravan and belongings to his

+beautiful home. We were charmed with it and our host.

+The house was built with upturned, temple-like gables,

+and from his cool verandah we could look across an

+exquisite flower-filled garden to the blue mountains

+from which we had had our first view of Teng-yueh

+the day before. The interior of the dwelling was as

+attractive as its surroundings, and the beautifully served

+meals were as varied and dainty as one could have had

+in the midst of a great city.</p>

+

+<p>Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their

+sport with them. Just beyond the city walls an excellent

+golf course had been laid out with Chinese graves as

+bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind

+the Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent

+polo ponies, besides three trained pointer dogs,

+and riding and shooting over the beautiful hills gave

+him an almost ideal life. We found that Mr. Fletcher

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">- 296 -</span>

+had a really remarkable selection of records and an excellent

+Victrola. After dinner, as we listened to the

+music, we had only to close our eyes and float back to

+New York and the Metropolitan Opera House on the

+divine harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or Caruso's

+matchless voice. But none of us wished to be there

+in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and the

+music already brought with it a lingering sadness because

+our days in the free, wild mountains of China

+were drawing to a close.</p>

+

+<p>During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we

+dried and packed all our specimens in tin-lined boxes

+which were purchased from the agent of the British

+American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were

+just the right size to carry on muleback and, after the

+birds and mammals had been wrapped in cotton and

+sprinkled with naphthalene, the cases were soldered and

+made air tight. The most essential thing in sending

+specimens of any kind through a moist, tropical climate

+such as India is to have them perfectly dry before the

+boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their

+destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined.</p>

+

+<p>On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased

+from a native two bear cubs (<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>) about a

+week old. Each was coal black except for a V-shaped

+white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When they

+first came to us they were too young to eat and we fed

+them diluted condensed milk from a spoon.</p>

+

+<p>The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the

+story of their amusing ways as they grew older is a

+book in itself. After a month one of the cubs died,

+leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only

+lived and flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">- 297 -</span></p>

+

+<p>He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the

+Irawadi River to Rangoon, and across the Bay of Bengal

+to Calcutta. He then visited many cities in India,

+and at Bombay boarded the P. &amp; O. S. S. <i>Namur</i> for

+Hongkong and became the pet of the ship. From China

+we took him to Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver,

+and finally to our home at Lawrence Park, Bronxville,

+New York. After an adventurous career as a house

+pet, when his exploits had made him famous and ourselves

+disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully sent

+him to the National Zo&ouml;logical Park, Washington,

+D. C, where he is living happily at the present time. He

+was the most delightful little pet we have ever owned

+and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his

+early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can

+see him still as he came to us the first week. He might

+well have been the model for the original "Teddy Bear"

+for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears

+and sparkling little eyes.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">- 298 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI">CHAPTER XXXVI</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">A BIG GAME PARADISE</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">A few</span> months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen

+had discovered a splendid hunting ground near the village

+of Hui-yao, about eighty <i>li</i> from Teng-yueh. He

+had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while

+passing through the village, the natives told him that

+a large herd of <i>gnai-yang</i> or "wild goats" lived on the

+side of a hill through which a branch of the Shweli River

+had cut a deep gorge.</p>

+

+<p>Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the

+accuracy of the report he spent two days hunting and

+with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover, he saw

+twenty-five others. We examined the two skins and

+realized at once that they represented a different species

+from those of the Snow Mountain. Therefore, when

+we left Teng-yueh our first camp was at Hui-yao.</p>

+

+<p>Heller and I started with four natives shortly after

+daylight. We crossed a tumble-down wooden bridge

+over the river at a narrow ca&ntilde;on where the sides were

+straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for

+about two miles. On the way Heller, who was in front,

+saw two muntjac standing in the grass on an open

+hillside, and shot the leader. The deer pitched headlong

+but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off

+into the thick cover at the edge of the meadow. It had

+disappeared before Heller reached the clearing but he

+saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock.

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">- 299 -</span>

+Although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal

+ran a quarter of a mile, and he finally discovered

+her several hours later in the bushes beside the river.</p>

+

+<p>In a short time we reached an open hillside which

+rose six or seven hundred feet above the river in a

+steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall of rock

+bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We separated

+at this point. Heller, with two natives, keeping

+near the river, while I climbed up the hill to work along

+the cliffs half way to the summit.</p>

+

+<p>In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort

+and, looking up, saw three gorals standing on a ledge

+seventy-five yards above him. He fired twice but missed

+and the animals disappeared around a corner of the

+hill. A few hundred yards farther on he saw a single

+old ram but his two shots apparently had no effect.</p>

+

+<p>Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far

+from the summit for a mile or more without seeing an

+animal. Fresh tracks were everywhere and well-cut

+trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass.

+I had reached an impassable precipice and was returning

+across a steep slope when seven gorals jumped out

+of the grass where they had been lying asleep. I was

+in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick

+succession as the animals appeared through the branches,

+but missed both times.</p>

+

+<p>I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then

+nearly two hundred yards away. One big ram had left

+the herd and was trotting along broadside on. I

+aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his

+head appeared in the peep sight. He turned a beautiful

+somersault and rolled over and over down the hill, finally

+disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">- 300 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds

+later I saw a small one slowly skirting the rocks on the

+very summit of the hill. The first shot kicked the dirt

+beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran

+behind a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher

+on the trunk of a tree, covering the edge of the rock

+with the ivory head of the front sight and waited. I

+was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal

+out, and in two or three minutes his head appeared.

+I fired instantly, boring him through both shoulders,

+and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging against

+a rock not fifty yards from where we stood.</p>

+

+<p>The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling

+at the top of their lungs, ran up the hill like goats

+to bring the animal down to me. It was a young male

+in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches

+long. Our pleasure was somewhat dampened, however,

+when we went to recover the first goral for we

+found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge

+of the river it had either rolled or crawled into the water.

+We searched along the bank for half a mile but without

+success and returned to Hui-yao just in time for tiffin.</p>

+

+<p>In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little

+grove on the opposite side of the river behind the

+hunting grounds. Heller, instead of going over with the

+caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the

+pine forest where he could look across the river to the

+hill on which we had hunted in the morning. With his

+field glasses he discovered five gorals in an open meadow,

+and opened fire. It was long shooting but the animals

+did not know which way to run, and he killed three of

+the herd before they disappeared. Our first day had,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">- 301 -</span>

+therefore, netted us one deer and four gorals which was

+better than at any other camp we had had in China.</p>

+

+<p>We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao

+would prove to be a wonderful hunting ground, and the

+two weeks we spent there justified all our hopes. At

+other places the cover was so dense or the country so

+rough that it was necessary to depend entirely upon

+dogs and untrained natives, but here the animals were

+on open hillsides where they could be still hunted with

+success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn

+something about the habits of the animals for we could

+watch them with glasses from the opposite side of the

+river when they were quite unconscious of our presence.</p>

+

+<p>There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that

+we did not bring in one or more gorals and even after

+we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens were left.

+Shooting the animals from across the river was rather

+an unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very

+effective method of collecting the particular specimens

+we needed for the Museum series. The distance was so

+great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the

+bullets were coming and almost any number of shots

+might be had before the animals made for cover. It

+became simply a case of long range target shooting at

+seldom less than three hundred yards.</p>

+

+<p>Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter,

+however, and was as good sport as I have ever had.

+The rocks and open meadow slopes were so precipitous

+that there was very real danger every moment, for one

+misstep would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to

+the bottom where he would inevitably be killed.</p>

+

+<p>The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the

+sheerest cliffs or to hide in the rank grass, and it took

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">- 302 -</span>

+close work to find them. I used most frequently to ride

+from camp to the river, send back the horse by a <i>mafu</i>,

+and work along the face of the rock wall with my two

+native boys. Their eyesight was wonderful and they

+often discovered gorals lying among the rocks when I

+had missed them entirely with my powerful prism

+binoculars. Their eyes had never been dimmed by

+study and I suppose were as keen as those of primitive

+man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives thousands

+of years ago over these same hills.</p>

+

+<p>There were many glorious hunts and it would be

+wearisome were I to describe them all, but one afternoon

+stands out in my memory above the others. It

+was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away

+from camp, across the rice fields and up the grassy valley

+to the long sweep of open meadow on the rim of the

+river gorge.</p>

+

+<p>Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter,

+and I crawled carefully to a jutting point of rocks and

+lay face down to inspect the cliffs above and to the left.

+With my glasses I scanned every inch of the gray wall,

+but could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi

+I saw him gazing intently at the rock which I had just

+examined, and in a moment he whispered excitedly

+"<i>gnai-yang</i>." By putting both hands to the side of his

+head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and

+although he pointed with my rifle, it was full five minutes

+before I could discover the goral flat upon his belly

+against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore legs

+doubled beneath his body. He was sound asleep in

+the sun and looked as though he might remain forever.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f302a" style="width: 365px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f302a.png" width="365" height="286" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Sambur Killed at Wa-tien</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f302b" style="width: 363px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f302b.png" width="363" height="285" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Head of a Muntjac</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">- 303 -</span></p>

+

+<p>By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up

+above and circle around the cliff to a ragged promontory

+which jutted into space within a hundred yards of

+the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour

+before we peered cautiously between two rocks opposite

+the ledge where the goral had been asleep. The

+animal was gone. We looked at each other in blank

+amazement and then began a survey of the ground

+below.</p>

+

+<p>Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the

+ram feeding in an open meadow and we began at once

+to make our way down the face of the cliff. It was

+dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety

+and worked cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the

+goral had been standing. Again we crawled like snakes

+among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving

+grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared, and

+even Achi could not discover a sign of life upon the

+meadow.</p>

+

+<p>With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and

+looked around. Instantly there was a rattle of stones

+and a huge goral leaped out of the grass thirty yards

+away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle and

+shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the

+animal. Swearing softly at my carelessness, I threw in

+another shell, selected a spot in front of the ram, and

+fired. The splendid animal sank in its tracks without

+a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.</p>

+

+<p>I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized

+me by the arm, whispering "<i>gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang,

+na, na, na, na</i>" and pointing to the cliffs two

+hundred yards above us. I looked up just in time to

+see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit

+of the ridge. An instant later he appeared again and

+stopped broadside on with his noble head thrown up,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">- 304 -</span>

+silhouetted against the sky. It was a perfect target

+and, resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the animal

+with the white bead and centered it in the rear

+sight. As I touched the hair trigger and the roar of

+the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the

+cliff, the animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling

+over and over down the meadow and bringing up

+against a boulder not twenty yards from the first goral.</p>

+

+<p>That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk

+I would not have changed my lot with any man on earth.

+The breathless excitement of the stalk and the wild thrill

+of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid rams were

+still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley and

+across the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette

+ran to the edge of the grove, her hands filled with wet

+photographic negatives. "How many?" she called.

+"Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many

+for you?" "Fourteen color plates," she sung back

+happily, "and all good."</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">- 305 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII">CHAPTER XXXVII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">SEROW AND SAMBUR</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during

+our first week in camp. He rode out on Thursday afternoon

+and remained until Sunday, bringing us mail,

+war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with

+goral meat for all the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the

+afternoon of his visit I had killed three monkeys which

+represented a different species from any we had obtained

+before. They were the Indian baboon (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)

+and were probably like those of the Salween River at

+Changlung.</p>

+

+<p>I found two great troupes of the monkeys running

+along the opposite river bank. The first herd was climbing

+up the almost perpendicular rock walls, swinging

+on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in

+the tufts of grass. I could not approach nearer than

+one hundred and fifty yards and did some very bad

+shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at

+that distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires

+a much better shot than I am to register more hits than

+misses. I did kill two, but both dropped into the river

+and promptly sank, so that I gave it up.</p>

+

+<p>Less than a half mile farther on another and larger

+troupe appeared among the boulders just at the water's

+edge. Profiting by my experience, I kept out of sight

+among the bushes and watched the animals play about

+until one hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant.

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">- 306 -</span>

+I got six in this way, but we were able to recover only

+three of them from the water.</p>

+

+<p>Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the

+doe which he killed on the first day. One of the largest

+bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers three and one half

+inches long from the burr to the tip. The skin-covered

+projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the

+summits of which the antlers grow, measured two and

+one-half inches from the skull to the burrs. Evidently

+the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for, although

+they were all in full summer pelage, two already

+had lost their antlers while the other had not. I can

+think of no more delicious meat than the flesh of these

+little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by

+the English sportsmen of India as they are by the foreigners

+of China.</p>

+

+<p>I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was

+fortunate in killing a splendid coal-black serow which

+represents a subspecies new to science; although the

+natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick

+jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen

+for years. Heller and I had gone to this part of the

+gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys which he had

+located on the previous day. We had separated. Heller

+keeping close to the water while I skirted the cliffs near

+the summit not far from the road which led through the

+pine forest.</p>

+

+<p>I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when

+suddenly with a snort a large animal dashed out of a

+thicket below and to the left. I caught a glimpse of a

+great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns

+as the beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized

+that it was a serow. A few seconds later it reappeared,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">- 307 -</span>

+running directly away from me along the upper edge

+of the gorge. I fired and the animal dropped, gave

+a convulsive twist, rolled over, and plunged into the

+ca&ntilde;on.</p>

+

+<p>As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited

+yells from below, and it was evident that some

+natives near the water had seen it fall. I had slight hope

+that they might have rescued it from the river, but my

+heart was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying

+to find a place where it was possible to descend. A

+wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away

+guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible

+for a human being to walk along it, and in proof

+I slid the last half of the way to the rocks at the river's

+edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck.</p>

+

+<p>When we reached the stream it was only to find a

+flat wall against which the water surged in a mass of

+white foam, separating us from the place where the

+serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock

+but in two steps the water was above my waist. It was

+evident that we would have to swim, and I began to

+undress, inviting Achi and the wood cutter to follow;

+the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few

+clothes with considerable hesitation.</p>

+

+<p>It was a swim of only about forty feet around the

+face of the cliff but the current was strong and it was

+no easy matter to fight my way to the other side. After

+I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood

+cutter to follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently

+the current was more than he had bargained for and a

+look of fear crossed his face, but he went manfully at it.</p>

+

+<p>He had almost reached the rock on which I was

+standing with outstretched hand when his strength

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">- 308 -</span>

+seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. I

+jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one

+hand and letting my legs float out behind. The wood

+cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to which he

+clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning

+man and I dragged him up stream until, to my intense

+relief, he could grasp the rocks.</p>

+

+<p>We picked our way among the boulders for a few

+yards and suddenly came upon the serow lying partly

+in the water. I felt like dancing with delight but the

+sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations

+and I merely yelled to Achi who understood from

+the tone, if not from my words, that the animal was

+safe.</p>

+

+<p>The men who had shouted when the animal fell over

+the cliff were only fifty feet away, but they too were

+separated from it by a wall of rock and surging water.

+They said that there was an easier way up the cliff

+than the one by which we had descended, and prepared

+a line of tough vines, one end of which they let down to

+us. We made it fast to the serow and I kept a second

+vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as

+they dragged it to the other shore. It was landed safely

+and the wood cutter was hauled over by the same means.</p>

+

+<p>I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered

+that Achi had disappeared, taking my garments

+and those of the wood cutter with him. He evidently

+intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in

+the rather awkward predicament of making our way

+through the thick brush with only the proverbial smile

+and minus even the necktie.</p>

+

+<p>The men fastened together the serow's four legs,

+slipped a pole beneath them and toiled up the steep

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">- 309 -</span>

+slope preceded by a naked brown figure and followed

+by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with

+vines and creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing

+through them with no bodily protection was far from

+comfortable.</p>

+

+<p>When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge

+I was dismayed to find that Achi was not there with my

+clothes. The wood cutter did not appear to be greatly

+worried and indicated that we would find him farther

+up the road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every

+second to meet some person, and sure enough, a Chinese

+woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. I dived

+into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a

+rabbit, and from the frightened way in which she hurried

+past, she must have thought she had seen one of her

+ancestral spirits stalking abroad. We eventually found

+the boy, and, decently dressed, I faced the world again

+with confidence and happiness.</p>

+

+<p>On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the

+cliffs across the river. It was high up and fully three

+hundred and fifty yards away but, of course, quite unconscious

+of our presence. My first two shots struck

+close beside the animal, but at the third it rolled over

+and over down the hill, lodging among the rocks just

+above the river.</p>

+

+<p>Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half

+the village acted as an escort to the serow, an animal

+which few had ever seen. It was a female, and probably

+weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The

+mane was short and black and strikingly unlike the long

+white manes of the Snow Mountain serows; the horns

+were almost smooth. Getting this specimen was one of

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">- 310 -</span>

+the lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman,

+for one might hunt for weeks in the same place without

+ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is exceedingly

+dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk

+except in a few spots. The animal had been feeding on

+the new grass just at the edge of the heavy cover and

+probably had been sleeping under a bush when she was

+disturbed.</p>

+

+<p>Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good

+collection of reptiles and lizards at Hui-yao, but in all

+other parts of the province which we visited they were

+exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in a

+place where there were so few reptiles and batrachians.

+We obtained only one species of poisonous snake here.

+It was a small green viper which we sometimes saw

+coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass.

+Several species of nonpoisonous snakes were more common

+but were nowhere really abundant.</p>

+

+<p>We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for

+a village called Wa-tien where there was a report of

+sambur. None of us had any real hope of finding the

+huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we

+camped in the early afternoon on an open hilltop five

+miles from Wa-tien where the natives assured us the

+animals often came to eat the young rice during the

+night.</p>

+

+<p>We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters,

+but awoke to find a dense fog blanketing the valley and

+mountains. It was not until half past nine that the gray

+mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough

+for us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly

+behind the camp and skirted the edge of a heavily forested

+ravine which the men wished to drive.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">- 311 -</span></p>

+

+<p>Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed

+to a sharp ridge above and beyond him. In less than

+half an hour the dogs began to yelp in an uncertain

+way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to

+the ground, and a few seconds later Heller fired twice

+in quick succession. Two sambur had skirted the edge

+of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he

+had missed with both shots.</p>

+

+<p>The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense

+underbrush. In a few moments the dogs began to yelp

+again and, while Heller remained on the hillside to watch

+the open fields, I followed the hounds along the creek

+bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 260-800

+rifle sounded five times in quick succession just above

+our heads, and we climbed hurriedly out of the gorge.</p>

+

+<p>Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur

+running along the edge of a bean field but the animal

+showed no sign of being hit. We easily picked up the

+trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found

+several drops of blood, showing that at least one bullet

+had found its mark. The blood soon ceased and we

+began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely

+scratched.</p>

+

+<p>Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine,

+a branch of the one out of which it had first been driven,

+and while he watched the upper side I worked my way

+to the bottom to look for tracks. A few moments later

+the natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and

+Heller called out that they had found the deer, which

+was lying stone dead half way down the side of the gorge

+in a mass of thick ferns. The sambur had been hit only

+once but the powerful Savage bullet had crashed

+through the shoulder into the lungs; it was quite

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">- 312 -</span>

+sufficient to do the work even on such a huge animal and

+the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the

+place where it had been shot.</p>

+

+<p>It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair

+of antlers which measured twenty-seven inches in length.

+The deer was about the size of an American wapiti, or

+elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred

+pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese

+hunters were wild with excitement, but especially so

+when we began to eviscerate the animal, for they wished

+to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal

+value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every

+receptacle which they could find after each man had

+drunk all he could possibly force down his throat and

+had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax.</p>

+

+<p>When the sambur was brought to camp a regular

+orgy was held by our servants, <i>mafus</i>, and dozens of

+villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or steal some of the

+blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his perquisite,

+carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a

+basin. The liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum,

+and in fact every part of the viscera was saved

+Because the antlers were hard they were not considered

+of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we

+should have had to guard them closely; then they would

+have been worth about one hundred dollars (Mexican).</p>

+

+<p>We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that

+it would not be difficult to get sambur, and indeed,

+Heller did see another in the afternoon but failed to

+kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of the hunters

+died suddenly during the night and all the men went

+off with their dogs to the burial feast which lasted several

+days, and we were not able to find any other good

+hounds.</p>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f312a" style="width: 366px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f312a.png" width="366" height="279" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">A Mountain Chair</span></div>

+</div>

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="img_f312b" style="width: 363px;">

+  <img src="images/img_f312b.png" width="363" height="283" alt="" />

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">The Waterfall at Teng-yueh</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">- 313 -</span></p>

+

+<p>There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity

+of our camp but they fed entirely during the

+night and spent the day in such thick cover that it was

+impossible to drive them out except with good beaters

+or dogs. We hunted faithfully every morning and

+afternoon but did not get another shot and, after a

+week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain

+range six miles away near a Liso village.</p>

+

+<p>The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain

+range is the same on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu

+and reaches a height of 11,000 feet near Wa-tien.

+It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests

+must shelter a good deal of game.</p>

+

+<p>The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded

+ridges rising out of open cultivated valleys, which

+often run into the jungle-filled ravines in which the

+sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this particular

+region and not in the neighboring country is a

+mystery unless it is the proximity of the great forested

+mountain range. But in similar places only a few miles

+away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives

+said the animals had never been seen, and neither were

+they known on the opposite side of the mountain range

+where the Teng-yueh-Ta-li Fu road crosses the Salween

+valley.</p>

+

+<p>On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three

+or four days hunting monkeys before we returned to

+Teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the field

+work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I

+became separated from the caravan but as we had one

+of our servants for a guide we were not uneasy.</p>

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">- 314 -</span></p>

+

+<p>The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang

+(which we had changed to "Leaping Frog" because

+he never did leap for any cause whatever), and

+before long he had us hopelessly lost.</p>

+

+<p>It would appear easy enough to ask the way from

+the natives, but the Chinese are so suspicious that they

+often will intentionally misdirect a stranger. They do

+not know what business the inquirer may have in the

+village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on

+general principles, they send him off in the wrong direction.</p>

+

+<p>Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer

+of whom we inquired the way directed us to a road

+at nearly right angles to the one we should have taken,

+and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found

+the caravan.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">- 315 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII">CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2>

+</div>

+

+<p class="caption3">LAST DAYS IN CHINA</p>

+

+

+<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was of paramount importance to pack our specimens

+before the beginning of the summer rains. They

+might be expected to break in full violence any day

+after June 1, and when they really began it would

+be impossible to get our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually

+all caravan travel ceases during the wet season. Therefore

+our second stay at Hui-yao was short and we returned

+to Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field

+work of the Expedition exactly a year from the time

+it began with our trip up the Min River to Yen-ping

+in Fukien Province.</p>

+

+<p>Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become

+his guests and no place ever seemed more delightful,

+after our hot and dusty ride, than his beautiful garden

+and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served.

+Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the

+specimens were packed and the boxes sealed it was necessary

+to wrap them in waterproof covers; moreover,

+the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded,

+a caravan engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of motion-picture

+film developed. This was done in the spacious

+dark room connected with Mr. Grierson's house

+which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters

+of the tent which we had used for so many months.</p>

+

+<p>Much of the success of our motion film lay in the

+fact that it was developed within a short time after

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">- 316 -</span>

+exposure, for had we attempted to bring or send it to

+Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such

+work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic

+changes. Although cinematograph photography

+requires an elaborate and expensive outfit and is a

+source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an

+actual moving record of the life of such remote regions

+is worth all the trouble it entails.</p>

+

+<p>The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently

+satisfactory and were among the most interesting

+results of the expedition. The stereoscopic effects and

+the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric

+shading in the photographs are remarkable. Although

+the plates had been subjected to a variety of climatic

+conditions and temperatures by the time the last ones

+were exposed in Burma, a year and a half after their

+manufacture, they showed no signs of deterioration even

+when the ordinary negatives which we brought with us

+from America had been ruined. The other photographs,

+some of which are reproduced in this book, speak for

+themselves.</p>

+

+<p>The entire collections of the Expedition were packed

+in forty-one cases and included the following specimens:</p>

+

+<table summary="data">

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">2,100</td>

+  <td class="tdl">mammals</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">800</td>

+  <td class="tdl">birds</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">200</td>

+  <td class="tdl">reptiles and batrachians</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">200</td>

+  <td class="tdl">skeletons and formalin preparations for

+           anatomical study</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">150</td>

+  <td class="tdl">Paget natural color plates</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">500</td>

+  <td class="tdl">photographic negatives</td>

+</tr>

+<tr>

+  <td class="tdr">10,000</td>

+  <td class="tdl">feet of motion-picture film.</td>

+</tr>

+</table>

+

+<p>Since the Expedition was organized primarily for

+the study of the mammalian fauna and its distribution,

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">- 317 -</span>

+our efforts were directed very largely toward this

+branch of science, and other specimens were gathered

+only when conditions were especially favorable. I believe

+that the mammal collection is the most extensive

+ever taken from China by a single continuous expedition,

+and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to

+represent species new to science. Our tents were pitched

+in 108 different spots from 15,000 feet to 1,400 feet

+above sea level, and because of this range in altitudes,

+the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably

+varied. Moreover, during our nine months in Y&uuml;n-nan

+we spent 115 days in the saddle, riding 2,000 miles on

+horse or mule back, largely over small roads or trails

+in little known parts of the province.</p>

+

+<p>In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably

+and the leisure hours were made delightful by golf, tennis,

+riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson was a charming

+host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants,

+at our disposal, utter strangers though we were,

+and we shall never forget his welcome.</p>

+

+<p>We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because

+of the rain which was expected every day, and

+the coolies made us very comfortable upon our sleeping

+bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and

+covered with a strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the

+regulation Chinese "mountain schooner," at which we

+had so often laughed, but they proved to be infinitely

+more desirable than riding in the rain.</p>

+

+<p>With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh

+on June 1, behind a caravan of thirty mules for the

+eight-day journey to Bhamo on the outskirts of civilization.

+Our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of

+humanity. They were from S'suchuan Province and

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">- 318 -</span>

+were all unmarried which alone is almost a crime in

+China. Every cent of money, earned by the hardest

+sort of work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and

+smoking opium. As Wu tersely put it "they make

+how much&mdash;spend how much!"</p>

+

+<p>About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously

+in the midst of a filthy village and disappear

+into some dark den in spite of our remonstrances.

+We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out

+of our chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we

+would see them huddled on a "kang" over tiny yellow

+flames sucking at their pipes. At tiffin each one would

+stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and

+his broad straw hat propped up to screen him from the

+wind. With infinite care he would extract a few black

+grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little water,

+and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium

+bubbled and was almost ready to drop. Then placing

+it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe he would hold it against

+the flame and draw in long breaths of the sickly-sweet

+smoke. The men could work all day without food, but

+opium was a prime necessity.</p>

+

+<p>It was almost impossible to start them in the morning

+and it became my regular duty to make the rounds

+of the filthy holes in which they slept, seize them by the

+collars and drag them into the street. Force made the

+only appeal to their deadened senses and we were

+heartily sick of them before we reached Bhamo.</p>

+

+<p>The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five

+thousand feet to almost sea level. Because of the fever

+the valleys are largely inhabited by "Chinese Shans"

+who differ in dress and customs from the Southern

+Shans of the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were

+tattooed and the women all wore the enormous cylindrical

+turban which we had seen once before in the Salween Valley.</p>

+

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="map_i_sm" style="width: 638px;">

+  <a href="images/map_i_lg.png"><img src="images/map_i_sm.png" width="638" height="632" alt="" /></a>

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Map I:</span> The red line indicates the travels

+    of the Expedition<br />

+   <span class="smaller">Click on image to view larger sized.</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">- 319 -</span></p>

+

+<p>At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Y&uuml;n-nan

+border into Burma. It is a beautiful spot where a foaming

+mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in a series

+of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall

+of green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron

+bridge from which a fine wide road of crushed stone

+leads all the way to Bhamo.</p>

+

+<p>What a difference between the country we were leaving

+and the one we were about to enter! It is the

+"deadly parallel" of the old East and the new West. On

+the one side is China with her flooded roads and bridges

+of rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a

+nation still living in the Middle Ages, fighting progress,

+shackled by the iron doctrines of Confucius to the long

+dead past. Across the river is English Burma, with

+eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of

+her people, her iron bridges and macadam roads representing

+the very essence of modern thought and progress.</p>

+

+<p>With paternal care of her officials the British government

+has provided <i>d&acirc;k</i> (mail) bungalows at the end

+of each day's journey which are open to every foreign

+traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on

+piles. Each one has a spacious living room, with

+a large teakwood table and inviting lounge chairs. In

+a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and glass,

+all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are

+provided with adjoining baths and a covered passageway

+connects the kitchen with the house. All is ready

+for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">- 320 -</span>

+trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such comforts

+can only be appreciated when one has journeyed for

+months in a country where they do not exist.</p>

+

+<p>Our last night on the road was spent at a <i>d&acirc;k</i> bungalow

+near a village only a few miles from Bhamo. We

+were seated at the window, when, with a rattle of wheels,

+the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by.

+That cart brought to us more forcibly than any other

+thing a realization that the Expedition was ended and

+that we were standing on the threshold of civilization.</p>

+

+<p>As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were

+wet with unshed tears, and a lump had risen in my

+throat. Not all the pleasures of the city, the love of

+friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild,

+free life of the year gone by. Silently we left the house

+and walked across the sunlit road into a grove of graceful,

+drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between

+the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled

+the air.</p>

+

+<p>The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy

+East; the East which, like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves

+a mystic spell about the wanderer whom she has loved

+and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. And

+when he would cast her off and return to his own again

+she knows full well that her subtle charm will bring

+him back once more.</p>

+

+<hr class="tb" />

+

+<p>The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of

+low, cool houses, wide lawns and tree-decked streets

+built on the bank of the muddy Irawadi River. Only

+a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and palatial

+steamers run to Mandalay and Rangoon. We

+called upon Mr. Farmer, the Deputy Commissioner,

+who offered the hospitality of the "Circuit House" and

+in the evening took us with him to the Club.</p>

+

+

+<div class="figcenter" id="map_ii_sm" style="width: 571px;">

+  <a href="images/map_ii_lg.png"><img src="images/map_ii_sm.png" width="571" height="637" alt="" /></a>

+  <div class="fig_caption"><span class="smcap">Map II:</span> Route of the Expedition in Y&uuml;n-nan<br />

+   <span class="smaller">Click on image to view larger sized.</span></div>

+</div>

+

+

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">- 321 -</span></p>

+

+<p>A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed

+women, and officers in uniform strolled about or

+sipped iced drinks beside the tennis court. We felt

+strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange

+to them for we were newly come from a far country

+which they saw only as a mystic, unknown land.</p>

+

+<p>On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile

+journey to Rangoon, exactly nine months after

+we had ridden away from Y&uuml;n-nan Fu toward the

+Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need

+not be related here. When we reached civilization we

+expected that our transport difficulties were ended; instead

+they had only begun. India was well-nigh isolated

+from the Pacific and to expose our valuable collection

+to the attacks of German pirates in the Mediterranean

+and Atlantic was not to be considered even

+though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the

+world to reach America safely.</p>

+

+<p>We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with

+all our baggage to Bombay, and after a seemingly endless

+wait eventually succeeded in arriving at Hongkong

+by way of Singapore. There we separated from our

+faithful Wu and sent him to his home in Foochow. It

+was hard to say "good-by" to Wu, for his efficient service,

+his enthusiastic interest in the work of the Expedition,

+and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed

+to be done, had won our gratitude and affection. We

+ourselves went northward to Japan, across the Pacific

+to Vancouver, and overland to New York, arriving on

+October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen months from the time

+we left. We were never separated from our collections

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">- 322 -</span>

+for, had we left them, I doubt if they would ever have

+reached America. It was difficult enough to gather

+them in the field, but infinitely more so to guide the

+forty-one cases through the tangled shipping net of a

+war-mad world.</p>

+

+<p>They reached New York without the loss of a single

+specimen and are now being prepared in the American

+Museum of Natural History for the study which will

+place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical

+Expedition before the public.</p>

+

+<hr class="tb" />

+

+<p>The story of our travels is at an end. Once more

+we are indefinable units in a vast work-a-day world,

+bound by the iron chains of convention to the customs

+of civilized men and things. The glorious days in our

+beloved East are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems

+not far away, for the miles of land and water can be

+traversed in a thought. Again we stand before our

+tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us,

+watching the glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain

+turn purple and gold in the setting sun; again, we feel

+the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet

+tones of a gibbon's call. We have only to shut our eyes

+to bring back a picture of the bleak barriers of the Forbidden

+Land or the sunlit streets of a Burma village.

+Thank God, we saw it all together and such blessed

+memories can never die.</p>

+

+

+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

+

+<div class="chapter">

+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">- 323 -</span></p>

+

+<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2>

+</div>

+

+

+<p>

+Abercrombie &amp; Fitch Co., <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />

+Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">killed two gorals, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></span><br />

+Africa, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Akeley, Carl E., <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />

+Alaska, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Allen, Dr. J. A., <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+American flags, <a href="#Page_43">43</a><br />

+American Legation, Peking, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+American Museum Journal, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a><br />

+American Museum of Natural History, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trustees of, specimens being prepared at, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></span><br />

+Americans, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+Ammunition, loss of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />

+Amoy, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />

+<i>Anas boscas</i> (Mallard ducks), <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Anglo-Chinese College, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Animal life, lack of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br />

+Annamits, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br />

+Antlers, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a><br />

+Ape, gray (<i>Pygathrix</i>), <a href="#Page_255">255</a><br />

+<i>Apodemus</i> (white-footed mouse), <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a><br />

+Asia, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+<i>Asia</i> Magazine, quoted from, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />

+Asiatic Zo&ouml;logical Expedition, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">members of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></span><br />

+Assam, <a href="#Page_241">241</a><br />

+Assistants, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+A-tun-tzu, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+<br />

+Babies, killing and selling of, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br />

+Baboon, brown (<i>Macacus</i>), <a href="#Page_255">255</a><br />

+Baboon, Indian (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>), <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br />

+Bamboo chickens, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />

+Bandits, attack of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a><br />

+Bankhardt, Mr., <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br />

+Bat apartment house, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />

+Bat cave, description of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">experience of girl in, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></span><br />

+Bats, method of killing, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />

+Batrachians, <a href="#Page_310">310</a><br />

+Bear cubs (<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>), purchased at Teng-yueh, <a href="#Page_296">296</a><br />

+Bedding, <a href="#Page_93">93</a><br />

+Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+Bering Strait, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L., <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Betel nut, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a><br />

+Bhamo, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">railroad from, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">road to, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></span><br />

+Big Ravine, description of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">temples near, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></span><br />

+Birds, game, <a href="#Page_90">90</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">- 324 -</span>

+<i>Blarina</i>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a><br />

+Boat, Chinese, eye on, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />

+Bode, Mr., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br />

+Bohea Hills, <a href="#Page_64">64</a><br />

+Bound feet, <a href="#Page_34">34</a><br />

+Bowdoin, George, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Bradley, Dr., <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">established leper hospital at Paik-hoi, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></span><br />

+Brahmin priests, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Brahminy docks, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></span><br />

+Bridge, suspension, description of, <a href="#Page_218">218</a><br />

+Bridges, rope, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+Brigand, seal of a pardoned, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br />

+Brigandage, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br />

+Brigands, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">beheading of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">infest Y&uuml;n-nan, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></span><br />

+British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br />

+British East Africa, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos, <a href="#Page_174">174</a><br />

+Buffaloes, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">water, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></span><br />

+Bui-tao, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a><br />

+Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Burial, expenses of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br />

+Burma, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">border of, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">girls of, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mammals caught near, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">frontier of, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">boundary of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></span><br />

+Burmans, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a><br />

+<br />

+Calcutta, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Caldwell, Rev. Harry R., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter from, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">house of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stationed at Futsing, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tiger hunting, method of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">obtains serows at Yen-ping, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purchases serow skins in Fukien, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br />

+California, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br />

+<i>Callosciurus erythr&aelig;us</i>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a><br />

+Camera equipment, <a href="#Page_75">75</a><br />

+Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock, <a href="#Page_262">262</a><br />

+<i>Capricornulus crispus</i>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a><br />

+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis</i>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />

+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis argyroch&aelig;tes</i>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />

+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi</i>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />

+Caravan, robbing of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>; buying of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>; renting of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />

+Caravan ponies, <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />

+Caravans, distance traveled by, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a><br />

+Cary, F. W., Commissioner of Customs, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br />

+<i>Casarca casarca</i> (ruddy sheldrake), <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Caverns, <a href="#Page_162">162</a><br />

+Central Asia, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Central Asian plateau, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+<i>Cervus macneilli</i>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a><br />

+Chair-coolies, <a href="#Page_317">317</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">- 325 -</span>

+Chairs, description of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a><br />

+Chang, Dr., <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Chang-hu-fan, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>; night at, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br />

+Changlung, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ferry at, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></span><br />

+Chien-chuan, <a href="#Page_198">198</a><br />

+Chi-li, <a href="#Page_7">7</a><br />

+China, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">aboriginal inhabitants of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">press, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inland mission, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></span><br />

+Chinaman, Cantonese, <a href="#Page_242">242</a><br />

+Chinese, Republic, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">army of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">face saving, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreign Office, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">screaming, habit of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lack of sympathy of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not affected by sun, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">love of companionship, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bride of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wedding of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dress of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">education of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">villages, description of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">etiquette of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">New Year, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collecting debts of, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></span><br />

+Chipmunk (<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>), <a href="#Page_230">230</a><br />

+Chi-yuen-kang, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br />

+Chou Chou, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br />

+Christians, native, persecution of, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br />

+Christianity, lesson in, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br />

+Christmas, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">celebration of, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></span><br />

+Chu-hsuing Fu, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br />

+Chung-tien, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a><br />

+Civet (<i>Viverra</i>), <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a><br />

+Clive, Captain, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a><br />

+Clothing, <a href="#Page_75">75</a><br />

+Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M., <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Collecting case, <a href="#Page_228">228</a><br />

+Color plates, <a href="#Page_240">240</a><br />

+Confucius, rules of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />

+Cook, difficulty in obtaining, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></span><br />

+Coolies, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />

+Cormorants, <a href="#Page_280">280</a><br />

+Corn, <a href="#Page_91">91</a><br />

+Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese, <a href="#Page_218">218</a><br />

+Cranes, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; habits of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a><br />

+Crossbows, <a href="#Page_229">229</a><br />

+Cui-kau, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></span><br />

+<br />

+Da-Da, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />

+Daing-nei, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a><br />

+<i>D&acirc;k</i> (mail) bungalows, <a href="#Page_319">319</a><br />

+Da-Ming, <a href="#Page_33">33</a><br />

+Darjeeling, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br />

+Davies, Major H. R., <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">quoted, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></span><br />

+Dead, burying of, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br />

+Deer, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a><br />

+Deer, barking, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br />

+Denby, Hon. Charles, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+Dennet, Tyler, quoted, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />

+D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition, <a href="#Page_174">174</a><br />

+D'Orleans, Prince Henri, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Dog, red, death of, <a href="#Page_135">135</a><br />

+Dogs, description of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">for food, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></span><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">- 326 -</span>

+Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China, <a href="#Page_93">93</a><br />

+Duai Uong, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br />

+Ducks, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brahminy, shooting off 199</span><br />

+Dupont&egrave;s, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />

+<br />

+Eastes, Mr., Consul, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Education, foreign, <a href="#Page_71">71</a><br />

+<i>Elaphodus</i>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a><br />

+Elephants, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a><br />

+Elk, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Ellsworth, Lincoln, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Empress Dowager, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">issued edict prohibiting opium growing, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></span><br />

+Equipment, purchase of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+Etiquette, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br />

+Europe, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+European war, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br />

+Evans, H. G., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assistance of, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></span><br />

+Expedition, announcement of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">applicants for positions on, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">results of, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></span><br />

+Expeditions, preliminary, <a href="#Page_2">2</a><br />

+Eye on Chinese boat, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />

+<br />

+Farmer, Mr., <a href="#Page_320">320</a><br />

+Fauna, mammalian, <a href="#Page_316">316</a><br />

+<i>Felis temmincki</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a><br />

+<i>Felis uncia</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a><br />

+Ferry, <a href="#Page_160">160</a><br />

+Fletcher, H. G., <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a><br />

+Flying squirrel, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br />

+Foochow, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foreign residents of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">streets of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mail from, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">schools for native girls at, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">woman's college at, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></span><br />

+Food box, <a href="#Page_74">74</a><br />

+Foot binding, origin of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">method of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Natural Foot Society of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">agitation against, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></span><br />

+Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_12">12</a><br />

+Ford, James B., <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Foreign Office, <a href="#Page_97">97</a><br />

+Forest conservation, lack of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a><br />

+Formosa, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+Forrest, Mr., <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Fossil animals, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">beds, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></span><br />

+Francolins, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />

+French Consul, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br />

+Frick, Childs, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Frick, Henry C, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Fukien Province, China, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">deforestation of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mammals of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">climate and temperature of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collecting in summer at, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birds of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">herpetology of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trapping for small mammals at, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">zo&ouml;logical study of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">language of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">travel in, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">servants in, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">serows hunted in, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">missionary work in, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br />

+Funeral customs, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">- 327 -</span>

+Futsing, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blue tiger hunting at, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></span><br />

+<br />

+Galapagos Islands, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+<i>Gallus gallus</i>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a><br />

+<i>Gallus lafayetti</i>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a><br />

+<i>Gallus sonnerati</i>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a><br />

+<i>Gallus varius</i>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a><br />

+Gamblers, <a href="#Page_215">215</a><br />

+Geese, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a><br />

+Gen-kang, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a><br />

+Gibbon (<i>Hylobates</i>), <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></span><br />

+Goffe, Consul-General at Y&uuml;n-nan Fu, <a href="#Page_270">270</a><br />

+Goitre, prevalence of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a><br />

+Gorals, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first hunt for, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ceremonies at death of, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collecting for groups, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">color of, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invisibility of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">horns of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distribution of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fighting of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">feet of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of, at Hui-yao, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></span><br />

+Great Invisible, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />

+Grierson, Ralph C, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a><br />

+<i>Grus communis</i>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a><br />

+<i>Grus nigricollis</i>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />

+<br />

+Habala, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>; hunting at, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a><br />

+Haendel-Mazzetti, Baron, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a><br />

+Hainan, description of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fauna of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></span><br />

+Haiphong, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrival at, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></span><br />

+Hanna, Rev. William J., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Hanoi, description of, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />

+<i>Harper's Magazine</i>, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a><br />

+Hartford, Mabel, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br />

+Heller, Edmund, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>,<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>,</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></span><br />

+Himalaya Mountains, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Hoi-hau, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br />

+Homes, <a href="#Page_69">69</a><br />

+Ho-mu-shu, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">monkeys found near, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></span><br />

+Hongkong, purchase of supplies at, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Hoolock (<i>Hylobates hoolock</i>), <a href="#Page_289">289</a><br />

+Hornbill, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a><br />

+Horses, size of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />

+Hospital attendants, <a href="#Page_38">38</a><br />

+Hotenfa, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a><br />

+Hsia-kuan, description of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a><br />

+Hui-yao, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reptiles and lizards found at, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></span><br />

+Hunan, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />

+Hung-Hsien, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+Hunters, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">- 328 -</span>

+Hutchins, Commander Thomas, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br />

+Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br />

+<i>Hylobates</i>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a><br />

+<i>Hylomys</i>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a><br />

+<i>Hystrix</i>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a><br />

+<br />

+India, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Inns, <a href="#Page_98">98</a><br />

+Irawadi River, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a><br />

+<br />

+Japan, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br />

+Japanese newspaper reporters, <a href="#Page_6">6</a><br />

+Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Jungle fowl, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.</span><br />

+<br />

+Kachins, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">women, appearance of, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></span><br />

+Katha, <a href="#Page_320">320</a><br />

+Kellogg, C. R., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a><br />

+Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pentecostal missionary, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assistance of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></span><br />

+Koko-nor, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Koo, Wellington, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+Korea, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pheasants found in, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></span><br />

+Kraemer, M., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+Kucheng, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br />

+Kwang-si, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+Kwei-chau Province, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a><br />

+<br />

+Lane &amp; Crawford Company of Hongkong, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br />

+Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br />

+Languages and dialects, number of, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reason for, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></span><br />

+Langur, <a href="#Page_255">255</a><br />

+Langurs (<i>Pygathrix</i>), <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br />

+Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br />

+Lapwings, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+Las, <a href="#Page_239">239</a><br />

+Lashio, <a href="#Page_269">269</a><br />

+Legge, Prof. J., quoted, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />

+Leopards, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a><br />

+Leper hospital, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br />

+<i>Li</i>, length of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br />

+Li-chiang, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">animal life on route to, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrival at, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camp in, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collecting in, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mammals of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">important fur market at, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inhabitants of, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return to, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></span><br />

+Li-Hung Chang, <a href="#Page_7">7</a><br />

+Ling-suik, monastery of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">priests at, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collecting at, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></span><br />

+Lisos, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a><br />

+Livingstone, H. W., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />

+Loads, weight of, <a href="#Page_54">54</a><br />

+Lolos, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">depredations of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">independence of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dress of, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capes worn by, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></span><br />

+London Zo&ouml;logical Society's Garden, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />

+Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at, <a href="#Page_57">57</a><br />

+Lucas, Dr. F. A., acknowledgement to, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">- 329 -</span>

+Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Hsia-kuan, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br />

+Lung-ling, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Lung-tao, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br />

+Lutzus, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a><br />

+<br />

+McMurray, J. V. A., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+<i>Macacus rhesus</i>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a><br />

+<i>Mafus</i>, description of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br />

+Mail, <a href="#Page_290">290</a><br />

+Malaria, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a><br />

+Malay Peninsula, <a href="#Page_57">57</a><br />

+Ma-li-ling, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a><br />

+Ma-li-pa, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">poppy fields at, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></span><br />

+Mallard ducks, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+Mammals, small, <a href="#Page_i">i</a>mportance of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preparing of, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></span><br />

+Man, primitive, migrations of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Man-eater, killing of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br />

+Mandalay, <a href="#Page_320">320</a><br />

+Mandarins, relations with, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a><br />

+Ma-po-lo, low valley at, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">game at, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fog in, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></span><br />

+Marco Polo, <a href="#Page_104">104</a><br />

+Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), <a href="#Page_23">23</a><br />

+Meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>), <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a><br />

+Mekong, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a><br />

+Mekong river, description of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a><br />

+Mekong-Salween divide, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br />

+Mekong valley, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vegetables in, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">zo&ouml;logy of, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></span><br />

+Meng-ting, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mandarin of, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Buddhist monastery at, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">market at, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cantonese visit and buy opium at, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fog at, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">valley at, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birds at, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></span><br />

+Mergansers, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Methodist mission, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />

+Mexico, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Miao village, <a href="#Page_273">273</a><br />

+Mice, <a href="#Page_176">176</a><br />

+<i>Micromys</i>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a><br />

+<i>Microtus</i>, meadow vole, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a><br />

+Min River, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">life on, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></span><br />

+Mission hospital, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">China Inland, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></span><br />

+Missionaries, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">servants of, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">natives trading with, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">civilizing influence of, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></span><br />

+Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan, <a href="#Page_246">246</a><br />

+Mohammedan hunter, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a><br />

+Mohammedan war, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br />

+Mole, <a href="#Page_176">176</a><br />

+Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a><br />

+Money, carrying of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">transmitting of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></span><br />

+Monkey, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a><br />

+Monkey temple, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br />

+Moose, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Morgan, Cordelia, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">- 330 -</span>

+Mosos, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capes worn by, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></span><br />

+Motion pictures, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">developing of, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></span><br />

+Mountain goat, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+"Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from, <a href="#Page_147">147</a><br />

+Mouse (<i>Micromys</i>), <a href="#Page_192">192</a><br />

+Moving picture film, <a href="#Page_166">166</a><br />

+Mu-cheng, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a><br />

+Muntjac, description of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a><br />

+Museum authorities, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+Mustelid&aelig;, <a href="#Page_250">250</a><br />

+Myitkyina district, <a href="#Page_269">269</a><br />

+<br />

+<i>N&aelig;morhedus griseus</i>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br />

+Nam-ka, Shans at, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camp at, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></span><br />

+Nam-ting River, ferry at, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camping at, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunters at, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camp on, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">polecat trapped at, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">monkeys, hunting at, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hornbill, seen at, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">monkeys found at, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shans seen at, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">caravan crossed, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></span><br />

+<i>Namur</i>, S. S., <a href="#Page_297">297</a><br />

+Natives, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inaccuracy of, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></span><br />

+New York, return to, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Ngu-cheng, <a href="#Page_205">205</a><br />

+Non-Chinese tribes, <a href="#Page_3">3</a><br />

+North America, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Northern soldiers, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br />

+Northern troops, <a href="#Page_40">40</a><br />

+<br />

+Opium, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">growing of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inspection of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">scandal, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">smuggling of, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">smoking of, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></span><br />

+Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a><br />

+<br />

+Pack saddle, description of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />

+Pack, weight of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />

+Page, Howard, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a><br />

+Paget color plates, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a><br />

+Pagoda Anchorage, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a><br />

+Paik-hoi, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leper hospital at, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></span><br />

+Palaungs, <a href="#Page_239">239</a><br />

+Palmer, Mr., <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br />

+Pandas, coats of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br />

+Pangolin, scales of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br />

+Parrots, <a href="#Page_244">244</a><br />

+Partridges, bamboo, <a href="#Page_245">245</a><br />

+Passports, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+<i>Pavo cristatus</i>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a><br />

+<i>Pavo munticus</i>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a><br />

+Peacock, black-shouldered, <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br />

+Peacock, hunting of, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">eggs of, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">domestication of, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></span><br />

+Peacock, Indian, <a href="#Page_277">277</a><br />

+Peafowl, killed on Salween River, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flesh of, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></span><br />

+Peking, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a><br />

+<i>Petaurista yunnanensis</i>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br />

+Phasianid&aelig;, <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br />

+Pheasants, shooting of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Amherst's, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">silver, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">horned, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></span><br />

+Phete, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>; country about, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;<br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">- 331 -</span>

+Photographic work, <a href="#Page_166">166</a><br />

+Photographs in natural colors, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Photography, cinematograph, <a href="#Page_316">316</a><br />

+Pigeons, <a href="#Page_280">280</a><br />

+Pigs, killing of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wild, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">treatment of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></span><br />

+Pin-toil, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+Pleistocene, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Pocock, Mr., <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />

+Polecat, <a href="#Page_250">250</a><br />

+Polo, Marco, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">quoted, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></span><br />

+Poppy blossoms, <a href="#Page_265">265</a><br />

+Poppy fields, <a href="#Page_91">91</a><br />

+Porcupine, description of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br />

+Portable dark room, <a href="#Page_166">166</a><br />

+Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+P'u-erh, <a href="#Page_212">212</a><br />

+<i>Pygathrix</i> (monkeys), <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br />

+<br />

+Railroad, Hanoi to Y&uuml;n-nan, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></span><br />

+Rain, last of the season, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a><br />

+Rainey, Paul J., <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Rangoon, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+<i>Ratufa gigantea</i>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a><br />

+Rebellion of 1918, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br />

+Reinsch, Hon. Paul, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+Republic, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />

+Rhododendrons, <a href="#Page_291">291</a><br />

+Rice, <a href="#Page_168">168</a><br />

+Rice fields, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br />

+Rifle, Mannlicher, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Savage, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Winchester, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></span><br />

+Riot in Shanghai, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />

+Roads, descriptions of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br />

+Rocky Mountain sheep, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />

+Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+<i>Rupicapra</i>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a><br />

+Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of, <a href="#Page_140">140</a><br />

+<br />

+Salt, preparation of, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a><br />

+Salween River, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">heat of, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></span><br />

+Sambur, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blood of, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></span><br />

+Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General, <a href="#Page_12">12</a><br />

+Sampans, first night in, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br />

+San Francisco, <a href="#Page_5">5</a><br />

+Scandinavian steamer, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+Schools for native girls, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />

+Sclater, Mr., <a href="#Page_278">278</a><br />

+Screaming, Chinese habit of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br />

+Sedan chairs, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />

+Serows, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunt for, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting for, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">color variation of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Japanese, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difference from gorals, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">horns of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relationship of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appearance of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">killed on Snow Mountain, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distribution of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">weight of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of at Hoi-yao, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></span><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">- 332 -</span>

+Servants, wages of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br />

+Shanghai, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riot in, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></span><br />

+Shans, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of village of, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">houses of, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">heavily tattooed, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tribes of, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></span><br />

+Sheldrakes, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />

+Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by, <a href="#Page_x">x</a><br />

+Shia-chai, <a href="#Page_218">218</a><br />

+Shih-tien, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bird life at, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">natives, curiosity of, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></span><br />

+Shih-ku ferry, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />

+Shoverling, Daly &amp; Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Shrew, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a><br />

+Shweli River, <a href="#Page_145">145</a><br />

+Singapore, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Slave raiding, <a href="#Page_189">189</a><br />

+Smith, Arthur H., quoted, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a><br />

+Snow Mountain, camp at, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">traveling to, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of hunters at, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mammalogy of, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camp on slopes of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mammals collected at, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">serows killed on, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></span><br />

+Soldiers, guard of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">guns of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expense of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">use of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">treatment by natives of, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fight with, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">extortions of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></span><br />

+South America, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Specimens, packing of, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br />

+Squirrel, flying (<i>Petaurista yunnanensis</i>), <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Ratufa gigantea</i>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">red-bellied (<i>Callosciurus erythr&aelig;us</i>), <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></span><br />

+S'suchuan Province, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a><br />

+S'su-mao, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a><br />

+Standard Oil Co., <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">launch of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></span><br />

+Su Ek, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br />

+Sun-birds, <a href="#Page_244">244</a><br />

+<i>Sung-kiang</i>, S. S., <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br />

+<br />

+Tablets, ancestral, description of, <a href="#Page_215">215</a><br />

+Tai-ping-pu, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a><br />

+Taku, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />

+Taku ferry, <a href="#Page_164">164</a><br />

+Ta-li Fu, soldiers guard to, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">road to, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">graves at, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lake at, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mandarin at, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pagodas at, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></span><br />

+Ta-li Fu Lake, description of, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br />

+<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a><br />

+Taoist temple, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />

+Tao-tai, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />

+Tartars, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a><br />

+Temple, camp in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />

+Teng-yueh, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return to, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></span><br />

+Tents, <a href="#Page_74">74</a><br />

+<i>Tenyo Maru</i>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+Thompson, Dr., <a href="#Page_205">205</a><br />

+Tibet, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">monopoly of gold in, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></span><br />

+Tibetan plateaus, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br />

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">- 333 -</span>

+Tibetans, description of, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">photographing of, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dislike for strangers of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influence of Chinese on, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></span><br />

+Tiger, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">man-eating, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lairs of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stalking a goat, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">habits of, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">daring of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">strength of, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">excitement of hunting, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">weight of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blood of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">skins in temples of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">food of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting in lair of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flesh and bones of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marking trees by, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">skins of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span><br />

+Tiger, blue, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hunting of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trying to trap, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></span><br />

+Tonking, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a><br />

+Tragopan, Temminck's, <a href="#Page_291">291</a><br />

+Transportation, difficulties of, <a href="#Page_321">321</a><br />

+Trapping, methods of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a><br />

+Traps, steel, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">method of setting, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></span><br />

+Trees, marking of, by tiger, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />

+Tribes, non-Chinese, description of, <a href="#Page_138">138</a><br />

+Trimble, Dr., <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">house of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br />

+Trowbridge, Captain Harry, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />

+Tsai-ao, General, <a href="#Page_9">9</a><br />

+<i>Tsamba</i>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a><br />

+Ts'ang mountains, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br />

+Tsinan-fu, <a href="#Page_12">12</a><br />

+<i>Tupaia belangeri chinensis</i>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br />

+<br />

+United States, <a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />

+Universal Camera, <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />

+<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a><br />

+<br />

+Vegetarians, <a href="#Page_23">23</a><br />

+<i>Viverra</i>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a><br />

+Viverrid&aelig;, <a href="#Page_247">247</a><br />

+Vochang, <a href="#Page_218">218</a><br />

+Vole, <a href="#Page_173">173</a><br />

+Von Hintze, Admiral, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br />

+<br />

+Wapiti, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a><br />

+War, Mohammedan, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br />

+Was, <a href="#Page_239">239</a><br />

+Waterhole, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br />

+Wa-tien, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a><br />

+Wei-hsi, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a><br />

+White Water, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">camp at, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">weather at, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></span><br />

+Wild boar, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br />

+Wilden, Henry M., French Consul, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br />

+Wolves, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />

+Woman's college at Foochow, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />

+Women, position of, <a href="#Page_i">i</a>n China, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />

+Worship, ancestor, <a href="#Page_156">156</a><br />

+Wu Hung-tao, <a href="#Page_i">i</a>nterpreter, <a href="#Page_x">x</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>,<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></span><br />

+<br />

+<i>Yamen</i>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br />

+Yangtze River, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">road to, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">crossing of, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">barrier to mammals, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></span><br />

+Yangtze gorge, description of, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a><br />

+

+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">- 334 -</span>

+Yen-ping, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">climate of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">residence of Mr. Caldwell at, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Methodist Mission at, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trapping at, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rebellion in, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refugees from, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fighting in, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacked by rebels in, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wounded in, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">schools for native girls at, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chinese wedding at, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">missionary buildings of, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br />

+Yokohama, <a href="#Page_5">5</a><br />

+Yuan, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a><br />

+Yuan Shi-kai, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></span><br />

+Yuchi, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brigands at, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></span><br />

+Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">road to, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">water buffaloes at, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">battle at, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></span><br />

+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road, <a href="#Page_282">282</a><br />

+Y&uuml;n-nan, <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">size of, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">topography of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">boundaries of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fauna of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">natives of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">language of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">infested with brigands, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">zo&ouml;logical study of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">meaning of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">summer climate of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></span><br />

+Y&uuml;n-nan Fu, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;<br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foreign residents of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foreign office at, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br />

+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr. Thompson's hospital at, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></span><br />

+<br />

+Zo&ouml;logical Garden, Berlin, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br />

+Zo&ouml;logical Park, Calcutta, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br />

+</p>

+

+<hr class="chap" />

+

+<hr class="tb" />

+

+<div class="transnote">

+

+<p class="caption3nb">Transcriber Note</p>

+

+<p>Minor typos corrected. Hyphenation was generally standardized to the most

+frequently utilized version. Text was rearranged to avoid splitting by

+images. The terms Irawadi and Irrawaddy seem to both apply to the same

+River and valley. Both names retained.</p>

+

+</div>

+

+

+

+

+

+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
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+  <title>Camps And Trails In China</title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Camps and Trails in China
+       A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China
+
+Author: Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+Release Date: May 7, 2004 [EBook #12296]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Paul Hollander, Christopher Lund and PG Distributed
+Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<p class="illus">
+[Illustration: OUR CAMP ON THE SNOW MOUNTAIN
+AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET]
+</p>
+
+<hr class="narrow" />
+
+<h1>CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA</h1>
+
+<h2>A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT
+IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA</h2>
+
+<h4>BY</h4>
+
+<h2>ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.</h2>
+
+<h4>ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND
+LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917;
+FELLOW NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER
+ZOÖLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL
+SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON; AUTHOR OF 'WHALE HUNTING
+WITH GUN AND CAMERA'</h4>
+
+<h4>AND</h4>
+
+<h2>YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS</h2>
+
+<h4>PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION</h4>
+
+<h4>1918</h4>
+
+<hr class="narrow" />
+
+<h4>THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
+PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN
+AS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE
+AND ADMIRATION</h4>
+
+<p class="poem">
+"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;<br />
+Let us journey to a lonely land I know.<br />
+There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,<br />
+And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
+</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+--<i>Service</i>.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<a name="pgix" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+The object of this book is to present a popular narrative
+of the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum
+of Natural History to China in 1916-17. Details of a purely
+scientific nature have been condensed, or eliminated, and emphasis
+has been placed upon our experiences with the strange
+natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the
+hope that the book will be interesting to the general reader.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon
+the technical reports of its work which will be published in due
+course by the American Museum of Natural History. To
+these reports we would refer those readers who desire more
+complete information concerning the results of our researches.
+At the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press
+the collections were still undergoing preparation and the study
+of the different groups had just begun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the book has been largely written by the senior
+author, his collaborator has contributed six chapters marked
+with her initials; all the illustrations are from her photographs
+and continual use has been made of her daily journals; she has,
+moreover, materially assisted in reference work and in numerous other ways.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The information concerning the relationships and distribution
+of the native tribes of Yün-nan is largely drawn from
+the excellent reference work by Major H.R. Davies and we
+have followed his spelling of Chinese names.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Parts of the book have been published as separate articles
+in the <i>American Museum Journal, Harper's Magazine</i>, and
+<i>Asia</i> and to the editors of the above publications our acknowledgments
+are due.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative
+<a name="pgx" />
+collection of small mammals is owing in a great measure
+to the efforts of Mr. Edmund Heller, our companion in the
+field. He worked tirelessly in the care and preservation of the
+specimens, and the fact that they reached New York in excellent
+condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill
+and thoroughness with which they were prepared.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely
+to the success of the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic
+devotion to our interests and his tact and resourcefulness
+under trying circumstances won our lasting gratitude and affectionate
+regard.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among
+the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our
+deepest gratitude to the Trustees of the American Museum of
+Natural History, and especially to President Henry Fairfield
+Osborn, whose enthusiastic endorsement and loyal support
+made the Expedition possible. Director F.A. Lucas, Dr. J.A.
+Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in furthering
+our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions
+materially assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we
+wish to acknowledge our great personal indebtedness as well
+as that of the Museum; Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer,
+Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Messrs. George Bowdoin,
+Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford, Henry C. Frick, Childs
+Frick, and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field
+from the following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it
+would have been impossible to have carried on the work successfully.
+Their services have been referred to individually in
+subsequent parts of the book: The Director of the Bureau of
+Foreign Affairs of the Province of Yün-nan; M. Georges
+Chemin Dupontès, Director de l'Exploration de la Compagnie
+Française des Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yün-nan,
+Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai;
+<a name="pgxi" />
+M. Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong; Mr. Howard
+Page, Standard Oil Co., Yün-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch,
+Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the
+Chinese Republic, Mr. J.V.A. McMurray, First Secretary of
+the American Legation, Peking; Mr. H.G. Evans, British-American
+Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna,
+Ta-li Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chang Fu; Ralph Grierson,
+Esq., Teng-yueh; Herbert Goffe, Esq., H.B.M. Consul General,
+Yün-nan Fu; Messrs. C.R. Kellogg, and H.W. Livingstone,
+Foochow, China; the General Passenger Agent, Canadian
+Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.R.
+Caldwell, Yenping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript
+and who through his criticisms has afforded us the
+benefit of his long experience in China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger
+we wish to express our appreciation of editorial and other assistance
+during the preparation of the volume.
+</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS<br />
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+</p>
+
+<p>
+JUSTAMERE HOME,<br />
+<i>Lawrence Park,<br />
+Bronxville, N.Y.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>May 10, 1917.</i>
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<a name="pgxii" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch1">CHAPTER I</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Object of the Expedition</p>
+
+<p>
+The importance of the scientific exploration of Central Asia--The
+region which the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition investigated--Personnel
+of the Expedition--Equipment--Applicants
+for positions upon the Expedition
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch2">CHAPTER II</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">China in Turmoil</p>
+
+<p>
+Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our
+arrival in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral
+von Hintze, the German Minister--<i>En
+route</i> to Shanghai--Death of Yuan Shi-kai
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch3">CHAPTER III</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Up the Min River</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The
+Min River--Our first night in a <i>sampan</i>--Miss Mabel
+Hartford--Brigands at Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at
+Yen-ping
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch4">CHAPTER IV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">A Bat Cave in the Big Ravine</p>
+
+<p>
+The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment
+house
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxiii" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch5">CHAPTER V</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Yen-Ping Rebellion</p>
+
+<p>
+A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation
+in the city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded
+men at the hospital--We do Red Cross work--More
+fighting--A Chinese puzzle--The missionaries save
+the city--The narrow escape of a young Chinese--The
+mission cook--Return to Foochow
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch6">CHAPTER VI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Hunting the Great Invisible</p>
+
+<p>
+Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first
+tiger--Habits of tigers--Experiences with the Great
+Invisible--Killing a man eater--Chinese superstitions--Hunting
+in the lair
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch7">CHAPTER VII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Blue Tiger</p>
+
+<p>
+Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first
+view of the beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck
+with the tiger--A meeting in the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life
+at the temple--Fukien Province as a collecting
+ground
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch8">CHAPTER VIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Women of China</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's
+life in the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A
+Chinese wedding
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxiv" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch9">CHAPTER IX</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Voyaging to Yün-nan</p>
+
+<p>
+Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--<i>En route</i>
+to Tonking--The Island of Hainan--We engage a cook
+at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss of our Ammunition--Hanoi--The
+railroad to Yün-nan Fu--Yün-nan--The
+Chinese Foreign Office endorses our plans
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch10">CHAPTER X</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">On the Road to Ta-li fu</p>
+
+<p>
+Our caravan--The Yün-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
+<i>mafus</i>--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese
+scholar--New mammals--Village life--Opium
+growing--An opium scandal--Goitre--The Chinese
+"Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss Morgan--Brigands--Our
+guard of soldiers
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch11">CHAPTER XI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Ta-li fu</p>
+
+<p>
+Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr.
+H.G. Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese
+mandarins--Mammals at Ta-li--Caravan horses and
+mules--The cook becomes ill
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch12">CHAPTER XII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Li-Chiang, and the "Temple of the Flowers"</p>
+
+<p>
+Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The
+surprise of the foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small
+mammals--The Moso natives--Customs--The
+Snow Mountain--Baron Haendel-Mazzetti
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxv" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch13">CHAPTER XIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Camping in the Clouds</p>
+
+<p>
+Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Cross-bows and poisoned arrows--Dogs--A
+porcupine--New mammals--We find a
+new camp on the mountain
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch14">CHAPTER XIV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The First Goral</p>
+
+<p>
+Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small
+mammals--The second goral
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch15">CHAPTER XV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">More Gorals</p>
+
+<p>
+Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material
+for a Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two
+gorals--A crested muntjac
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch16">CHAPTER XVI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Snow Mountain Temple</p>
+
+<p>
+The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading dog--Rain--Two
+more serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of
+Yün-nan
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch17">CHAPTER XVII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Gorals and Serows</p>
+
+<p>
+Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxvi" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch18">CHAPTER XVIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The "White Water"</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+Our new camp--A serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial ceremony--Ancestor
+worship
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch19">CHAPTER XIX</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Across the Yangtze Gorge</p>
+
+<p>
+Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view
+of the gorge--The Taku ferry--Caves
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch20">CHAPTER XX</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Through Unmapped Country</p>
+
+<p>
+Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
+mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid
+inhabitants--Strange natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch21">CHAPTER XXI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Traveling Toward Tibet</p>
+
+<p>
+A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving
+with the Lolos
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch22">CHAPTER XXII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Stalking Tibetans with a Camera</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing
+frightened natives--Reason for suspicion
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxvii" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch23">CHAPTER XXIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Westward to the Mekong River</p>
+
+<p>
+Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The
+Shih-ku ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A
+well-deserved beating--Chinese soldiers
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch24">CHAPTER XXIV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Down the Mekong Valley</p>
+
+<p>
+Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties
+in the valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The
+salt wells--A snow covered pass--Duck shooting--Return
+to Ta-li Fu
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch25">CHAPTER XXV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Missionaries We Have Known</p>
+
+<p>
+Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yün-nan
+Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary
+exile--Medical missionaries--A missionary's experience
+with the brigands at Yuchi
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch26">CHAPTER XXVI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Chinese New Year at Yung-chang</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants
+of the city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
+cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco
+Polo
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxviii" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch27">CHAPTER XXVII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Traveling Toward the Tropics</p>
+
+<p>
+Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical
+valley at Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid
+camp--Many new mammals--Preparing specimens--Sambur--Trapping
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch28">CHAPTER XXVIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Meng-ting: a Village: of Many Tongues</p>
+
+<p>
+The first Shan village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The
+Shan mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing
+under difficulties--Suppression of opium
+growing
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch29">CHAPTER XXIX</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Camping on the Nam-ting River</p>
+
+<p>
+A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
+fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch30">CHAPTER XXX</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Monkey Hunting</p>
+
+<p>
+Strange calls in the jungle--Our first gibbons--Relationship
+and habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the
+jungle
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch31">CHAPTER XXXI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Shans of the Burma Border</p>
+
+<p>
+An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan
+tribe--Dress
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxix" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch32">CHAPTER XXXII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Prisoners of War in Burma</p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Y.B.A.</p>
+
+<p>
+The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The
+<i>mafus</i> rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding
+the border--Life at Ma-li-pa
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch33">CHAPTER XXXIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Hunting Peacocks on the Salween River</p>
+
+<p>
+The valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker
+stalked--Habits of peafowls
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch34">CHAPTER XXXIV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">The Gibbons of Ho-mu-shu</p>
+
+<p>
+Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping
+on a mountain pass--Gibbons--An exciting
+hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the "hoolock"
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch35">CHAPTER XXXV</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Teng-yueh: a Link with Civilization</p>
+
+<p>
+Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr.
+Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch36">CHAPTER XXXVI</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">A Big Game Paradise</p>
+
+<p>
+Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxx" />
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch37">CHAPTER XXXVII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Serow and Sambur</p>
+
+<p>
+Monkeys at Hui-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move
+camp to Wa-tien--A fine sambur
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><a href="#ch38">CHAPTER XXXVIII</a></b></p>
+
+<p class="smallccen">Last Days in China</p>
+
+<p>
+Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of
+the Expedition--On the road to Bhamo--The chair
+coolies--Burma <i>vs.</i> China--In civilization again--Farewell
+to the Orient
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<a name="pgxxi" />
+<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<p>
+Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yün-nan squirrel<br />
+Edmund Heller<br />
+Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Chinese hunter and a muntjac<br />
+Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Ling-suik monastery<br />
+A priest of Ling-suik
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Chinese mother with her children<br />
+Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yün-nan Fu<br />
+Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu<br />
+The dead of China
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li-Fu<br />
+The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Moso herder<br />
+A Moso woman
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Snow Mountain
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A cheek gun used by one of our hunters<br />
+The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxxii" />
+<p>
+Hotenfa, one of our Moso hunters, bringing in a goral<br />
+Another Moso hunter with a porcupine
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A serow killed on the Snow Mountain<br />
+The head of a serow
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The "white water"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel<br />
+The chief of our Lolo hunters
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Lolo village<br />
+Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Travelers in the Mekong valley<br />
+Two Tibetans
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gorge of the Yangtze River<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A quiet curve of the Mekong River<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu<br />
+A crested muntjac
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The south gate at Yung-chang<br />
+A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Chinese patriarch<br />
+Young China
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Shan village<br />
+A Shan woman spinning
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting<br />
+One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our camp on the Nam-ting River<br />
+The Shan village at Nam-ka
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River<br />
+A civet
+</p>
+
+<a name="pgxxiii" />
+<p>
+A Shan girl<br />
+A Shan boy
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A suspension bridge<br />
+Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A sambur killed at Wa-tien<br />
+The head of a muntjac
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A mountain chair<br />
+The waterfall at Teng-Yueh
+</p>
+
+<p>
+MAP I.  The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition
+</p>
+
+<p>
+MAP II. Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+<a name="pg1" />
+
+
+
+
+<h1>CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA</h1>
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch1">CHAPTER I</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION</h3>
+
+<p>
+The earliest remains of primitive man probably will
+be found somewhere in the vast plateau of Central
+Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains. From this
+region came the successive invasions that poured into
+Europe from the east, to India from the north, and to
+China from the west; the migration route to North
+America led over the Bering Strait and spread fanwise
+south and southeast to the farthest extremity of South
+America. The Central Asian plateau at the beginning
+of the Pleistocene was probably less arid than it is today
+and there is reason to believe that this general region
+was not only the distributing center of man but also of
+many of the forms of mammalian life which are now
+living in other parts of the world. For instance, our
+American moose, the wapiti or elk, Rocky Mountain
+sheep, the so-called mountain goat, and other animals
+are probably of Central Asian origin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doubtless there were many contributing causes to
+the extensive wanderings of primitive tribes, but as
+they were primarily hunters, one of the most important
+<a name="pg2" />
+must have been the movements of the game upon which
+they lived. Therefore the study of the early human
+races is, necessarily, closely connected with, and dependent
+upon, a knowledge of the Central Asian mammalian
+life and its distribution. No systematic palaeontological,
+archaeological, or zoölogical study of this region on
+a large scale has ever been attempted, and there is no
+similar area of the inhabited surface of the earth about
+which so little is known.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The American Museum of Natural History hopes in
+the near future to conduct extensive explorations in
+this part of the world along general scientific lines.
+The country itself and its inhabitants, however, present
+unusual obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the
+region one of vast intersecting mountain ranges, the
+greatest of the earth, but the climate is too cold in winter
+to permit of continuous work. The people have a
+natural dislike for foreigners, and the political events
+of the last half century have not tended to decrease
+their suspicions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the
+plans for extensive research must be carefully prepared.
+One of the most important steps is the sending
+out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge
+of the natives and fauna and of the conditions to
+be encountered. For the first reconnoissance, which was
+intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the Asiatic
+Zoölogical Expedition left New York in March, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Its destination was Yün-nan, a province in southwestern
+China. This is one of the least known parts
+of the Chinese Republic and, because of its southern
+latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and
+faunal range is very great. It is about equal in size to
+<a name="pg3" />
+the state of California and topographically might be
+likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the greater
+part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain
+waves which divide and cross one another in hopeless
+confusion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yün-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and
+S'suchuan, on the west by Burma, on the south by Tonking,
+and on the east by Kwei-chau Province. Faunistically
+the entire northwestern part of Yün-nan is essentially
+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks
+range from altitudes of 8,000 feet to 20,000 feet above
+sea level. In the south and west along the borders of
+Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys,
+the climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native
+life, as well as the fauna and flora, is of a totally different
+type from that found in the north.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natives of Yün-nan are exceptionally interesting.
+There are about thirty non-Chinese tribes in the
+province, some of whom, such as the Shans and Lolos,
+represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it is
+safe to say that in no similar area of the world is there
+such a variety of language and dialects as in this region.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the main work of the Expedition was to be
+conducted in Yün-nan, we decided to spend a short time
+in Fukien Province, China, and endeavor to obtain a
+specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been
+seen twice by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary
+and amateur naturalist, who has done much
+hunting in the vicinity of Foochow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The white members of the first Asiatic Zoölogical
+Expedition included Mr. Edmund Heller, my wife
+(Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A Chinese interpreter,
+<a name="pg4" />
+Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and
+ten muleteers, completed the personnel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His
+early work, which was done in the western United States
+and the Galápagos Islands, was followed by many years
+of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America, and
+Africa. He first visited British East Africa with Mr.
+Carl E. Akeley, next with ex-President Theodore
+Roosevelt, and again with Mr. Paul J. Rainey. During
+the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition Mr. Heller devoted
+most of his time to the gathering and preparation
+of small mammals. He joined our party late in July
+in China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition.
+She had studied photography as an amateur in
+Germany, France, and Italy, as well as in New York,
+and had devoted especial attention to the taking of
+photographs in natural colors. Such work requires
+infinite care and patience, but the results are well worth
+the efforts expended.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and
+studied English at the Anglo-Chinese College in that
+city. He lived for some time in Teng-yueh, Yün-nan,
+in the employ of Mr. F.W. Carey, Commissioner of
+Customs, and not only speaks mandarin Chinese but
+also several native dialects. He acted as interpreter,
+head "boy," and general field manager. My own work
+was devoted mainly to the direction of the Expedition
+and the hunting of big game.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges
+we purchased only such equipment in New York as
+could not be obtained in Shanghai or Hongkong.
+Messrs. Shoverling, Daly &amp; Gales furnished our guns,
+<a name="pg5" />
+ammunition, tents, and general camp equipment, and
+gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the minor details
+which often assume alarming importance when an
+expedition is in the field and defects cannot be remedied.
+All food and commissary supplies were purchased in
+Hongkong (<i>see</i> Chapter IX).
+</p>
+
+<hr class="narrow" />
+
+<p>
+When the announcement of the Expedition was made
+by the American Museum of Natural History it received
+wide publicity in America and other parts of the
+world. Immediately we began to discover how many
+strange persons make up the great cities of the United
+States, and we received letters and telegrams from hundreds
+of people who wished to take part in the Expedition.
+Men and boys were the principal applicants, but
+there was no lack of women, many of whom came to the
+Museum for personal interviews.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme.
+One was from a butcher who thought he might be of
+great assistance in preparing our specimens, or defending
+us from savage natives; another young man offered
+himself to my wife as a personal bodyguard; a third
+was sure his twenty years' experience as a waiter would
+fit him for an important position on the Expedition,
+and numerous women, young and old, wished to become
+"companions" for my wife in those "drear wastes."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we
+stopped on our way across the continent and in San
+Francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of March
+28 on the S.S. <i>Tenyo Maru</i> for Japan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as
+the great vessel drew in toward the wharf in Yokohama
+she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives. We
+<a name="pg6" />
+were standing at the rail when three Japanese approached
+and, bowing in unison, said, "We are report
+for leading Japanese newspaper. We wish to know
+all thing about Chinese animal." Evidently the speech
+had been rehearsed, for with it their English ended
+abruptly, and the interview proceeded rather lamely,
+on my part, in Japanese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when
+we arrived and for a person interested in color photography
+it was a veritable paradise. We stayed three
+weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea.
+But before we continue with the story of our further
+travels, we would like briefly to review the political
+situation in China as a background for our early work
+in the province of Fukien.
+</p>
+<a name="pg7" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch2">CHAPTER II</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>CHINA IN TURMOIL</h3>
+
+<p>
+During the time the Expedition was preparing to
+leave New York, China was in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai
+was president of the Republic, but the hope of his heart
+was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had
+plotted for the throne; he had been emperor for one
+hundred miserable days; and now he was watching,
+impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet.
+Yuan was the strong man of his day, with more power,
+brains, and personality than any Chinese since Li-Hung
+Chang. He always had been a factor in his political
+world. His monarchial dream first took definite form
+as early as 1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li, the
+province in which Peking is situated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was then that he began to modernize and get control
+of the army which is the great basis of political
+power in China. Properly speaking, there was not, and
+is not now, a Chinese national army. It is rather a collection
+of armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general,
+and he who secures the support of the various commanders
+controls the destiny of China's four hundred
+millions of people regardless of his official title.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of
+the leading generals, and in 1911, when the Manchu
+dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues began
+to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and
+Manchus he managed to get himself elected president
+<a name="pg8" />
+of the new republic, although he did not for a moment
+believe in the republican form of government. He was
+always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing
+to declare himself an ardent republican so long as such
+a declaration could be used as a stepping stone to the
+throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1913
+there was a rebellion in protest against his official acts
+but he defeated the rebels, won over more of the older
+generals, and solidified the army for his own interests,
+making himself stronger than ever before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this time he might well have made a <i>coup d'état</i>
+and proclaimed himself emperor with hardly a shadow
+of resistance, but with the hereditary caution of the
+Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. He
+wanted his position to be even more secure and to have
+it appear that he reluctantly accepted the throne as a
+patriotic duty at the insistent call of the people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment
+were typically Chinese but entirely effective, and
+he was making splendid progress, when in May, 1915,
+Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage
+of the European war and presenting the historical
+twenty-one demands, to most of which China
+agreed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's
+agents pushed the work of making him emperor more
+actively than ever, with the result that the throne was
+tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people."
+To "save his face" he declined at first but at the second
+offer he "reluctantly" yielded and on December 12,
+1915, became emperor of China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later
+<a name="pg9" />
+tidings of unrest in Yün-nan reached Peking. General
+Tsai-ao, a former military governor of the province, appeared
+in Yün-nan Fu, the capital, and, on December
+23, sent an ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must
+repudiate the monarchy and execute all those who had
+assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise Yün-nan
+would secede; which it forthwith did on December 25.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese
+who had intimated to Yuan that the change from
+a republican form of government would not meet with
+their approval. The rebellion spread rapidly. On January
+21, Kwei-chau Province, which adjoins Yün-nan,
+seceded, and, on March 13, Kwang-si also announced its
+independence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About this time the Museum authorities were becoming
+somewhat doubtful as to the advisability of proceeding
+with our Expedition. We had a long talk with
+Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United
+States, at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo,
+while certain that the rebellion would be short-lived,
+strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until
+conditions became more settled. He offered to cable
+Peking for advice, but we, knowing how unwelcome
+to the government of the harassed Yuan would be a
+party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed
+area, gratefully declined and determined to proceed
+regardless of conditions. We hoped that Yuan
+would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he
+had that of 1913, but day by day, as we anxiously
+watched the papers, there came reports of other provinces
+dropping away from his standard.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the <i>Tenyo Maru</i> we met the Honorable Charles
+Denby, an ex-American Consul-General at Shanghai
+<a name="pg10" />
+and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he was viceroy
+of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining
+a road concession near Peking and was then on his
+way to see Yuan. His anxiety over the political situation
+was not less than ours and together we often paced
+the decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless
+report told of more desertions to the ranks of the
+rebels.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan
+had lost his nerve. He had decided to quit, and one
+hundred days after he became emperor elect he issued
+a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the
+republic. But the rebellious provinces were not satisfied
+and demanded that he get out altogether.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About this time we reached Peking, literally blown
+in by a tremendous dust storm which seemed an elemental
+manifestation of the human turmoil within the
+grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins,
+Naval Attaché of the American Legation, was
+awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat with one
+hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The news we received from him was by no means
+comforting for in the Legation pessimism reigned supreme.
+The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch, was not
+enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions,
+but nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain
+the necessary visé for our passports.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province,
+where we were to hunt tiger until Mr. Heller
+joined us in July for the expedition into Yün-nan.
+Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese
+influence in this province, which is directly opposite the
+<a name="pg11" />
+island of Formosa, was causing considerable uneasiness
+in Peking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C.R.
+Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we
+were to stay while in Foochow, assuring us that all was
+quiet in the province, and through the influence of Dr.
+Reinsch, the Chinese Foreign Office viséd our passports.
+The huge red stamp which was affixed to them
+was an amusing example of Chinese "face saving."
+First came the seal of Yuan's impotent dynasty of Hung
+Hsien, signifying "Brilliant Prosperity," and directly
+upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese Republic.
+One was almost as legible as the other and thus the
+Foreign Office saved its face in whichever direction the
+shifting cards of political destiny should fall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy
+in Peking, we met Admiral von Hintze, the German
+Minister, who had recently completed an adventurous
+trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to
+Mexico at the beginning of the war but had returned
+to Berlin incognito through England to ask the Kaiser
+for active sea service. The Emperor was greatly elated
+over von Hintze's performance and offered him the
+appointment of Minister to China if he could reach
+Peking in the same way that he had traveled to Berlin.
+Von Hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a Scandinavian
+tramp steamer and arrived safely at Shanghai,
+where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign diplomat
+and proceeded to the capital.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Americans were in a rather difficult position at
+this time because of the international complications,
+and social intercourse was extremely limited. Dinner
+guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one
+<a name="pg12" />
+was very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever
+one went.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who
+has shared its social life. In the midst of one of the
+most picturesque, most historical, and most romantic
+cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community
+that enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is all of horses,
+polo, racing, shooting, dinners, and dances, with the
+interesting background of Chinese politics, in which
+things are never dull. There is always a rebellion of
+some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never
+can tell when a new political bomb will be projected
+from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden City.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by
+rail for Shanghai. <i>En route</i> we passed through Tsinan-fu
+where the previous night serious fighting had occurred
+in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the
+rebels against Yuan's troops. On every side there was
+evidence of Japan's efforts against him. In the foreign
+quarter of Shanghai just behind the residence of Mr.
+Sammons, the American Consul-General, one of Yuan's
+leading officers had been openly murdered, and Japanese
+were directly concerned in the plot. We were told
+that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in
+the foreign concession because wealthy Chinese who
+feared the wrath of one party or the other were eager
+to pay almost any rent to obtain the protection of that
+quarter of the city.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A short time later it became known to a few that
+Yuan was seriously ill. He was suffering from Bright's
+disease with its consequent weakness, loss of mental
+alertness, and lack of concentration. French doctors
+were called in, but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating
+<a name="pg13" />
+him with concoctions of their own, and on June 6, shortly
+after three o'clock in the morning, he died.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his
+face before the country, and his last words were a reiteration
+of what he knew no one believed. The story of
+his death is told in the <i>China Press</i> of June 7, 1916:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+According to news from the President's palace the condition
+of Yuan became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan
+asked for his old confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came
+immediately. On the arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak,
+but entirely conscious.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he
+had never had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown;
+he had been deceived by his <i>entourage</i> over the true state of
+public opinion and thus had sincerely believed the people wished
+for the restoration of the monarchy. The desire of the South
+for his resignation he had not wished to follow for fear that
+general anarchy would break out all over China. Now that
+he felt death approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words
+known to the public.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung,
+situated in the Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly
+owned by Yang Tu, the prominent monarchist, the formal
+transfer of the power to Li-Yuan-hung took place this morning
+at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui, Secretary of State and Premier,
+as well as all the members of the cabinet, Prince Pu Lun
+as chairman of the State Council, and other high officials were
+present.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by Li-Yuan-hung
+in the main hall and made three bows to the new
+president, which were returned by the latter. The same ceremony
+will take place at two o'clock, when all the high military
+officials will assemble at the President's residence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the
+<a name="pg14" />
+provinces that Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance
+with the constitution, has become president of the Chinese Republic
+(Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the seventh instance.
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself
+an emperor over four hundred millions of people, a
+plot which could only have been carried out in China.
+He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation
+of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children
+and his country in political chaos.
+</p>
+<a name="pg15" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch3">CHAPTER III</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>UP THE MIN RIVER</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+Three days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at
+Pagoda Anchorage at the mouth of the Min River,
+twelve miles from Foochow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We boarded a launch which threaded its way through
+a fleet of picturesque fishing vessels, each one of which
+had a round black and white eye painted on its crescent-shaped
+bow. When asked the reason for this decoration
+a Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly
+for a moment and then said: "No have eye. No
+can see." How simple and how entirely satisfactory!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of
+coolies swarmed like flies over it, fighting madly for
+our luggage. One seized a trunk, the other end of
+which had been appropriated by another man and, in
+the argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen
+the other by his screams. The habit of yelling to enforce
+command is inherent with the Chinese and appears to
+be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary tone
+of voice, pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems
+a psychological impossibility.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival
+at Foochow, and we were two days earlier than
+we had been expected, so that Mr. C.R. Kellogg, of
+the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to
+<a name="pg16" />
+stay, was not on the jetty to meet us. We were at a
+loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos and confusion
+until a customs officer took us in charge and,
+judiciously selecting a competent looking woman from
+among the screaming multitude, told her to get two
+sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. She disappeared
+and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. Dashing
+about among the crowd in front of us, she chose
+the baggage for such men as met with her approval
+and after the usual amount of argument the loads were
+taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently
+all Foochow following us. As far as we could see
+down the narrow street were the heads and shoulders of
+our porters. We felt as if we were heading an invading
+army as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred
+pounds of luggage, we descended upon the homes
+of people whom we did not know and who were not
+expecting us. But our sudden arrival did not disturb
+the Kelloggs and our welcome was typical of the warm
+hospitality one always finds in the Far East.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No matter how long one has lived in China one remains
+in a condition of mental suspense unable to decide
+which is the filthiest city of the Republic. The
+residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to
+the senses no town can compare with theirs, and although
+Amoy and several other places dispute this questionable
+title, we were inclined to grant it unreservedly
+to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its narrow,
+ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze.
+They are usually roofed over so that by no accident
+can a ray of purifying sun penetrate their dark corners.
+With no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks
+<a name="pg17" />
+with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming
+houses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow
+alleys are literally choked with every form of industrial
+obstruction. Countless workmen plant themselves in the
+tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and
+women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones.
+There is a common saying that the Chinese do little
+which is not at some time done on the street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,
+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of
+the city on a hilltop. Their houses are built with very
+high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the occupants
+seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have
+"punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible
+during the intense heat of summer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry
+Caldwell, with whom we were to hunt, asking us to
+come to his station two hundred miles up the river, and
+we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit
+while Mr. Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking
+cook.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but
+when he learned that we were going "up country," he
+shook his head with an assumption of great filial devotion
+and said that he did not think his mother would
+let him go. Another was afraid the sun might be too
+hot. Finally on the eve of our departure we engaged
+a stuttering Chinese who assured us that he was a remarkable
+cook and exceptionally honest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you
+have something to live for, and although we discovered
+that our cook was a shameless rascal he was worth all
+<a name="pg18" />
+he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted
+to utter a word we became almost hysterical. He sounded
+exactly like a worn-out phonograph record buzzing
+on a single note, and when he finally did manage to
+articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was screamingly
+funny.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One day he came to the <i>sampan</i> proudly displaying a
+piece of beef and, after a series of vocal gymnastics,
+eventually succeeded in shouting: "Missie, this meat
+no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which
+meant that this particular piece of beef was not from
+an animal which had died from disease.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first stage of our trip began before daylight.
+We rode in four-man sedan chairs, followed by a long
+procession of heavily laden coolies with our cameras,
+duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through
+green rice fields between terraced mountains, and we
+jogged along first on the crest of a hill, then in the
+valley, passing dilapidated temples with the paint flaking
+off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the
+reeds of the winding river. It was a relief to get into
+the country again after passing down the narrow village
+streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed with
+honeysuckle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the
+beginning of the rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in
+the morning and is literally crowded to overflowing
+with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over every available
+inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries
+strongly advised us against taking it. The passengers
+not infrequently are pushed off into the water. One
+of the missionaries witnessed an incident which illustrates
+<a name="pg19" />
+in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the
+average Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard,
+and although a friend was able to grasp his hand
+and hold him above the surface, no one offered to help
+him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally
+weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. This
+is by no means an isolated case. Some years ago a
+foreign steamer was burned on the Yangtze River, and
+the crowds of watching Chinese did little or nothing
+to rescue the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast as
+they made their way to shore many of them were robbed
+even of their clothing and some were murdered outright.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious
+of the entire Expedition, for we were fortunate
+in obtaining the Standard Oil Company's launch
+through the kindness of Mr. Livingston, their agent.
+It was large and roomy, and the trip, which would
+have been worse than disagreeable on the public boat,
+was most delightful. The Min is one of the most beautiful
+rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains
+rising a thousand feet or more straight up from the
+water and often terraced to the summits.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little
+gentleman with a pigtail wrapped around his head, who
+said he was a pilot, but as he inquired the channel of
+everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen times
+or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain,
+we felt that his claim was not entirely justified.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture.
+One moment we would pass a <i>sampan</i> so loaded
+with branches that it seemed like a small island floating
+<a name="pg20" />
+down the stream. Next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed
+sails projecting at impossible angles drifted by,
+followed by innumerable smaller crafts, the monotonous
+chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water to
+us as they passed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The
+<i>sampans</i> in which we were to spend eight days were
+drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others.
+Right above us was the straggling town looking very
+much like the rear view of tenement houses at home.
+Darkness blotted out the filth of our surroundings but
+could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down
+from the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our beds were spread in the <i>sampans</i> which we shared
+in common with the four river men who formed the
+crew. There was only a mosquito net to screen the
+end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange
+that this was but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots
+we could look up at the stars framed in the half oval
+of the <i>sampan's</i> roof and listen to the sounds of the
+water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the
+river men beached their boats for the night. It seemed
+only a few minutes later when we were roused by a
+rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had
+reached the first of the rapids which separated us from
+Yen-ping, one hundred and twenty miles away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan
+where Mr. Caldwell stood on the shore waving his hat
+to us amidst scores of dirty little children and the explosion
+of countless firecrackers. Wherever we went
+crackers preceded and followed us--for when a Chinese
+wishes to register extreme emotion, either of joy or sorrow,
+<a name="pg21" />
+its expression always takes the form of firecrackers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There had been a good deal of persecution of the
+native Christians in the district, and only recently a band
+of soldiers had strung up the native pastor by the
+thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host that
+night and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man
+but quite deaf as a result of his cruel treatment. He
+never recovered and died a few weeks later. Mr. Caldwell
+had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries
+are invested by the people themselves with a good
+deal of authority.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We spent that night in the parish house just behind
+the little church, a bare schoolroom being turned over
+to us for our use, and it seemed very luxurious after we
+had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but the
+house was in the center of the town and the high walls
+shut out every breath of pure air. The barred windows
+opened on a street hardly six feet wide, and while we
+were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued
+whispers outside. We switched on a powerful electric
+flashlight and there stood at least forty men, women
+and children gazing at us with rapt attention, but they
+melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a
+June sun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was
+intense, the mosquitoes worse, and every dog and cat
+in the village seemed to choose our court yard as a
+dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax
+was reached at four o'clock in the morning, when
+directly under our windows there came a series of ear-splitting
+squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. The
+neighbors had chosen that particular spot and hour to
+<a name="pg22" />
+kill the family pig, and the entire process which followed
+of sousing it in hot water and scraping off the hair was
+accompanied by unceasing chatter. Boiling with
+rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to
+spend another night in the place but to sleep in the
+<i>sampans</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the whole our river men were nice fellows but
+they had the love of companionship characteristic of
+all Chinese and the inherent desire to huddle together
+as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way
+up the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on
+stopping at some foul-smelling village, and it was difficult
+to induce them to spend the night away from a town.
+Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would invariably
+ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where
+the sun beat down like a blast furnace.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun
+and go bareheaded at all seasons of the year, shading
+their eyes with one hand or a partly opened fan. A
+fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to
+see coolies almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy
+load and with the perspiration streaming from their
+naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves meanwhile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Caldwell was <i>en route</i> to Yuchi, one of his mission
+stations far up a branch of the Min River, and as
+there was a vague report of tiger in that vicinity we
+joined him instead of proceeding directly to Yen-ping.
+The tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but
+our trip was made interesting by meeting Miss Mabel
+Hartford, the only foreign resident of the place. She
+has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one time did
+not see a white person for eight months with the exception
+<a name="pg23" />
+of Mr. Caldwell who was in the vicinity for
+three days. It requires four weeks to obtain supplies
+from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are
+very irregular, but she enjoys the isolation and is passionately
+fond of her work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She has had an interesting life and one not devoid
+of danger. In 1895 she was wounded and barely escaped
+death in the Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain) massacre
+in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered
+by a mob of fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians."
+The Chinese Government was required to pay
+a considerable indemnity to Miss Hartford, which she
+accepted only under protest and characteristically devoted
+to missionary work in Kucheng where the massacre
+occurred.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled
+and for some months there had been a veritable
+"reign of terror." A large band of brigands was established
+in the hills not far from the city, and we were
+warned by the mandarin not to attempt to go farther
+up the river. A few months earlier several companies
+of soldiers had been sent from Foochow, and the result
+of turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to
+make "the remedy worse than the disease."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants,
+accusing them of being brigands or aiding the
+bandits, and shooting them without a hearing. At one
+time accurate information concerning the camp of the
+robbers was received and the soldiers set bravely off,
+but when within a short distance of the brigands the
+commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns
+were fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must
+always "save his face," however, and when they returned
+<a name="pg24" />
+to Yuchi they arrested dozens of people on mere suspicion
+and executed them without the vestige of a trial.
+Finally conditions became so intolerable that no one
+was safe, and after repeated complaints by the missionaries,
+a new mandarin of a somewhat better type was
+sent to Yuchi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up
+the river because of the bandits, we left for Yen-ping
+two days after arriving at Yuchi. Yen-ping is a wonderfully
+picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a fork
+of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced
+and loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little
+use against artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable
+obstacle to anything less than field guns as we ourselves
+were destined to discover.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable
+area on the very summit of the hill, backed by
+the city wall, and besides the four dwelling houses, comprises
+two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's
+residence commands a wonderful view down the
+river and in the late afternoon sunlight when the hills
+are bathed in pink and lavender and purple a more
+beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered
+by the abominable weather. In summer the heat is almost
+unbearable and the air is so nearly saturated from
+continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except
+over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost
+as bad in the opposite extreme for the cold is damp
+and penetrating; but the early fall is said to be delightful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces
+in China, has been denuded of forests, and the groves
+<a name="pg25" />
+of pine which remain have all been planted. This deforestation
+consequently has driven out the game, and
+except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and
+gorals, none of the large species is left. However, the
+dense growth of sword grass and the thorny bushes
+which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to
+muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small
+cats, civets, and other Viverines. These animals come
+to the rice paddys, which fill every valley, to hunt for
+frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because
+of the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although
+we caught a good many animals they were almost
+always stolen together with the traps. We had this
+same difficulty in Yün-nan as well as in Fukien. None
+of us had ever seen natives in any part of the world who
+were such unmitigated thieves as the Chinese of these
+two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more
+abundant than the larger ones for the natives wage an
+unceasing war on those about the rice paddys and have
+exterminated nearly all but a few widely distributed
+forms.
+</p>
+<a name="pg26" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch4">CHAPTER IV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE</h3>
+
+<p>
+A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went
+with Mr. Caldwell and his son Oliver to a Taoist temple
+seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as Chi-yuen-kang.
+The walk to the temple in the early morning
+was delightful. The "bamboo chickens" and francolins
+were calling all about us and on the way we shot
+enough for our first day's dinner. Both these birds
+are abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means
+easy to kill them for they live in such thick cover that
+they can only be flushed with difficulty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins
+crowing in the trees or on the top of a hill and
+when a cock had taken possession of such a spot the intrusion
+of another was almost sure to cause trouble
+which only ended when one of them had been driven
+off.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow
+cut between perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed
+to their very summits with bamboo and a tangle of
+thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a mountain
+torrent foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle,
+slow moving stream when it leaves the cool darkness
+of the cañon to spread itself over the terraced rice
+fields.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle
+into the hillside. One stands just over the water,
+<a name="pg27" />
+but the other clings to the rock wall three hundred feet
+above the river, and it was there that we made our
+camp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old priest in charge did not appear especially
+delighted to see us until I slipped a Mexican dollar into
+his hand--then it was laughable to see his change of
+face. The far end of the balcony was given up to us
+while Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at
+the feet of a grinning idol in the main temple.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (<i>see</i>
+Chapter XVII) and had brought with us only a few
+traps for small mammals. Harry had seen several
+serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along
+the river, and all were reported to have been killed near
+this ravine. There was a village of considerable size
+at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of
+beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a
+mountain which towered about two thousand five hundred
+feet above the river.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start
+at daylight but it was well toward six o'clock before we
+got our men together. A Chinaman would drive an
+impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it
+is well-nigh impossible to get him started within an
+hour of the appointed time, and with a half dozen the
+difficulty is multiplied as many times. Just when you
+think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason
+for delaying longer, the whole crowd will disappear
+suddenly and you discover that they have gone
+for "chow." Then you know that the end is really in
+sight, for chow usually is the last thing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning
+before we started on the long climb to the top of the
+<a name="pg28" />
+mountain. The sun was simply blazing, and in fifteen
+minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When we
+were half way up the dogs disappeared in a small
+ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword grass and
+suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. They had found
+a fresh trail and were driving our way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting
+to us to watch another higher up. We were hardly
+in position when his rifle banged, followed by such a
+bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must
+have killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before
+we reached them Harry appeared, smiling all over,
+and dragging a muntjac (<i>Muntiacus</i>) by the fore legs.
+He had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he
+had been watching was not more than ten feet wide and
+the muntjac flashed across it at full speed. Caldwell
+fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught the
+animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone
+dead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger
+than a fox. Its antlers are only two or three inches in
+length and rise from an elongated skin-covered pedicel
+instead of from the base of the skull as in all other members
+of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw
+is a slender tusk, about two inches long, which projects
+well beyond the lips and makes a rather formidable
+weapon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a
+"good joss," but instead a disappointing day was in
+store for us. When we had worked our way to the very
+summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over
+a trail which led through a smothering bamboo jungle,
+we saw dozens of fresh serow tracks. The animals were
+<a name="pg29" />
+there without a doubt and we were on the <i>qui vive</i> with
+excitement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We selected positions and the men made a long circuit
+to drive toward us as Caldwell had directed. After
+half an hour had passed we heard them yelling as they
+closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly
+parading in single file up the bottom of the valley on
+an open trail and carefully avoiding all thickets where
+a serow could possibly be. As Harry expressed it, "all
+the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the
+noble procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew
+nothing whatever about driving nor were we able to
+teach them, for they seriously objected to leaving the
+open trails and going into the bush.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless
+and it was impossible to "still hunt" the animals
+at that time of the year. The natives say that in September
+when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower
+forests the serow leave the mountain tops and thick
+cover to feed upon the fungus, and that they may be
+killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the
+hunt would involve a vast amount of labor with only a
+moderate chance of success. After we had left Fukien,
+Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and female serow
+for us which are especially interesting as they represent
+a different subspecies (<i>Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochcaetes</i>)
+from those we killed in Yün-nan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we
+discovered a wonderful bat cave less than a mile from
+our temple. Its entrance was a low round hole half
+covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular
+gallery; from this three long corridors branched
+off like fingers from the palm of a giant's hand. The
+<a name="pg30" />
+cave was literally alive with bats. There must have
+been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a
+hundred, representing seven species and at least four
+genera. This was especially remarkable as it is unusual
+to find more than two or three species living together.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each
+corridor was divided by rock partitions into several
+small rooms in every one of which bats of different
+species were rearing their families. The young in most
+instances were only a few days old but were thickly
+clustered on the walls and ceilings, and each and every
+one was squeaking at the top of its tiny lungs. The
+place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds,
+of years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we returned the day after our first visit we
+found that many of the young bats had been removed
+by their parents and in some instances entire rooms
+had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the
+cave was so nauseating that to enable us to go inside
+it was necessary to wear gauze pads of iodoform over
+our noses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The bats at this place were killed with bamboo
+switches but later we always used a long gill net which
+had been especially made in New York. We could hang
+the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was
+ready, send a native into the galleries to stir up the
+animals. As they flew out they became entangled in
+the net and could be caught or killed before they were
+able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch
+every specimen in a cavern, and moreover, to secure them
+in perfect condition without broken skulls or wings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If a bat escaped from the net it would never again
+<a name="pg31" />
+strike it, for the animals are wonderfully accurate in
+flight and most expert dodgers. Even while in a cave,
+where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom
+flew against us, although we might often be brushed
+by their wings; and it was a most difficult thing to hit
+them with a bamboo switch. Their ability in dodging
+is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding
+habits for, with the exception of a few species, bats
+live exclusively upon insects and catch them in the
+air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit
+in a bat cave especially if the light has gone out and
+she is in utter darkness. Of course she has a cap tightly
+pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if she be a
+naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats
+with one wisp of hair exposed!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush
+her face or neck and the air is full of chattering noises
+like the grinding of hundreds of tiny teeth. Sometimes
+a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares
+to take her hands from her face long enough to disengage
+the clinging animal she is liable to receive a vicious
+bite from teeth as sharp as needles. But, withal, it is
+good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or collecting
+trays can be filled with beautiful specimens!
+</p>
+<a name="pg32" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch5">CHAPTER V</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE YEN-PING REBELLION</h3>
+
+<p>
+On Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to
+obtain a new supply of specimens. Upon our return,
+just as we were about to sit down to luncheon, four
+excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from
+Mr. Caldwell:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+DEAR ROY:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this
+morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as
+though there was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been
+sent for and the chances are that either tonight or tomorrow
+morning there will be quite a battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble
+and myself have just made a round of the city, visiting the
+telegraph office, post office and other places, and while we do
+not believe that the foreigners will be molested, nevertheless it
+is impossible to tell just what to expect. It is certain, however,
+that the Consul will order all of us to Foochow if news of
+the situation reaches there. Owing to the uncertainty, I think
+you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be ready for any
+eventuality.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr.
+Bankhardt, we all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to
+come in immediately. I am sending four burden-bearers for it
+will be out of the question to find any tomorrow, if trouble
+occurs tonight. The city gates are closed so you will have to
+climb up the ladder over the wall behind our compound. Best
+wishes.
+</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+HARRY.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg33" />
+<p>
+P.S.--Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers
+are to arrive tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only
+chance is to get to Yen-ping today.
+</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+H.C.
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for
+Da-Ming, the cook, and the burden-bearers were jabbering
+excitedly at the top of their voices. The servants
+began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile
+we ate a roast chicken faster than good table manners
+would permit--in fact, we took it in our fingers. We
+were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement
+and talked almost as fast as the Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had
+been received, we were on the way to Yen-ping. It was
+the hottest part of the day, and we were dripping with
+perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine
+and struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering
+in a furnace-like heat. At the first rest house
+on the top of the long hill we waited nearly an hour
+for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy
+loads.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past
+us on her peglike feet leaning on the arm of a man. A
+short distance more and we came to the second rest
+house. We had been there but a few moments when
+three panting women, steadying themselves with long
+staves and barely able to walk on feet not more than
+four inches long, came up the hill. With them were
+several men bearing household goods in large bundles
+and huge red boxes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The exhausted women sank upon the benches and
+fanned themselves while the perspiration ran down their
+<a name="pg34" />
+flushed faces. They looked so utterly miserable that
+we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which
+Mrs. Caldwell had sent us the day before. Their gratitude
+was pitiful, but, of course, they gave the larger
+share to the men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was not long before other women and children
+appeared on the hill path, all struggling upward under
+heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly bound feet.
+Probably these women had not walked so far in their
+entire lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and
+what would happen in the city if they took possession
+had driven them from their homes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Farther on we had a clear view across the valley
+where a long line of people was filing up to a temple
+which nestled into the hillside. Half a mile beyond
+were two other temples both crowded with refugees
+and their goods. Hundreds of families were seeking
+shelter in every little house beside the road and were
+overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking
+the city and half an hour later were clambering
+up the ladder over the high wall of the compound, just
+behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and
+while cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting.
+It seemed that a certain element in the city was in
+coöperation with the representatives of the revolutionary
+organization. These men wished to obtain possession
+of Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started,
+to gather forces, march to Foochow, and force the Governor
+to declare the independence of the province.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The plot had been hatching for several days, but the
+death of Yuan Shi-kai had somewhat delayed its fruition.
+Saturday, however, it was known throughout the
+<a name="pg35" />
+city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning
+at half past three, a band of one hundred men from
+Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping where they were received
+by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who
+opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately
+they began to fire up the streets to intimidate the people
+and in a short time were in a hot engagement with
+the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw
+away their guns and swam across the river. The remaining
+city troops were from the province of Hunan
+and their sympathies were really with the South in the
+great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels,
+where they were received with open arms. It was reported
+that the <i>tao-tai</i> (district mandarin) had asked
+for troops from Foochow and that these might be expected
+at any moment; thus when they arrived a real
+battle could be expected and it was very likely that the
+city would be partly destroyed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and
+discussed the situation. It was the opinion of all that
+the foreigners were in no immediate danger, but nevertheless
+it was considered wise to be prepared, and we
+decided upon posts for each man if it should become
+necessary to protect the compound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries
+with requests to be allowed to bring their goods and
+families inside the walls, but these necessarily had to be
+refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese to
+bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the
+right of Consular protection and, moreover, their compound
+would have been the first to be attacked if looting
+began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On Monday morning while we were sitting on the
+<a name="pg36" />
+porch of Mr. Caldwell's house preparing some bird
+skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire and then
+a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and
+we could see puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a
+black powder gun punctuated the vicious snapping of
+the high-power rifles. The firing gradually ceased after
+half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to
+see what had happened, for, as no Northern troops had
+appeared, the cause of the fighting was a mystery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We went first to the mission hospital which lay
+across a deep ravine and only a few yards from the
+quarters of the soldiers. At the door of the hospital
+compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble
+in the operating room examining a wounded man who
+had just been brought in. The fellow had been shot
+in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball that had gone
+entirely through him, emerging about three inches to
+the right of his spine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the doctor we got the first real news of the
+puzzling situation. It appeared that all the men who had
+arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi to join the Yen-ping
+rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their
+own lives, the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had
+played a clever trick. They had pretended to join the
+rebels but at a given signal had turned upon them,
+killing or capturing almost every one. Although their
+sympathies were really with the South, the Hunan men
+knew that the rebels in Yen-ping could not hold the
+city against the Northern soldiers from Foochow and,
+by crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to
+avert a bigger fight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we could not help the doctor he suggested that
+we might be of some assistance to the wounded in the
+<a name="pg37" />
+city, and with rude crosses of red cloth pinned to our
+white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied
+by four Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In
+the compound we met a chair in which was lying an old
+man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. Beside
+him were his wife and several boys. The poor woman
+was crying quietly and, between her sobs, was offering
+the wounded man mustard pickles from a small
+dish in her hand! Poor things, they have so little to
+eat that they believe food will cure all ills!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and
+lifted the filthy rag which covered a gaping wound in
+the man's shoulder, over which had been plastered a
+great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection,
+but it was the only remedy they knew!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was
+preparing to operate on the fellow who had been shot
+in the abdomen. The doctor was working steadily and
+quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native
+hospital staff with his own coolness; the way this
+young missionary handled his cases made us glad that
+he was an American.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us,
+each carrying four or five rifles and slung about with
+cartridge belts--plunder stripped from the men who
+had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we
+found two brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The
+nearest one had fallen on his face and, as we turned him
+over, we saw that half his head had been blown away;
+the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on
+which the flies already were settling in swarms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was little use in wasting time over these men
+who long ago had passed beyond need of our help, and
+<a name="pg38" />
+we went on rapidly down the alley to the main thoroughfare.
+Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the
+rough stones for fifteen minutes, and suddenly came
+to a man lying at the side of the street, his head propped
+on a wooden block. An umbrella once had partly covered
+him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected
+in the broiling sun. His face and a terrible wound in
+his head were a solid mass of flies, and thousands of
+insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones
+beside him. At first we thought he was dead but soon
+saw his abdomen move and realized that he was breathing.
+It did not seem possible that a human being could
+live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told
+us that he had been lying there for thirty hours--he
+had been shot early the previous morning and it was
+now three o'clock of the next afternoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his
+wife in the most utter poverty. He had been peering
+over the city wall when the firing began Sunday morning
+and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay
+the penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not
+been taken to the hospital, and the answer was that
+his wife was too poor to hire anyone to carry him and
+he had no friends. So there he lay in the burning sun,
+gazed at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand
+being lifted to help him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed
+him in the stretcher and started up the long hill, followed
+by the haggard, weeping wife and a curious crowd.
+On every hand were questions: "Why are these men
+taking him away?" "What are they going to do with
+him?" But several educated natives who understood
+said, "<i>Ing-ai-gidaiie</i>" (A work of love). They got right
+<a name="pg39" />
+there a lesson in Christianity which they will not soon
+forget. It is seldom that Chinese try to help an injured
+man, for ever present in their minds is the possibility
+that he may die and that they will be responsible for
+his burial expenses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main
+street with orders to return as soon as they had deposited
+the man in the hospital and, under the guidance
+of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said
+seven or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us
+first to a brigand who had been wounded and left to
+die beside the gutter. The corpse was a horrible sight
+and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried
+examination and walked to the gate at the end
+of the street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from
+the officer that there were no wounded in the pile of
+dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned toward the
+river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to
+the <i>tao-tai's yamen</i> (official residence) where the firing
+had been heaviest. The <i>yamen</i> was crowded with soldiers,
+and we were informed that the dead had all been
+removed and that there were no wounded--a grim
+statement which told its own story.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The <i>yamen</i> is but a short distance from the hospital
+so we climbed the hill to the compound. The sun was
+simply blazing and I realized then what the wounded
+men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter.
+We returned to the house and were resting on the
+upper porch when suddenly, far down the river, we
+saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and with
+field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men
+winding along the shore trail. At the same time two
+<a name="pg40" />
+huge boats filled with soldiers came into view heading
+for the water gate of the city. These were undoubtedly
+the Northern troops from Foochow who were expected
+Monday night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of
+musketry and a cloud of smoke drifted up from the
+barracks right below us--then a rattling fusillade of
+shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls
+firing at men below and often in our direction. Bullets
+hummed in the air like angry bees and we rushed for
+cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly
+as it began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were at a loss to know what it all meant and
+why the troops were firing upon the Northern soldiers
+whom they wished to placate. It was still a mystery
+when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a
+few minutes later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that
+he had just received a note from the <i>tao-tai</i>. The mandarin's
+personal servant had brought word that the
+Northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were
+going to kill him and he begged the missionaries for
+assistance. Bankhardt also told us of the latest developments
+in the situation. It seems that the city soldiers
+supposed the Northern troops to be brigands and
+had fired upon them and killed several before they discovered
+their mistake. A very delicate situation had
+thus been precipitated, for the Northern commander
+believed that it was treachery and intended to attack
+the barracks in the morning and kill every man whom
+he found with a rifle, as well as all the city officials.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The story of the way in which the missionaries acted
+as peacemakers, saved the <i>tao-tai</i>, and prevented the
+slaughter which surely would have taken place in the
+<a name="pg41" />
+morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished
+only after hours of the talk and "face saving"
+so dear to the heart of the Oriental. Suffice it to say
+that through the exercise of great tact and a thorough
+understanding of the Chinese character they were able
+to settle the matter without bloodshed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called
+trial, marched off to the west gate, beheaded amid
+great enthusiasm, and the incident was closed. In the
+afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of
+us an official letter from the commander of the Northern
+troops thanking us for the part we had played in averting
+trouble and bringing the matter to a peaceful end.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An interesting sidelight on the affair was received
+a few days later. A young man, a Christian, who was
+born in the same town from which a number of the
+brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night
+after the fight and found seven of the robbers concealed
+in his bedroom. He was terrified because if they were
+discovered he and all his family would be killed for aiding
+the bandits. He told them they must leave at once,
+but they pleaded with him to let them stay for they
+knew there were soldiers at every corner and that it
+would be impossible to get away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded
+at the door. He pushed the brigands into the courtyard,
+and opened to three soldiers. They said: "We
+understand you have brigands in your house." He
+was trembling with fear, but answered, "Come in and
+see for yourself, if you think so."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner
+and, as they knew him to be a good man, did not
+search the house, but went away. The poor fellow was
+<a name="pg42" />
+frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being
+watched it was impossible for the brigands to leave
+during the day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads,
+and dressed like coolies, and were able to get to the
+ladder down the city wall just below the mission compound
+where they could escape into the hills.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in
+the afternoon, a breathless Chinese appeared at the
+house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt saying that his
+Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been
+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded
+in an hour. We hurried to the police office
+where they were confined and found that not only the
+two men but three others were in custody.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the
+management of one of his relatives and, while Bankhardt's
+teacher and the other man were sitting at a
+table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom
+owed the restaurant keeper a small amount of money.
+When asked to pay, the soldier turned upon him and
+shouted: "You have been assisting the brigands. I saw
+some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon
+the soldiers arrested everyone in the shop.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The police officials were quite ready to release the
+teacher and the other man upon our statements, but
+they would not allow the cook to go. His hands were
+kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by
+the neck. The soldier who arrested him was his sole
+accuser, but of course, others would appear to uphold
+him in his charge if it were necessary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries,
+but it required several hours of work and threats
+<a name="pg43" />
+of complaint to the government at Foochow to prevent
+the man from being summarily executed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were not able to get any mail from Foochow
+during the rebellion because the constant stream of
+Northern soldiers on their way up the river had paralyzed
+the entire country to such an extent that all the
+river men had fled.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The soldiers were firing for target practice upon
+every boat they saw on the river and dozens of men
+had been killed and then robbed. The Northern commander
+told us frankly that this could not be prevented,
+and when we announced that we were going to
+start will all the missionaries down the river on the
+following day, he was very much disturbed. He insisted
+that we have American flags displayed on our
+boats to prevent being fired upon by the soldiers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although it had taken eight days to work our way
+laboriously through the rapids and up the river from
+Foochow to Yen-Ping, we covered the same distance
+down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast
+with Mr. Kellogg at his house the morning after we
+left Yen-Ping. In two days our equipment was repacked
+and ready for the trip to Futsing to hunt the
+blue tiger.
+</p>
+<a name="pg44" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch6">CHAPTER VI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"</h3>
+
+<p>
+For many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping
+he had been stationed at the city of Futsing, about
+thirty miles from Foochow. Much of his work consisted
+of itinerant trips during which he visited the
+various mission stations under his charge. He almost
+invariably went on foot from place to place and carried
+with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so
+keen a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The country was infested with man-eating tigers,
+and very often the villagers implored him to rid their
+neighborhood of some one of the yellow raiders which
+had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. During
+ten years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing
+region. He often said that his gun had been just as
+effective in carrying Christianity to the natives as had
+his evangelistic work. Although Mr. Caldwell has been
+especially fortunate and has killed his tigers without
+ever really hunting them, nevertheless it is a most uncertain
+sport as we were destined to learn. The tiger is
+the "Great Invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere,
+here today and gone tomorrow. A sportsman in China
+may get his shot the first day out or he may hunt for
+weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they
+are all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that
+makes the game all the more fascinating.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes
+<a name="pg45" />
+mountains of considerable height, many of which are
+planted with rice and support a surprising number of
+Chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages.
+While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger
+and the mountain slopes themselves are usually more or
+less denuded of forest, yet the deep and narrow ravines,
+choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an
+impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during
+the day without fear of being disturbed. It is
+possible for a man to make his way through these lairs
+only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been
+opened by the tigers themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead
+a goat with one or two kids to an open place where
+they could be fastened just outside the edge of the lair,
+and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The bleating
+of the goats would usually bring the tiger into the
+open where there would be an opportunity for a shot
+in the late afternoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was
+with a shotgun at the village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers
+had not arrived with the basket containing his
+rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he suggested
+to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant
+companion, that they make a preliminary inspection
+of the lair even though they carried only shotguns loaded
+with lead slugs about the size of buckshot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the
+lair and the tiger responded to its bleating almost immediately.
+Caldwell did not see the animal until it
+came into the open about fifty yards away and remained
+in plain view for almost half an hour. The
+tiger seemed to suspect danger and crouched on the
+<a name="pg46" />
+terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward
+a short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He
+had approached along a small trail, but before he could
+reach the goat it was necessary to cross an open space
+a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened
+himself like a huge striped serpent. His head
+was extended so that the throat and chin were touching
+the ground, and there was absolutely no motion
+of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the
+beast slid along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at
+the instant the cat gained the nearest cover it made
+three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the terrace
+upon which the goat was tied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and
+slowly pushed his great black-barred face over the edge
+of the grass not fifteen feet away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped
+into the air with the blood spurting over the grass,
+and fell into a heap, but gathered himself and slid down
+over the terraces. As he went I fired a second load of
+slugs into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the
+hill parallel with us, and stood looking back at me, his
+face streaming with blood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other
+shells, but before I could reload the gun he walked
+unsteadily into the lair and lay down. It was already
+too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail
+showed where he had gone upward into the grass.
+Later, in the same afternoon, he was found dead by
+some Chinese more than three miles away."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers
+Mr. Caldwell has learned much about their habits and
+<a name="pg47" />
+peculiarities, and some of his observations are given
+in the following pages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted
+by his greatest enemy--man. Bold and daring as he
+may be when circumstances are in his favor, he will hurriedly
+abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a shepherd
+boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will
+always weigh conditions before making an attack. If
+things do not exactly suit him nothing will tempt him
+to charge into the open upon what may appear to be an
+isolated and defenseless goat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate
+this point. I led a goat into a ravine where a tiger which
+had been working havoc among the herds of the farmers
+was said to live. This animal only a few days previous
+to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three
+of them, but on this occasion the beast must have suspected
+danger and was exceedingly cautious. He advanced
+under cover along a trail until within one hundred
+feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey
+of the surroundings. Peering into the valley, he
+saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards or
+more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a
+time, the great cat turned and bounded away into the
+bushes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity
+to attack a cow which a farmer was using in
+plowing his field. The man had unhitched his cow
+and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day
+meal, when the tiger suddenly rushed from cover and
+killed the animal only a few yards behind the peasant.
+This shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able
+to strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem
+<a name="pg48" />
+to favor an attack. I have known tigers to rush at a
+dog or hog standing inside a Chinese house where there
+was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost
+every instance the victim was killed, although it
+was not always carried away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"There is probably no creature in the wilds which
+shows such a combination of daring strategy and slinking
+cowardice as the tiger. Often courage fails him
+after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash
+off into the nearest wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a
+mountain-side when a large tiger was routed from his
+bed. The beast made a rushing attack on the man
+standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing
+him by the leg dragged him into the ravine below.
+Luckily the man succeeded in grasping a small tree
+whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim
+lying upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and
+fear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills
+near Futsing when a tiger which had been sleeping in
+the high grass was disturbed. The enraged beast
+turned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly
+and striking another a ripping blow with his paw which
+sent him lifeless to the terrace below. The beast did
+not attempt to drag either of its victims into the bush
+or to attack the other persons near by.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are
+amazing. I had occasion to spend the night a short time
+ago in a place where a tiger had performed some remarkable
+feats. Just at dusk one of these marauders
+visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old
+calf in a pen which had been excavated in
+<a name="pg49" />
+the side of a hill and adjoined a house. There was no
+possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door
+opening from the main part of the dwelling or to descend
+from above. The tiger jumped from the roof
+upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and the
+inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see
+the animal throw the calf out bodily and leap after it
+himself. I measured the embankment and found that
+the exact height was twelve and a half feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked
+a hog, just back of the village and carried it into the
+hills. The villagers pursued the beast and overtook
+it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed
+weighed more than two hundred pounds, was found,
+it had no marks or bruises upon it other than the deep
+fang wounds in the neck. This is another instance
+where courage failed a tiger after he had made off with
+his kill to a safe distance. The Chinese declare that
+when carrying such a load a tiger never attempts to
+drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races
+off at top speed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in
+years I shot in May, 1910. Two days previous to my
+hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a sixteen-year-old
+boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to
+make an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast.
+Obtaining a mother goat with two small kids, I led them
+into a ravine near where the boy had been killed. The
+goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair,
+and the kids were concealed in the tall grass well in
+toward the place where the tiger would probably be.
+I selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind a
+bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one may be
+<a name="pg50" />
+stalked by the very beast which one is hunting adds to
+the excitement and keeps one's nerves on edge. I expected
+that the tiger would approach stealthily as long
+as he could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack,
+so far as my observation goes, is to creep up under
+cover as far as possible before rushing into the open.
+In any case the tiger would be within twenty yards of
+me before it could be seen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert
+and waiting, behind the little blind of ferns and grass.
+There was nothing to break the silence other than the
+incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping
+call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope
+of a shot when suddenly the huge head of the man-eater
+emerged from the bush, exactly where I had expected
+he would appear and within fifteen feet of the
+kids. The back, neck, and head of the beast were in
+almost the same plane as he moved noiselessly forward.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the
+gun in my hand, and at the crack of the rifle the huge
+brute settled forward with hardly a quiver not ten
+feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring.
+A second shot was not necessary but was fired as a
+matter of precaution as the tiger had fallen behind rank
+grass, and the bullet passed through the shoulder blade
+lodging in the spine. The beast measured more than
+nine feet and weighed almost four hundred pounds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into
+the ravine, each eager not so much to see their slain tormentor
+as to gather up the blood. But little attention
+was paid to the tiger until every available drop was
+sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men
+<a name="pg51" />
+and children even pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I
+learned that the blood of a tiger is used for two purposes.
+A bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the
+neck of a child as a preventive against either measles
+or smallpox, and tiger flesh is eaten for the same purpose.
+It is also said that if a handkerchief stained with
+tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the
+animal will slink away cowed and terrified.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the
+most valuable part of a tiger. Almost always before a
+hunt is made, or a trap is built, the villagers burn incense
+before the temple god, and an agreement is made
+to the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin
+of the beast taken becomes the property of the gods.
+Thus it happens that in many of the temples handsome
+tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied
+by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the
+land. When a hunt is successful, the flesh and bones are
+considered of greatest value, and it often happens that
+a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with
+that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully
+paid for tiger meat. The bones are boiled for a
+number of days until a gelatine-like product results,
+and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious medicine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger
+in the tangle of its lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded
+for the risk when one begins to sum up one's
+observations. The most interesting result of investigating
+an oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's
+food. That a tiger always devours its prey upon the
+spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is an
+erroneous idea. This is often true when the kill is too
+<a name="pg52" />
+heavy to be carried for a long distance, but it is by no
+means universally so. Not long ago the remains of a
+young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's
+lair a few miles from Futsing city. No child had
+been reported missing in the immediate neighborhood
+and everything indicated that the boy had been brought
+alive to this spot from a considerable distance. The
+sides of the grave were besmeared with the blood of
+the unfortunate victim, indicating that the tiger had
+tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as it
+remains alive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or
+places under overhanging trees, which are covered with
+bones, and are evidently spots to which the animal
+brings its prey to be devoured. On such a terrace one
+will find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine,
+pangolin, and other animals both domestic and
+wild. A fresh kill shows that with its rasp-like tongue
+the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before devouring
+it and the hair will be found in a circle around what
+remains of the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair in
+order to gather up the quills of the porcupine and the
+bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for
+medicinal purposes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon
+reptiles and frogs which they find among the rice fields.
+On the night of April 22, 1914, a party of frog catchers
+were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the
+load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The
+animal made no attempt to drag the man away and it
+would appear that it was attracted by the croaking of
+the frogs."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some
+<a name="pg53" />
+trail or path in, or adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the
+tiger measures its full length upon a tree, standing in a
+convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips
+deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting
+to the sportsman as it not only indicates the presence
+of a tiger in the immediate vicinity but serves to
+give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. The
+trails leading into a lair often are marked in a different
+way. In doing this the animal rakes away the grass
+with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but claw
+prints never appear."
+</p>
+<a name="pg54" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch7">CHAPTER VII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE BLUE TIGER</h3>
+
+<p>
+After one has traveled in a Chinese <i>sampan</i> for
+several days the prospect of a river journey is not very
+alluring but we had a most agreeable surprise when we
+sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt
+the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the
+luxury of a private yacht, for our boat contained a large
+central cabin with a table and chairs and two staterooms
+and was manned by a captain and crew of six
+men--all for $1.50 per day!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long
+time before we spread our beds on the roof of the
+boat and went to sleep under the stars. We left the
+boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for the six-mile
+walk to Lung-tao. To my great surprise the
+coolies were considerably distressed at the lightness of
+our loads. In this region they are paid by weight and
+some of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. As
+an example, one of our men came into camp swinging a
+125-pound trunk on each end of his pole, laughing and
+chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying
+250 pounds for six miles under a broiling sun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at
+Lung-tao and we found his house to be one of several
+built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of gum and
+banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean for
+a Chinese dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance
+<a name="pg55" />
+away. At first we were somewhat doubtful about
+sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we decided
+that any risk was preferable to spending another
+hour in the stifling heat of the house.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious
+of the white tents that it would not attack us, but nevertheless
+during the first nights we were rather wakeful
+and more than once at some strange night sound seized
+our rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred
+yards from our camp site, in 1911, a tiger had
+rushed into the house of one of the peasants and attempted
+to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play
+under the family table. All was quiet in the house
+when suddenly the animal dashed through the open
+door. The Chinese declare that the gods protected
+the infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the
+leg of the table against which the baby's head was resting,
+bolted through the door dragging the table into the
+courtyard.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which
+we had come to hunt and which had on two occasions
+been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The first time he heard of
+this strange beast was in the spring of 1910. The animal
+was reported as having been seen at various places
+within an area of a few miles almost simultaneously and
+so mysterious were its movements that the Chinese declared
+it was a spirit of the devil. After several unsuccessful
+hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at
+close range but as he was armed with only a shotgun
+it would have been useless to shoot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His second view of the beast was a few weeks later
+<a name="pg56" />
+and in the same place. I will give the story in his own
+words:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I selected a spot upon a hill-top and cleared away
+the grass and ferns with a jack-knife for a place to tie
+the goat. I concealed myself in the bushes ten feet
+away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened
+and the tiger approached from the rear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily
+along a little trail just across a shallow ravine. I supposed,
+of course, that he was trying to locate the goat
+which was bleating loudly, but to my horror I saw that
+he was creeping upon two boys who had entered the
+ravine to cut grass. The huge brute moved along lizard-fashion
+for a few yards and then cautiously lifted his
+head above the grass. He was within easy springing
+distance when I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized
+that if I wounded the animal the boys would certainly
+meet a horrible death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so
+instead of firing I stepped from the bushes, yelling and
+waving my arms. The huge cat, crouched for a spring,
+drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then
+slowly slipped away into the grass. The boys were
+saved but I had lost the opportunity I had sought for
+over a year.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"However, I had again seen the animal about which
+so many strange tales had been told. The markings
+of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground color
+is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light
+gray-blue on the underparts. The stripes are well defined
+and like those of the ordinary yellow tiger."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written
+me repeatedly urging me to stop at Futsing on the way
+<a name="pg57" />
+to Yün-nan to try with him for the blue tiger which
+was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical
+as to its being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was
+a most interesting animal and would certainly be well
+worth getting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I believed then, and my opinion has since been
+strengthened, that it is a partially melanistic phase of
+the ordinary yellow tiger. Black leopards are common
+in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a single
+individual of the blue tiger has been reported the evidence
+hardly warrants the assumption that it represents
+a distinct species.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute
+ranged in the vicinity of two or three villages about
+seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently near
+Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing
+a dog or goat in one village and by the time we
+had hurried across the mountains appearing in another
+spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified natives
+who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations.
+He was in truth the "Great Invisible" and it
+seemed impossible that we should not get him sooner or
+later, but we never did.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer
+bad luck, and it was only by exercising almost superhuman
+restraint that we prevented ourselves from doing
+bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our hunt.
+Every evening for a week we had faithfully taken a
+goat into the "Long Ravine," for the blue tiger had
+been seen several times near this lair. On the eighth
+afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as
+usual. We had tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two
+kids were but a few feet away.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg58" />
+<p>
+The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless
+heat, silent save for the echoes of the bleating goats.
+Crouched behind the screen of branches, for three long
+hours we sat in the patchwork shade,--motionless,
+dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and
+watched the shadows steal slowly down the narrow
+ravine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut
+out of the mountain side with two strokes of a mighty
+ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny vines and
+sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only
+entrance was by the tiger tunnels which drove their
+twisting way through the murderous growth far in toward
+its gloomy heart.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The shadows had passed over us and just reached a
+lone palm tree on the opposite hillside. By that I knew
+it was six o'clock and in half an hour another day of
+disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the left
+and just below us there came the faintest crunching
+sound as a loose stone shifted under a heavy weight;
+then a rustling in the grass. Instantly the captive goat
+gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at
+the rope which held it to the tree.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear
+"Get ready, he's coming." I was half kneeling with my
+heavy .405 Winchester pushed forward and the hammer
+up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck
+muscles ached with the strain but I thanked Heaven
+that my hands were steady.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his
+little 22 caliber high power Savage nestling against his
+cheek. Our eyes met for an instant and I knew in that
+<a name="pg59" />
+glance that the blue tiger would never make another
+charge, for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten
+minutes we waited and my heart lost a beat when twenty
+feet away the grass began to move again--but rapidly
+and <i>up the ravine</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look
+which changed to one of disgust as a chorus of yells
+sounded across the ravine and three Chinese wood cutters
+appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking
+a short cut home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and
+they had succeeded only too well, for the blue
+tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from
+whence he had come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him!
+I felt so badly that I could not even swear and it wasn't
+the fact that Harry was a missionary which kept me
+from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once, for his
+disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had
+been hunting this same tiger off and on for six years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and
+we pushed our way through the sword grass to the entrance
+of the tunnel down which the tiger had come.
+There in the soft earth were the great footprints where
+he had crouched at the entrance to take a cautious
+survey before charging into the open.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said:
+"Roy, let's go into the lair. There is just one chance
+in a thousand that we may get a shot." Now I must
+admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that little
+excursion, but in we went, crawling on our hands and
+knees up the narrow passage. Every few feet we passed
+side branches from the main tunnel in any one of which
+the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and
+could have killed us as we passed. It was a foolhardy
+<a name="pg60" />
+thing to do and I am free to admit that I was scared.
+It was not long before Harry twisted about and said:
+"Roy, I haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out."
+And out we came faster than we went in.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was only one of the times when the "Great
+Invisible" was almost in our hands. A few days later
+a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice bank
+early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he
+ran a mile and a half to our camp only to find that
+we had left half an hour before for another village
+where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the
+morning.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at
+daybreak just as the members of the family were getting
+up, stole a dog from the "heaven's well," dragged
+it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We were in camp
+only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the
+carcass on a narrow ledge in the sword grass high up
+on the mountain side. The spot was an impossible
+one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which
+had been carried with us from New York.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It seemed out of the question for any animal to return
+to the carcass of the dog without getting caught
+and yet the tiger did it. With his hind quarters on the
+upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck
+across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired
+to a tree and pulled it away. It was evident that he
+was quite unconscious of the trap for his fore feet had
+actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two
+inches from the pan which would have sprung it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao,
+a village seven miles beyond Lung-tao, where the blue
+tiger had been seen that day. The natives assured us
+<a name="pg61" />
+that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly
+clothed with pines and sword grass just above the village
+and even though it was late when we arrived Harry
+thought it wise to set the trap that night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying
+the trap, two lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a
+wretched little dog for bait. We had been engaged for
+about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and
+Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when
+suddenly a low rumbling growl came from the grass
+not twenty feet away. We jumped to our feet just as
+it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The tiger
+had arrived a few moments too early and we were in
+the rather uncomfortable position of having to return
+to the village by way of a narrow trail through the
+jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric lamp
+cutting a brilliant path in the darkness we walked slowly
+toward the edge of the sword grass hoping to see the
+flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off beyond
+the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where
+we could not follow. Apparently he was frightened by
+the lantern, for we did not hear him again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After nearly a month of disappointments such as
+these Mr. Heller joined us at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg.
+Caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to the
+Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where
+he had once spent a summer with his family and had
+killed several tigers. This was within the blue tiger's
+range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a
+better general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with
+Heller to look after the small mammals we could begin
+to make our time count for something if we did not get
+the tiger.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg62" />
+<p>
+Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of
+temples, built into a hillside at the end of a long narrow
+valley which swells out like a great bowl between bamboo
+clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. On
+his former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the
+head priest and we were allowed to establish ourselves
+upon the broad porch of the third and highest building.
+It was an ideal place for a collecting camp and
+would have been delightful except for the terrible heat
+which was rendered doubly disagreeable by the almost
+continual rain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The priests who shuffled about the temples were a
+hard lot. Most of them were fugitives from justice and
+certainly looked the part, for a more disreputable, diseased
+and generally undesirable body of men I have
+never seen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple
+life interesting. We slept on the porch and each morning,
+about half an hour before daylight, the measured
+strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just
+below us. <i>Boom--boom--boom--boom</i> it went, then
+rapidly <i>bang, bang, bang</i>. It was a religious alarm
+clock to rouse the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A little later when the upturned gables and twisted
+dolphins on the roof had begun to take definite shape in
+the gray light of the new day, the gong boomed out
+again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms
+shuffled the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before
+the early service. The droning chorus of hoarse
+voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant, harmonized
+strangely with the romantic surroundings of
+the temple and become our daily <i>matin</i> and evensong.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito
+<a name="pg63" />
+nets and dressed to be ready for the bats which
+fluttered into the building to hide themselves beneath
+the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully come we
+scattered to the four winds of heaven to inspect traps,
+hunt barking deer, or collect birds, but gathered again
+at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our spoil.
+Caldwell and I always spent the afternoon at the blue
+tiger's lair but the animal had suddenly shifted his
+operations back to Lung-tao and did not appear at
+Ling-suik while we were there.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of
+help to other naturalists who contemplate a visit to this
+province. We satisfied ourselves that summer collecting
+is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the
+vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained
+for the efforts expended. Continual tramping
+over the mountains in the blazing sun necessarily must
+have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even
+a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has become thoroughly
+acclimated, is not immune.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty
+pounds in weight during the time we hunted the blue
+tiger and each of us had serious trouble from abscesses.
+I have never worked in a more trying climate--even
+that of Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected
+in 1909-10, was much less debilitating than
+Fukien in the summer. The average temperature was
+about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so
+high that one felt as though one were wrapped in a wet
+blanket and even during a six weeks' rainless period
+the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting
+<a name="pg64" />
+then would be vastly easier than in summer, not only on
+account of climatic conditions, but because much of the
+vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for
+"still hunting."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because
+of the dense population. The mud dykes and the
+rice fields usually are covered with tracks of civets, mongooses,
+and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but if
+a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly
+is stolen. Moreover, the small mammals are neither
+abundant nor varied in number of species, and the larger
+forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow are exceedingly
+difficult to kill.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While our work in the province was done during an
+unfavorable season and in only two localities, yet enough
+was seen of the general conditions to make it certain
+that a thorough zoölogical study of the region would
+require considerable time and hard work and that the
+results, so far as a large collection of mammals is concerned,
+would not be highly satisfactory. Work in the
+western part of the province among the Bohea Hills
+undoubtedly would be more profitable, but even there
+it would be hardly worth while for an expedition with
+limited time and money.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology
+of Fukien already has received considerable attention
+through the collections of Swinhoe, La Touche,
+Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably not
+a great number of species remain to be described.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much work could still be done upon the herpetology
+of the region, however, and I believe that this branch of
+zoölogy would be well worth investigation for reptiles
+<a name="pg65" />
+and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives
+would rather assist than retard one's efforts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than
+in any other of the Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow
+dialect (which is one of the most difficult to learn)
+is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the
+city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow"
+perfectly, could not understand a word of the
+"southern mandarin" which is the language of that
+region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives
+from Amoy have settled, the dialect is unintelligible to
+one who knows only "Foochow."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport
+is entirely by coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred
+pounds. The men are paid by distance or weight;
+therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained there
+is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one
+to two hours are consumed before the party can start.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the worst of it is that one can never be certain
+when one's entire outfit will arrive at its new destination.
+Some men walk much faster than others, some will delay
+a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if
+the day be hot, with the result that the last load will
+arrive perhaps five or six hours after the first one.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the
+only alternative is to be carried in a mountain chair,
+which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like affair and only
+to be found along the main highways. On the whole,
+transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and
+expensive that for a large expedition it forms a grave
+obstacle to successful work, if time and funds be limited.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually
+<a name="pg66" />
+good. We employed a very fair cook who received
+monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about three and
+one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from
+five to seven dollars (Mexican). As none of the servants
+knew English they could be obtained at much lower
+wages, but English-speaking cooks usually receive from
+fifteen to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger
+but we had hunted him unsuccessfully for five weeks
+and there was other and more important work awaiting
+us in Yün-nan. It required thirty porters to transport
+our baggage from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei,
+twenty-one miles away, where two houseboats were
+to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were
+lying off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the flood tide to
+take us to Foochow. We made our beds on the deck
+house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the
+boat tied to the wharf at the Custom House on the
+Bund, and ourselves in full view of all Foochow had it
+been awake at that hour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The week of packing and repacking that followed was
+made easy for us by Claude Kellogg, who acted as our
+ministering angel. I think there must be a special
+Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and
+directs them to such men as Kellogg, for without divine
+aid they could never be found. When we last saw him,
+he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving
+his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the
+S.S. <i>Haitan</i> for Hongkong.
+</p>
+<a name="pg67" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch8">CHAPTER VIII</a></h2>
+
+
+
+<h3>THE WOMEN OF CHINA</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+The schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping
+interested us greatly, even when we first came to
+China, but we could not appreciate then as we did later
+the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How much the missionaries are able to accomplish
+from a religious standpoint is a question which we do
+not wish to discuss, but no one who has ever lived among
+them can deny that the opening of schools and the diffusing
+of western knowledge are potent factors in the
+development of the people. The Chinese were not slow
+even in the beginning to see the advantages of a foreign
+education for their boys and now, along the coast at
+least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their
+daughters as well. The Woman's College, which was
+opened recently in Foochow, is one of the finest buildings
+of the Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced
+girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments,
+it is difficult to realize that outside such schools they are
+still slaves in mind and body to those iron rules of Confucius
+which have molded the entire structure of Chinese
+society for over 2400 years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The position of women in China today, and the rules
+which govern the household of every orthodox Chinese,
+<a name="pg68" />
+are the direct heritage of Confucianism. The following
+translation by Professor J. Legge from the <i>Narratives
+of the Confucian School</i>, chapter 26, is illuminating:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and
+is supreme over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions
+of man and helps to carry out his principles. On
+this account she can determine nothing of herself and is subject
+to the rule of the three obediences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder
+brother;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(2) When married, she must obey her husband;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions
+or orders must issue from the harem. Women's
+business is simply the preparation and supplying of drink and
+food. Beyond the threshold of her apartments she shall not be
+known for evil or for good. She may not cross the boundaries
+of a state to attend a funeral. She may take no steps on her
+own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(2) Not giving birth to a son;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(3) Dissolute conduct;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates
+at his harem);
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(5) Talkativeness, and
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"(6) Thieving."
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her
+mother-in-law, and as she is often reared by her husband's
+family, or else married to him as a mere child,
+<a name="pg69" />
+and is under the complete control of his mother for a
+considerable period of her existence, her life in many
+instances is one of intolerable misery. There is generally
+little or no consideration for a girl under the best
+of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male
+child; her condition then improves but she approaches
+happiness only when she in turn occupies the enviable
+position of mother-in-law.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness
+and vacuity than that of the average Chinese woman.
+Owing to her bound feet and resultant helplessness, if
+she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the narrow
+confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her
+entire life she may not go a mile from the house to
+which she was brought a bride, except for the periodical
+visits to her father's home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in
+China and it is not surprising that, ignored and despised
+for centuries, the Chinese woman shows no ability to
+improve the squalor of her surroundings. She passes
+her life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken
+furniture and a mud floor, together with pigs, chickens
+and babies enjoying a limited sphere of action under the
+tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard without.
+Her work is actually never done and a Chinese
+bride, bright and attractive at twenty, will be old and
+faded at thirty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But without doubt the crowning evil which attends
+woman's condition in China is foot binding, and nothing
+can be offered in extenuation of this abominable custom.
+It is said to have originated one thousand years
+before the Christian era and has persisted until the present
+day in spite of the efforts directed against it. The
+<a name="pg70" />
+Empress Dowager issued edicts strongly advising its
+discontinuation, the "Natural Foot Society," which was
+formed about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate
+public opinion, and the missionaries refuse to admit
+girls so mutilated to their schools; but nevertheless the
+reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities.
+"Precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands
+for their daughters are responsible for the continuation
+of the evil, and it is estimated that there are
+still about seventy-four millions of girls and women who
+are crippled in this way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and
+seven. The toes are bent under the sole of the foot
+and after two or three years the heel and instep are so
+forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft;
+gradually also the lower limbs shrink away until only
+the bones remain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The suffering of the children is intense. We often
+passed through streets full of laughing boys and tiny
+girls where others, a few years older, were sitting on the
+doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and
+crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are constructed
+a considerable distance from the family dwelling
+where the girls must sleep during their first crippled
+years in order that their moans may not disturb the
+other members of the family. The child's only relief
+is to hang her feet over the edge of the bed in order to
+stop the circulation and induce numbness, or to seek
+oblivion from opium.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the custom were a fad which affected only the
+wealthy classes it would be reprehensible enough, but
+it curses rich and poor alike, and almost every day we
+saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves
+<a name="pg71" />
+by means of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads
+or laboring in the fields.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly
+making itself felt to a certain extent in the
+coast provinces, in Yün-nan the horrible practice continues
+unabated. During the year in which we traveled
+through a large part of the province, wherever there
+were Chinese we saw bound feet. And the fact that
+virtually <i>every</i> girl over eight years old was mutilated in
+this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have
+not penetrated to this remote part of the Republic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation
+because of its senselessness and brutality, and China can
+never hope to take her place among civilized nations
+until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and liberated
+her women from their infamous subjection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There has been much criticism of foreign education
+because the girls who have had its advantages absorb
+western ideas so completely that they dislike to return
+to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a
+Chinese household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of
+China are ever to be emancipated it must come through
+their own education as well as that of the men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay
+marriage, and in some instances the early betrothal with
+its attendant miseries. The evil which results from this
+custom can hardly be overestimated. It happens not
+infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy,
+the respective families being in like circumstances at the
+time. The opportunity perhaps is offered to the girl to
+attend school and she may even go through college, but
+an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents'
+home, forces her to submit to the engagement made in
+<a name="pg72" />
+babyhood and perhaps ruins her life through marriage
+with a man of no higher social status or intelligence than
+a coolie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Among the few girls imbued with western civilization
+a spirit of revolt is slowly growing, and while it is impossible
+for them to break down the barriers of ages, yet in
+many instances they waive aside what would seem an unsurmountable
+precedent and insist upon having some
+voice in the choosing of their husbands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign
+wedding of a girl who had been brought up in the
+Woman's School and who was qualified to be a "Bible
+Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was whispered
+that she had actually met her betrothed on several occasions,
+but on their wedding day no trace of recognition
+was visible, and the marriage was performed with all the
+punctilious Chinese observances compatible with a Christian
+ceremony.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Precedent required of this little bride, although she
+might have been radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly
+was, to appear tearful and shrinking and as she was
+escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might have
+thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not becoming
+to the Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning,
+so she had chosen pink for her wedding gown and
+had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled hair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded
+downstairs to the joyous strain of the wedding
+march, but with nothing joyous in their demeanor--in
+fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception
+and endured for over an hour the stares and loud
+criticism of the guests. He assumed during the ordeal
+a look of bored indifference while the little bride sat with
+<a name="pg73" />
+her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken.
+But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle
+in her shining black eyes that made me realize that perhaps
+it wasn't all quite so frightful as she would have us
+believe. I often wonder what sort of a life she is leading
+in her far away Chinese courtyard.
+</p>
+<a name="pg74" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch9">CHAPTER IX</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>VOYAGING TO YÜN-NAN</h3>
+
+<p>
+We had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our
+trip to Yün-nan. Hongkong is one of the best cities in
+the Orient in which to purchase supplies of almost any
+kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best
+English goods can be had for prices very little in excess
+of those in London itself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The system which we used in our commissary was that
+of the unit food box which has been adopted by most
+large expeditions. The boxes were packed to weigh
+seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary
+staple supplies for three persons for one week; thus only
+one box needed to be opened at a time, and, moreover, if
+the party separated for a few days a single box could be
+taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance
+that sufficient food would be available.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar,
+coffee, milk, bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned
+meat, vegetables, or fruit because we were certain to be
+able to obtain a plentiful supply of such food in the
+country through which we were expecting to travel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our tents were brought from New York and were
+made of light Egyptian cotton thoroughly waterproof,
+but we also purchased in Hongkong a large army tent
+for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and
+specimens. We used sleeping bags and folding cots,
+tables and chairs, for when an expedition expects to remain
+<a name="pg75" />
+in the field for a long time it is absolutely necessary
+to be as comfortable as possible and to live well;
+otherwise one cannot work at one's highest efficiency.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits
+with flannel shirts and high leather shoes for mountain
+climbing, and we had light rubber automobile shirts and
+rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto shirt is
+a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens
+about the neck and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can
+be so spread about as to cover all exposed parts of the
+body; it is especially useful and necessary, and hip
+rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy
+season.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our traps for catching small mammals were
+brought from New York. We had two sizes of wooden
+"Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes
+of Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals
+such as civets and polecats. We also carried a half
+dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had used this size
+in Africa and found that they were large enough even
+to hold lions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I
+used a 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All
+of these guns were eminently satisfactory, but the choice
+of a rifle is a very personal matter and every sportsman
+has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat
+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we
+were armed was absolutely essential for many of our
+shots were at long range and we frequently killed gorals
+at three hundred yards or over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks,
+a Graphic 4&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;5 tripod camera, and
+Graflex 4&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;5 for
+rapid work. We have found after considerable field experience
+<a name="pg76" />
+that the 4&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;5 is the most convenient size to
+handle, for the plate is large enough and can be obtained
+more readily than any other in different parts of the
+world. The same applies to the 3A Kodak "post-card"
+size film, for there are few places where foreign goods
+are carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin
+boxes before we left America, and thus the material was
+in perfect condition when the cans were opened. We
+used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic
+work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to
+handle than films, nevertheless the results obtained are
+very superior. A collapsible rubber dark room about
+seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an indispensable
+part of the camera equipment. This tent was
+made for us by the Abercrombie &amp; Fitch Company, of
+New York, and could be hung from the limb of a tree or
+the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five
+minutes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The motion pictures were taken with a Universal
+camera, and like all other negatives were developed in
+the field by means of a special apparatus which had been
+designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American Museum
+of Natural History. This work required a much larger
+space than that of the portable dark room and we consequently
+had a tent made of red cloth which could be tied
+inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and
+in wooden boxes with sliding tops. The latter arrangement
+is especially desirable in Yün-nan, for the loads can
+be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus
+saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies
+<a name="pg77" />
+together, but the Lane &amp; Crawford Company of Hongkong
+pushed the making and packing of our boxes in a
+remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of
+their departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a
+Chinaman is to get more Chinamen," and they put a
+small army at work upon our material, which was ready
+for shipment in just a week.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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. Gary,
+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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left for Tonking on the S.S. <i>Sung-kiang</i>, 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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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
+<a name="pg78" />
+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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the <i>Sung-kiang</i> 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
+<i>sampan</i> to receive our equipment the unloading began
+and several trunks had gone over the side, when Mr.
+<a name="pg79" />
+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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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 lotos plants. The city
+shops are excellent, but in most instances the prices are
+exceedingly high.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+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 3 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,
+<a name="pg80" />
+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 <i>petit déjeuner</i>, remarkable especially
+for its "petitness," is served, and a real <i>déjeuner</i>
+comes later anywhere from 10 to 12:30.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About 6 o'clock in the evening the open <i>cafés</i> 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.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had letters to M. Chemein Dupontés, 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. Dupontés was especially
+helpful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad
+from Hanoi to Yün-nan Fu had caved in and for almost
+a month trains had not been running. It was now in operation,
+however, but all luggage had to be transferred
+by hand at the broken tunnel and consequently must not
+exceed eighty-five pounds in weight. This meant repacking
+our entire equipment and three days of hard
+work. M. Dupontés arranged to have our 4000 pounds
+of baggage put in a special third class carriage with our
+"boys" in attendance and in this way saved the expedition
+a considerable amount of money. He personally
+went with us to the station to arrange for our comfort
+with the <i>chef de gare</i>, telegraphed ahead at every station
+<a name="pg81" />
+upon the railroad, and gave us an open letter to all officials;
+in fact there was nothing which he left undone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement
+for it was constructed in great haste through a difficult
+mountainous range. Yün-nan is an exceedingly rich
+province and the French were quick to see the advantages
+of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports.
+The British were already making surveys to construct
+a railroad from Bhamo on the headwaters of the Irawadi
+River across Yün-nan to connect with the Yangtze, and
+the French were anxious to have their road in operation
+some time before the rival line could be completed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall,
+or perhaps to both, the tunnels and bridges frequently
+cave in or are washed away and the railroad is
+chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in
+which it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve
+great credit for their enterprise in extending their
+line to Yün-nan Fu over the mountains where there is a
+tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. While it
+was being built through the fever-stricken jungles of
+Tonking the coolies died like flies, and it was necessary
+to suspend all work during the summer months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the
+traveling is by no means uncomfortable, but the hotels
+in which one stops at night are wretched. One of our
+friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience
+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad.
+He asked for a bath and discovered that a tub of hot
+water had been prepared. He wished a cold bath, and
+seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of
+the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when
+the hotel proprietor suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming,
+<a name="pg82" />
+"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, you are in the tank of drinking water."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we arrived at Yün-nan Fu we found a surprisingly
+cosmopolitan community housed within its grim
+old walls; some were consuls, some missionaries, some
+salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese employ,
+and others represented business firms in Hongkong,
+but all received us with open handed hospitality
+characteristic of the East.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening
+clothes would not again be used, but they were requisitioned
+every night for we were guests at dinners given
+by almost everyone of the foreign community. Mr.
+Howard Page, a representative of the Standard Oil
+Company, proved a most valuable friend, and through
+him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other arrangements
+for the transportation of our baggage. M.
+Henry Wilden, the French Consul, an ardent sportsman
+and a charming gentleman, took an active interest in our
+affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the Chinese
+Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, he later
+transported our trunks to Hongkong with his personal
+baggage and assisted us in every possible way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and
+were ushered into a large room where a rather imposing
+lunch had already been spread. The Commissioner, a
+fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of French
+but none of English, received us in the most cordial way
+and immediately opened several bottles of champagne in
+our honor. He asked why our passports had not been
+viséd in Peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying
+that at the time we were in the capital Yün-nan was an
+independent province and consequently the Peking Government
+<a name="pg83" />
+had not the temerity to put their stamp upon
+our passports.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Inasmuch as Yün-nan was infested with brigands we
+had expected some opposition to our plans for traveling
+in the interior, but none was forthcoming, and with the
+exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for our trip
+to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse,
+we left the Foreign Office with all the desired
+permits.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested
+in our zoölogical study of Yün-nan, offered to
+assist us in every way we could suggest, and telegraphed
+to every mandarin in the north and west of the province,
+instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate
+our work in every way. None of the opposition
+which we had been led to expect developed, and it is difficult
+to see how we could have been more cordially received.
+</p>
+<a name="pg84" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch10">CHAPTER X</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU</h3>
+
+<p>
+On August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to
+Ta-li Fu, and three days later we ourselves left Yün-nan
+Fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after an interminable
+wait for our caravan. Through the kindness
+of Mr. Page, a house boat was put at our disposal and
+we sailed across the upper end of the beautiful lake
+which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the caravan
+twenty-five <i>li</i> [Footnote: A <i>li</i> in this province equals one-third
+of an English mile.] from Yün-nan Fu.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers,
+each with ten or a dozen birds sitting quietly upon the
+boat with outspread wings drying their feathers. Every
+bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented
+from swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into
+the water.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the
+long train of mules and horses winding up the hill
+toward us. There were seventeen altogether, and in
+the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately
+with both hands to a diminutive mule, his long legs
+dangling and a look of utter wretchedness upon his
+face. Just before the caravan reached us it began to
+rain, and the cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow
+oilskins which we had purchased for him in Yün-nan
+Fu. These, together with a huge yellow hat, completed
+<a name="pg85" />
+a picture which made us roar with laughter;
+Heller gave the caption for it when he shouted, "Here
+comes the 'Yellow Peril.'"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller
+vainly tried to get his girth tight enough to keep the
+saddle from sliding over the animal's tail he exclaimed,
+"Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying to ride?" But
+it was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and
+found that we did not crush the little brutes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with
+a few odds and ends on top made a pack of at least
+one hundred and sixty pounds. This is heavy even for
+a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility,
+but it is the usual weight, and the businesslike
+way in which they moved off showed that they
+were not overloaded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious
+arrangement. The load is strapped with a rawhide to
+a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over a second
+saddle on the animal's back and is held in place
+by its own weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off
+and, moreover, it can be easily removed if the road is
+bad or whenever a stop is made. It has the great disadvantage,
+however, of giving the horses serious back
+sores which receive but scanty attention from the <i>mafus</i>
+(muleteers).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we were fairly started upon our long ride to
+Ta-li Fu the time slipped by in a succession of delightful
+days. Since this was the main caravan route the
+<i>mafus</i> had regular stages beyond which they would not
+go. If we did not stop for luncheon the march could
+be ended early in the afternoon and we could settle
+ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved
+<a name="pg86" />
+a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle.
+A few pages from my wife's "Journal" of September
+fifteenth describes our camp at Lu-ho-we and
+our life on the road to Ta-li Fu.
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on
+a hilltop in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at
+our feet. The sun is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and
+throwing bars of golden light through the twisted branches of
+a bent old pine, over the stone well, and into the dim recesses
+behind the altar where a benevolent idol grins down upon us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting
+to rest in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children
+are shouting and laughing but all is quiet here save for
+the drip of water in the well, and the chatter of a magpie on
+the pine tree. Today we made the stage in one long march
+and now we can rest and browse among our books or wander
+with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sun is hot at midday, although the mornings and evenings
+are cold, and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of
+yellow pine, and talk for an hour before we go to sleep upon
+the porch where we can see the moon come up and the stars
+shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns in the sky.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is seven days since we left Yün-nan Fu and each night
+we have come to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible
+charm about them, lying asleep, as it were, among the trees
+of their courtyards, with stately, pillared porches, and picturesque
+gables upturned to the sky. They seem so very, very
+old and filled with such great calm and peace.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and
+we ride through long streets between dirty houses, swarming
+with ragged women, filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly
+we come to the dilapidated entrance of our temple, pass
+through a courtyard, close the huge gates and are in another
+world.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg87" />
+<p>
+We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before
+dawn. As we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark
+figures silhouetted against the brilliant camp fire, hear the
+yawns of the <i>mafus</i> and the contented crunching of the mules
+as they chew their beans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before
+we have fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way
+to the remotest corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes,
+eggs, and oatmeal is awaiting on the folding table
+spread with a clean white cloth. While we are eating, the
+beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a running
+fire of exhortations to the <i>mafus</i> who cause us endless
+trouble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They are a hard lot, these <i>mafus</i>. Force seems to be the only
+thing they understand and kindness produces no results. If
+the march is long and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible
+to get them started within three hours without the aid of
+threats. Once after a long halt when all seemed ready, we rode
+ahead only to wait by the roadside for hours before the caravan
+arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they had begun
+to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage
+until long after dark.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the
+horses we ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a
+straggling line of mules and horses picking their way over
+the jagged stones of the road. It is delightful in the
+early morning for the air is fresh and brisk like that of October at
+home, but later in the day when the sun is higher it is uncomfortably
+hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade where we
+can rest until the caravan arrives.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which
+says: "A road is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand,"
+and this applies most excellently to those of Yün-nan.
+The main caravan highways are paved with huge stones to
+make them passable during the rainy season, but after a few
+<a name="pg88" />
+years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the earth is
+washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible
+angles. The result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch
+of imagination can be called a road. Where the stones are
+still in place they have been worn to such glasslike smoothness
+by the thousands of passing mules that it is well-nigh impossible
+to walk upon them. As a result a caravan avoids the
+paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes dozens of
+deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire
+province is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges
+which we crossed. It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep
+mountain-sides, but once on the ridges where the country is
+spread out below us like a great, green relief map, there is a
+wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with a joyous sense
+of freedom.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yün-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the
+peaks about us are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like
+mists still float about the mountain tops when we climb into
+them, and we are suddenly enveloped in a wet gray blanket
+which sends us shivering into the coats tied to our saddles.
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+For centuries this road has been one of the main
+trade arteries through the province, and with the total
+lack of conservation ideas so characteristic of the Chinese,
+every available bit of natural forest has been cut
+away. As a result the mountains are desert wastes of
+sandstone alternating with grass-covered hills sometimes
+clothed with groves of pines or spruces. These trees
+have all been planted, and ere they have reached a
+height of fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent
+demand for wood which is ever present with
+the Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ignorance of the need of forest conservation
+is an illuminating commentary on Chinese education.
+<a name="pg89" />
+Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of Ta-li Fu,
+told us that one day he was riding over this same road
+with a Chinese gentleman, a deep scholar, who was
+considered one of the best educated men of the province.
+Pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil
+and deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked
+that all this could have been prevented, and
+that instead of a rocky waste there might have been
+a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts
+which every western schoolboy has learned ere he is
+twelve years old, but of which he was ignorant because
+they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox
+Chinese for "everything good must be old," and
+all his life he delves into the past utterly neglectful of
+the present.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every valley along the road was green with rice fields
+and this, together with the deforestation of the mountains,
+is responsible for the almost total lack of animal
+life. Night after night we set traps about our temple
+camps only to find them untouched in the morning.
+There were no mammals with the exception of a few
+red-bellied squirrels (<i>Callosciurus erythraeus</i> sub sp.)
+and now and then a tree shrew (<i>Tupaia belangeri chinensis</i>).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+
+The latter is an interesting species. Although it is
+an Insectivore, and a relative of the tiny shrews which
+live in holes and under logs, it has squirrel-like habits
+and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is totally
+unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike
+tails of the ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed
+long bushy tails and in fact look and act so much like
+<a name="pg90" />
+squirrels that it is difficult to convince the white residents
+of Yün-nan, who are accustomed to see them run
+about the hedges and walls of their courtyards that the
+two are quite unrelated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one
+of the most remarkable instances of a superficial resemblance
+between unrelated animals with similar habits.
+A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that
+they represent a distinct group which is connected with
+the monkeys (lemurs).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although birds were fairly abundant the species were
+not varied. We were about a month too early for the
+ducks and geese, which during the winter swarm into
+Yün-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants
+are difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed
+in the game birds, for we had expected good
+pheasant shooting even along the road and virtually
+none were to be found.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The main caravan roads of Yün-nan held little of
+interest for us as naturalists, but as students of native
+customs they were fascinating, for the life of the province
+passed before us in panoramic completeness. Chinese
+villages wherever we have seen them are marvels
+of utter and abandoned filth and although those of Yün-nan
+are no exception to the rule, they are considerably
+better than the coast cities.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion
+with the human inmates of the houses, the pigs
+especially being treated as we favor dogs at home. On
+the door steps children play with the swine, patting and
+pounding them, and one of my friends said that he
+had actually seen a mother bring her baby to be nursed
+by a sow with her family of piglets.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg91" />
+<p>
+The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed
+to be industrious. Wherever the deforestation had left
+sufficient soil on the lower hillsides patches of corn
+took the place of the former poppy fields for opium.
+In 1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting
+the growing of opium, and gave guarantees
+to the British that it would be entirely stamped out
+during the next ten years. Strangely enough these
+promises have been faithfully kept, and in Yün-nan
+the hillsides, which were once white with poppy blossoms,
+are now yellow with corn. In all our 2000 miles
+of riding over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way
+spots we found only one instance where
+opium was being cultivated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mandarin of each district accompanied by a
+guard of soldiers makes periodical excursions during the
+seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts down the
+plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China
+deserves the greatest credit for so successfully dealing
+with a question which affects such a large part of her
+four hundred millions of people and which presents
+such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown
+freely and much is smuggled into Yün-nan. Therefore
+its use has by no means been abandoned, especially in
+the south of the province, and in some towns it is
+smoked openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just
+before we reached Yün-nan Fu there was an <i>exposé</i>
+of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating side
+light on the corruption of some Chinese officials.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Opium can be purchased in Yün-nan Fu for two
+dollars (Mexican) an ounce, while in Shanghai it is
+<a name="pg92" />
+worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the Military Governor),
+the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother
+and three members of Parliament had collected six hundred
+pounds of opium which they undertook to transfer
+to Shanghai.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their request that no examination of their baggage
+be made by the French during their passage through
+Tonking was granted, and a similar favor was procured
+for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were safely
+landed, but a few hours later, through the opium
+combine, foreign detectives learned of the smuggling
+and the boxes were seized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the
+opium, as did the three Parliament members, and Governor
+Tang was not interrogated as that would be quite
+contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however, he
+will not receive reappointment when his official term
+expires.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire
+road, we were amazed at the prevalence of goitre. At a
+conservative estimate two out of every five persons were
+suffering from the disease, some having two, or even
+three, globules of uneven size hanging from their throats.
+In one village six out of seven adults were affected, but
+apparently children under twelve or fourteen years are
+free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex. Probably
+the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking
+water, for it is most prevalent in the limestone regions
+and seems to be somewhat localized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them,
+"mountain schooners," in each of which a fat Chinaman
+sprawled while two or four sweating coolies bore him up
+hill. The chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo
+<a name="pg93" />
+poles and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which
+is piled a heap of bedding. Overhead a light bamboo
+frame supports a piece of yellow oilcloth, which completely
+shuts in the occupant, except from the front and
+rear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even
+to ride, and if one is about to make an official visit nothing
+less than a four-man chair is required. Haste is just
+as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical exertion,
+and is utterly incomprehensible to the Chinese.
+Major Davies says that while he was in Tonking before
+the railroad to Yün-nan Fu had been constructed, M.
+Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indo-China,
+who was a very energetic man, rode to Yün-nan Fu in an
+extraordinarily short time. While the Europeans greatly
+admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must be in some
+difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of
+the Viceroy of Yün-nan could extricate him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Yün-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding
+for the inns supply nothing but food, and consequently
+when a Chinaman rides from one city to another he piles
+a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on
+top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. The
+horses are trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and
+I know of no more ridiculous sight than a Chinaman
+bouncing along a road on the summit of a veritable
+mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers
+flying in every direction. He is assisted in keeping
+his balance by broad brass stirrups in which he usually
+hooks his heels and guides his horse by means of a rawhide
+bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make
+a comforting jingle whenever he moves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the sixth day out when approaching the city of
+<a name="pg94" />
+Chu-hsuing Fu we took a short cut through the fields
+leaving the caravan to follow the main road. The trail
+brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a
+bridge made from two narrow planks, with a wide
+median fissure. We led our horses across without trouble
+and Heller started to follow. He had reached the center
+of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped
+to one side, hung suspended on his belly for a moment,
+and toppled off into the water.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The performance had all happened behind Heller's
+back and when he turned about in time to see his horse
+diving into the river, he stood looking down at him with
+a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust,
+while the animal climbed out and began to graze as
+quietly as though nothing had happened.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss
+Cordelia Morgan, a niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia.
+We found her to be a most charming and determined
+young woman who had established a mission
+station in the city under considerable difficulties. The
+mandarin and other officials by no means wished to
+have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down
+among them and become a responsibility which might
+cause them endless trouble, and although she had rented
+a house before she arrived, the owner refused to allow
+her to move in.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She could get no assistance from the mandarin and
+was forced to live for two months in a dirty Chinese inn,
+swarming with vermin, until they realized that she was
+determined not to be driven away. She eventually obtained
+a house and while she considers herself comfortable,
+I doubt if others would care to share her life unless
+<a name="pg95" />
+they had an equal amount of determination and enthusiasm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At that time she had not placed her work under the
+charge of a mission board and was carrying it on independently.
+Until our arrival she had seen but one white
+person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon
+Chinese food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the
+next morning as our caravan wound down the long hill
+past her house she stood at the window to wave good-by.
+She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if
+we could have seen her face we would have found tears
+upon it, for the evening with another woman of her kind
+had brought to her a breath of the old life which she had
+resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to
+her self-appointed exile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On our ninth day from Yün-nan Fu we had a welcome
+bit of excitement. We were climbing a long mountain
+trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high and were
+near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to
+the caravan, jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required
+fifteen minutes of questioning before we finally learned
+that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than a mile
+ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them
+and that they had killed two <i>mafus</i>; almost immediately
+a second gesticulating Chinaman appeared and gave the
+number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as five.
+Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt
+quite sure that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently
+learned that forty was the correct number and
+that no one had been killed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but
+<a name="pg96" />
+we got out our rifles and made for a village at the top of
+the pass. There were not more than a half dozen mud
+houses and in the narrow street between them perfect
+bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to
+wait for us, and men, horses, loads, and chairs were
+packed and jammed together so tightly that it seemed
+impossible ever to extricate them. Our arrival added to
+the confusion, but leaving the <i>mafus</i> to scream and chatter
+among themselves, we scouted ahead to learn the true
+condition of affairs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost within sight we found the caravan which had
+been robbed. Paper and cloth were strewn about, loads
+overturned, and loose mules wandered over the hillside.
+The frightened <i>mafus</i> were straggling back and told us
+that about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the
+caravan, shooting and brandishing long knives. Instantly
+the <i>mafus</i> had run for their lives leaving the
+brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. The goods
+chiefly belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang,
+and included some five thousand dollars worth of jade
+and gold dust, all of which was taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yün-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China,
+is infested with brigands who make traveling very unsafe.
+There are, of course, organized bands of robbers
+at all times, but these have been greatly augmented
+since the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who
+have taken to brigandage as the easiest means to avoid
+starvation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with
+the situation and makes only half-hearted attempts to
+punish even the most flagrant robberies, so that unguarded
+caravans carrying valuable material which arrive
+<a name="pg97" />
+at their destination unmolested consider themselves
+very lucky.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel
+great apprehension for it was generally known that we
+carried but little money and our equipment, except for
+guns, could not readily be disposed of. Throughout the
+entire expedition we paid our <i>mafus</i> and servants a part
+of their wages in advance when they were engaged, and
+arranged to have money sent by the mandarins or the
+British American Tobacco Co., to some large town which
+would be reached after several months. There the balance
+on salaries was paid and we carried with us only
+enough money for our daily needs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before we left Yün-nan Fu we were assured by the
+Foreign Office that we would be furnished with a guard
+of soldiers--an honor few foreigners escape! The first
+day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These
+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered
+their official message to the <i>yamen</i> and intrusted us to
+the care of others for our next day's journey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage
+of 1872, but their cartridges were seldom of the
+same caliber as the rifles and in most cases the ubiquitous
+umbrella was their only weapon. Just what good
+they would be in a real attack it is difficult to imagine,
+except to divert attention by breaking the speed limits
+in running away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped
+them but they always turned up in an hour or two.
+They were not so much a nuisance as an expense, for
+custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (Mexican)
+a day both going and returning. They are of some
+use in lending an official aspect to an expedition and in
+<a name="pg98" />
+requisitioning anything which may be needed; also they
+act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed
+a claim can be entered against the government, whereas
+if the escort is refused the traveler has no redress.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier
+way in which these men treat other caravans or the peasants
+along the road. Waving their arms and shouting
+oaths they shoo horses, mules or chairs out of the way regardless
+of the confusion into which the approaching
+caravan may be thrown. They must also be closely
+watched for they are none too honest and are prone to
+rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever
+they wish without the formality of payment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were especially careful to respect the property on
+which we camped and to be just in all our dealings with
+the natives, but it was sometimes difficult to prevent the
+<i>mafus</i> or soldiers from tearing down fences for firewood
+or committing similar depredations. Wherever such acts
+were discovered we made suitable payment and punished
+the offenders by deducting a part of their wages. Foreigners
+cannot respect too carefully the rights of the
+peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception
+which will be accorded to all others who follow in their footsteps.
+</p>
+<a name="pg99" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch11">CHAPTER XI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>TA-LI FU</h3>
+
+<p>
+On Friday, September 23, we were at Chou Chou and
+camped in a picturesque little temple on the outskirts
+of the town. As the last stage was only six hours we
+spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the
+caravan and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early
+<i>tiffin</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan,
+a large commercial town at the lower end of the
+lake. Its population largely consists of merchants and
+it is by all means the most important business place of interior
+Yün-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence
+and official city.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner,
+Mr. Lui, to whom Mr. Bode, the salt inspector at Yün-nan
+Fu, had very kindly telegraphed money for my account,
+and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went on
+to Ta-li Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was
+so slippery that it was well-nigh impossible for either
+horse or man to move over it faster than a walk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern
+Yün-nan, the thermometer registering 85°+ in the
+shade, which is the usual mid-summer temperature, but
+the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it
+was cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the
+winter it is never very cold and its delightful summer
+should make Northern Yün-nan a wonderful health resort
+<a name="pg100" />
+for the residents of fever-stricken Burma and
+Tonking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our
+right hand and on the other the Ts'ang Shan mountains
+which rise to a height of fourteen thousand feet.
+As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined
+against the foothills the slender shafts of three ancient
+pagodas. They were erected to the <i>feng-shui</i>, the spirits
+of the "earth, wind, and water," and for fifteen hundred
+years have stood guard over the stone graves which,
+in countless thousands, are spread along the foot of
+the mountains like a vast gray blanket. In the late afternoon
+sunlight the walls of the city seemed to recede
+before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and
+unreal even when we passed through its gloomy arch
+and clattered up the stone-paved street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H.G. Evans,
+agent of the British American Tobacco Company, to
+whose care our first caravan had been consigned, and he
+very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we
+were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr.
+Evans' assistance to the Expedition, for he acted as its
+banker throughout our stay in Yün-nan, cashing checks
+and transferring money for us whenever we needed
+funds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The British American Tobacco Company and the
+Standard Oil Company of New York are veritable
+"oases in the desert" for travelers because their agencies
+are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia
+and their employees are always ready to extend the cordial
+hospitality of the East to wandering foreigners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include
+the Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife and two
+<a name="pg101" />
+other ladies, all of the China Inland Mission. Mr.
+Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along
+educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful
+little chapel, a large school, and a dispensary in connection
+with his house, where he and his wife are occupied
+every morning treating the minor ills of the natives,
+Christian and heathen alike.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at
+the time of the Mohammedan war, when the Chinese
+captured the city through the treachery of its commander
+and turned the streets to rivers of blood. The
+Mohammedans were almost exterminated, and the
+ruined stone walls testify to the completeness of the Chinese
+devastation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated
+and corrupt. He called upon us the evening of
+our arrival and almost immediately asked if we had any
+shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun
+but no shells, and as we did not offer to give him any
+he continued to hint broadly at every opportunity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts
+and depend upon what they can make in "squeeze"
+from the natives of their district for reimbursement and
+a profit on their investment. In almost every case
+which is brought to them for adjustment the decision
+is withheld until the magistrate has learned which of
+the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a
+settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant, accepting
+this as the established custom, pays the bribe without
+a murmur if it is not too exorbitant and, in fact, would
+be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were dispensed in
+any other way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My personal relations with the various mandarins
+<a name="pg102" />
+whom I was constantly required to visit officially were
+always of the pleasantest and I was treated with
+great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were
+in China that there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling
+in both the peasant and official classes and except
+for the brigands, who are beyond the law, undoubtedly
+white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the
+republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a
+lesson in etiquette. The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious
+and it is necessary to conform to their standards
+of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse,
+the fact that Western customs differ from their
+own.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the end of the reception room in every <i>yamen</i>
+is a raised platform on which the visitor sits at the <i>left
+hand</i> of the mandarin; it would be exceedingly rude for
+a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. Tea is
+always served immediately but is not supposed to be
+tasted until the official does so himself; the cup must then
+be lifted to the lips with both hands. Usually when the
+magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the interview is
+ended. When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor
+to the doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually
+bows and protests asking him not to come so
+far.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets
+and we spent some time investigating the shops. One
+important find was the panda (<i>Aelurus fulgens</i>). The
+panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but
+looks rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the
+"fire fox" because of its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were
+supposed to be exceedingly rare and we could hardly
+<a name="pg103" />
+believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made
+from their skins hanging in the fur shops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, <i>Petaruista
+yunnanensis</i>, were also used for clothing and the
+abundance of this animal was almost as great a surprise
+as the finding of the pandas. This is often true in the
+case of supposedly rare species. A few specimens may
+be obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or
+from a locality where it really is rare, and for years
+it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually
+the proper locality may be visited and the animals
+found to be abundant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (<i>Felis temmicki</i>)
+which, with the snow leopard (<i>Felis uncia</i>), it
+was said came from Tibet. Civets, bears, foxes, and
+small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins
+could be purchased in the medicine shops. The
+scales of the pangolin are considered to be of great
+value in the treatment of certain diseases and the skins
+are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of deer,
+wapiti, gorals, and serows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained
+in China by foreigners have been purchased in
+apothecary shops. If a Chinaman discovers a fossil bed
+he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold
+mine to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder,
+mixed with an acid, and a phosphate obtained which in
+reality has a certain value as a tonic. When a considerable
+amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added
+its efficacy assumes double proportions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan
+from the southern part of the province along the
+Tonking border, but the good ones are quickly sold at
+<a name="pg104" />
+prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).
+Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century
+and, among other things, he speaks of the fine horses
+from this part of the province. We were surprised to
+find that the animals are considerably larger and more
+heavily built than those of Yün-nan Fu and appear to
+be better in every way. A good riding horse can be
+purchased for seventy-five dollars (Mexican) but mules
+are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because
+they are considered better pack animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the advice of men who had traveled much in the
+interior of Yün-nan we hired our caravan and riding animals
+instead of buying them outright, and subsequent
+experience showed the wisdom of this course. Saddle
+ponies, which are used only for short trips about the city,
+cannot endure continual traveling over the execrable
+roads of the interior where often it is impossible to feed
+them properly. If an entire caravan were purchased
+the leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble
+with the <i>mafus</i> to insure even ordinary care of the
+animals, an opportunity would be given for endless
+"squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other
+reasons too numerous to mention why in this province
+the plan is impracticable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to
+the limit. They are trained only to follow a leader, and
+if one happens to be behind another horse it is well-nigh
+impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat or kick the beast
+as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the
+horse in front. On the first day out Heller, who was on
+a particularly bad animal, when trying to pass one of
+us began to cavort about like a circus rider, prancing
+<a name="pg105" />
+from side to side and backward but never going forward.
+We shouted that we would wait for him to go on but
+he replied helplessly, "I can't, this horse isn't under my
+management," and we found very soon that our animals
+were not under our management either!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the
+caravan with Wu and Heller: Wu stopped to buy a
+basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move
+ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a
+circle, ours followed, and in a few moments we were
+packed together so tightly that it was impossible even
+to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the huge delight
+of the villagers until rescued by a <i>mafu</i>. As soon as he
+led Wu's horse forward the others proceeded as quietly
+as lambs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal
+while traveling, and fifteen or twenty cents when
+in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in different parts
+of the province, and in the west and south, along the
+Burma border fifty cents is the usual price. When
+a caravan is engaged the necessary <i>mafus</i> are included
+and they buy food for themselves and beans and hay
+for the animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ever since leaving Yün-nan Fu the cook we engaged
+at Paik-hoi had been a source of combined irritation and
+amusement. He was a lanky, effeminate gentleman who
+never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically
+and mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life.
+After five months in the field he appeared to be as helpless
+when the caravan camped for the night as when we
+first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until
+someone directed him what to do. But he was a good
+cook, when he wished to exert himself, and had the great
+<a name="pg106" />
+asset of knowing a considerable amount of English.
+While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr. Evans overheard him
+relating his experiences on the road to several of the
+other servants. "Of course," said the cook, "it is a fine
+way to see the country, but the riding! My goodness,
+that's awful! After the third day I didn't know whether
+to go on or turn back--I was so sore I couldn't sit down
+even on a chair to say nothing of a horse!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see
+the country" that way for the day after we left Ta-li Fu
+<i>en route</i> to the Tibetan frontier he became violently ill.
+Although we could find nothing the matter with him he
+made such a good case for himself that we believed he
+really was quite sick and treated him accordingly. The
+following morning, however, he sullenly refused to proceed,
+and we realized that his illness was of the mind
+rather than the body. As he had accepted two months'
+salary in advance and had already sent it to his wife in
+Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a certain amount
+of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its
+object and illness did not trouble him thereafter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition.
+Good meals and varied food must be provided
+if the personnel is to work at its highest efficiency and
+cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. In
+Yün-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no
+means easy to find and when our Paik-hoi gentleman
+finally left us upon our return to Ta-li Fu we were fortunate
+in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to
+take his place through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.
+</p>
+<a name="pg107" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch12">CHAPTER XII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"</h3>
+
+<p>
+We left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li
+Fu and with a new caravan of twenty-five animals traveled
+northward for six days to Li-chiang Fu. By taking
+a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the
+pine forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was
+a total absence of animal life. The woods were beautiful,
+parklike stretches which in a country like California
+would be full of game, but here were silent and deserted.
+During the fourth and fifth days we were still in the
+forests, but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000 feet
+high and descended abruptly into a long marshy plain
+where at the far end were the gray outlines of Li-chiang
+dimly visible against the mountains.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our
+camp, leaving Heller and my wife to follow. A few
+pages from her journal tell of their entry into the
+city.
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the
+outskirts of the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither
+Roy nor Wu was in sight but we expected that the <i>mafus</i>
+would ask where they had gone and follow, for of course we
+could not speak a word of the language. Already there was
+quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our sudden
+appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement.
+One old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and
+<a name="pg108" />
+uttered what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "Mon Dieu"
+of disagreeable surprise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to
+appreciate our friendliness and in return merely stared with
+open mouths and eyes. We halted and immediately the street
+was blocked by crowds of men, women, and children who poured
+out of the houses, shops, and cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention.
+When the caravan arrived we moved on again expecting
+that the <i>mafus</i> had learned where Roy had gone, but they
+seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow winding
+streets. Even though we did not find a camping place we afforded
+the natives intense delight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade
+at home, but the most remarkable attraction there could not
+have equaled our unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second
+excursion through the town we passed down a cross-street,
+and suddenly from a courtyard at the right we heard feminine
+voices speaking English.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair,
+it's a girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably
+foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They
+were Mrs. A. Kok, wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary,
+and two assistants, who rushed into the street as soon as
+they had determined my sex and literally "fell upon my neck."
+They had not seen a white woman since their arrival there
+four years ago and it seemed to them that I had suddenly
+dropped from the sky.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the
+camp. They had chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled
+courtyard on the summit of a hill overlooking the city. It was
+wonderfully clean and when our beds, tables, and chairs were
+spread on the broad stone porch it seemed like a real home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller
+setting traps, and I working at my photography. We let it be
+known that we would pay well for specimens, and there was an
+<a name="pg109" />
+almost uninterrupted procession of men and boys carrying long
+sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats, toads, and snakes.
+They would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm. Our
+fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame
+things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds,
+and I even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two,
+for mothers stood about with little brown kiddies on their
+backs as though they really would like to offer them to us but
+hardly dared.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap,
+and hidden under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe
+that his religious vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and
+so he would beckon Roy into the darkness of the
+temple with a most mysterious air, and would extract all sorts
+of things from his sleeves just like a sleight-of-hand performer.
+He was a rich man when we left!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The people are mostly tribesmen--Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans,
+and many others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in
+front and with a long plait in back. They wash their hair
+once--on their wedding day--and then it is wrapped up in
+turbans for the rest of their lives. The Tibetan women dress
+their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but I don't believe there is
+any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves either.
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never
+had a better one. On the morning after our arrival
+Heller found mammals in half his traps, and in the
+afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which
+brought us fifty mammals of eleven species. This was
+a wonderful relief after the many days of travel through
+country devoid of animal life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow
+voles, Asiatic white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels,
+and tree shrews. The small mammals were exceedingly
+abundant and easy to catch, but after the first day
+<a name="pg110" />
+we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole
+our traps. We usually marked them with a bit of cotton,
+and the boys would follow an entire line down a
+hedge, taking every one. Sometimes they even brought
+specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught
+in our stolen traps!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the
+grass where we found the "runways" or paths which
+mice, rats and voles often make. These animals begin
+to move about just after dark, and we usually would
+inspect our traps with a lantern about nine o'clock in
+the evening. This not only gave the trap a double chance
+to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens, for
+such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and
+almost every night, if the specimens were not taken out
+early in the evening, several would be partly eaten.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Small mammals are often of much greater interest
+and importance scientifically than large ones, for, especially
+among the Insectivores, there are many primitive
+forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and
+throw light on the evolutionary history of other living
+groups.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance
+for the Tibetans bring down vast quantities of skins for
+sale and trade. Lambs, goats, foxes, cats, civets, pandas,
+and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are dozens
+of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This city is a most interesting place especially on
+market day, for its inhabitants represent many different
+tribes with but comparatively few Chinese. By far the
+greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who are
+semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally
+an independent race who ruled a considerable part
+<a name="pg111" />
+of northern Yün-nan, and Li-chiang was their ancient
+capital. To the effeminate and "highly civilized" Chinese
+they are "barbarians," but we found them to be
+simple, honest and wholly delightful people. Many of
+those whom we met later had never seen a white woman,
+and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast
+to that of the Chinese who consider themselves so
+immeasurably their superior.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle,
+and this is the one place in the Orient except in large
+cities along the coast, where we could obtain fresh milk
+and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered tea and
+<i>tsamba</i> (parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but
+they also grow quantities of delicious vegetables and
+fruit. Buttered tea is prepared by churning fresh butter
+into hot tea until the two have become well mixed.
+It is then thickened with finely ground <i>tsamba</i> until a
+ball is formed which is eaten with the fingers. The
+combination is distinctly good when the ingredients are
+fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less
+said of it the better.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natives of this region are largely agriculturists
+and raise great quantities of squash, turnips, carrots,
+cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn, peas, beans, oranges,
+pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling we filled
+our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or
+chestnuts and could replenish our stock at almost any
+village along the road.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually
+about eight cents (Mexican) a dozen, and we could
+always purchase a chicken for an empty tin can, or
+two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest
+desideratum and when offers of money failed to induce
+<a name="pg112" />
+a native to pose for the camera a bottle nearly always
+would decide matters in our favor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting
+only twelve miles north of the city on the Snow Mountain
+range, the highest peak of which rises 18,000 feet
+above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr.
+Kok's house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules
+to take us to the hunting grounds. Mr. Kok assisted
+us in numberless ways while we were in the vicinity
+of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took
+charge of all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned
+us money when it was difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu
+and helped us to engage servants and caravans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It had rained almost continually for five days and a
+dense gray curtain of fog hung far down in the valley,
+but on the morning of October 11 we awoke to find ourselves
+in another world. We were in a vast amphitheater
+of encircling mountains, white almost to their bases,
+rising ridge on ridge, like the foamy billows of a mighty
+ocean. At the north, silhouetted against the vivid blue
+of a cloudless sky, towered the great Snow Mountain,
+its jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning
+sun had kissed their summits. We rode toward it across
+a level rock-strewn plain and watched the fleecy clouds
+form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves
+in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. It
+was an inspiration, that beautiful mountain, lying so
+white and still in its cradle of dark green trees. Each
+hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its
+grandeur, and we were glad to be of the chosen few to
+look upon its sacred beauty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple
+which nestled into a grove of spruce trees on the outskirts
+<a name="pg113" />
+of a straggling village. To the north the Snow
+Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and
+south a grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle
+undulations to a range of hills which jutted into the valley
+like a great recumbent dragon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A short time after our camp was established we had
+a visit from an Austrian botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,
+who had been in the village for two weeks. He had
+come to Yün-nan for the Vienna Museum before the
+war, expecting to remain a year, but already had been
+there three. Surrounded as he was by Tibet, Burma,
+and Tonking, his only possible exit was by way of the
+four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had little
+money and for two years had been living on Chinese
+food. He dined with us in the evening, and his enjoyment
+of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other
+canned goods was almost pathetic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti
+left for Yün-nan Fu and eventually reached Shanghai
+which, however, became a closed port to him upon
+China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped
+that his collections, which must be of great scientific
+value and importance, have arrived at a place of safety
+long ere this book issues from the press.
+</p>
+<a name="pg114" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch13">CHAPTER XIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS</h3>
+
+<p>
+We hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain
+village. They were picturesque fellows, supposedly
+dressed in skins, but their garments were so ragged and
+patched that it was difficult to determine the original
+material of which they were made.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of them was armed with a most extraordinary
+gun which, it was said, came from Tibet. Its barrel was
+more than six feet long, and the stock was curved like
+a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in
+the side of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was
+fastened a forked spring. At his waist the man carried
+a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of which
+was placed in the crotched spring. When about to shoot
+the native placed the butt of the weapon against his
+cheek, pressed the spring so that the burning rope's end
+touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned
+arrows. They were remarkably good shots and
+at a distance of one hundred feet could place an arrow
+in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found
+later that crossbows are in common use throughout the
+more remote parts of Yün-nan and were only another
+evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the
+Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth
+century equipment, were anachronisms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game
+<a name="pg115" />
+even with such primitive weapons for they depend largely
+upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to bay
+against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. The
+dogs are a mongrel breed which appears to be largely
+hound, and some are really excellent hunters. White is
+the usual color but a few are mixed black and brown, or
+fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos, owned a good pack
+and we all came to love its big red leader. This fine dog
+could be depended upon to dig out game if there was
+any in the mountains, but his life with us was short for
+he was killed by our first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable
+and the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for
+the loss of a faithful friend.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we
+saw while passing through Chinese villages were nauseating
+in their unsightliness, for at least thirty per cent
+of them were more or less diseased. Barely able to
+walk, they would stagger across the street or lie in the
+gutter in indescribable filth. One longed to put them
+out of their misery with a bullet but, although they
+seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner
+appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly
+good condition and there seemed to be comparatively
+little disease among them. Our hunters treated their
+hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves,
+although loyal to their masters, manifested but
+little affection. In Korea dogs are eaten by the natives,
+but none of the tribes with which we came in contact in
+Yün-nan used them for food.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On our first day in the temple Heller went up the
+Snow Mountain for a reconnoissance and the party secured
+a fine porcupine. It is quite a different animal
+<a name="pg116" />
+from the American tree porcupines and represents a
+genus (<i>Hystrix</i>) which is found in Asia, Africa, and
+southern Europe. This species lives in burrows and,
+when hunting big game, we were often greatly annoyed
+to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of
+these animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing
+about the burrow yelping excitedly instead of having
+a goral at bay as we had expected.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills
+are more than twelve inches long and very sharp. A porcupine
+will keep an entire pack of dogs at bay and is almost
+sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies
+of some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short
+time. The Mosos eat the flesh which is white and fine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang
+the traps yielded four shrews and one mouse which were
+new to our collection. The natives brought in three
+bats which we had not previously seen and began a
+thriving business in toads and frogs with now and then
+a snake.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The temple was an excellent place for small mammals
+but it was evident that we would have to move high up
+on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and other big
+game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while Heller
+prepared a number of bat skins we started out on horseback
+to hunt a camp site.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly
+from a cloudless sky and just a touch of autumn snap
+in the air. We crossed the sloping rock-strewn plain
+to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which
+led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main
+peaks. An hour of steady climbing brought us to
+the summit of the ridge where we struck into the woods
+<a name="pg117" />
+toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The trail
+led us along the brink of a steep escarpment from which
+we could look over the valley and away into the blue
+distance toward Li-chiang. Three thousand feet below
+us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering
+pine trees, and the herds of sheep and cattle
+massed themselves into moving patches on the smooth
+brown plain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We pushed our way through the spruce forest with
+the glistening snow bed as a beacon and suddenly
+emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the
+ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place to
+camp," we both exclaimed. "If we can only find water,
+let's come tomorrow."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hunters had assured us that there were no streams
+on this end of the mountain but we hoped to find a snow
+bank which would supply our camp for a few days at
+least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the
+grandeur of the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling
+very small and helpless amid surroundings where nature
+had so magnificently expressed herself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry
+creek bed which led upward through the dense spruce
+forest. "Where water has been, water may be again,"
+we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way
+among the trees and over fallen logs to a fairly open
+hill slope where we attempted to ride, but our animals
+were nearly done. After climbing a few feet they stood
+with heaving sides and trembling legs, the breath rasping
+through distended nostrils. We felt the altitude
+almost as badly as the horses for the meadow itself was
+twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and the
+air was very thin.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg118" />
+<p>
+There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable
+snow bank when it was slowly borne in upon us
+that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound of
+water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined.
+Above and to the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of
+feet in height, and as we toiled upward and emerged
+beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver ribbon
+streaming down its face. It came from a melting
+snow crater and we could follow its course with our
+eyes to where it swung downward along a rock wall not
+far from the upper end of the meadow. It was so hidden
+by the trees that had we not climbed above timber
+line, it never would have been discovered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This solved the question of our camp and we looked
+about us happily. On the way through the forest we
+had noticed small mammal runways under almost every
+log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy
+slope was cut by an intricate network of tiny tunnels.
+These were plainly the work of a meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>)
+and at this altitude it certainly would prove to be a
+species new to our collection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The sun had already dropped behind the mountain
+and the meadow was in shadow when we reached it again
+on our homeward way. By five o'clock we were in the
+temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations
+for an early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the
+morning three of the mules had strayed, and we did not
+arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the afternoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce
+forest a few hundred yards from the snow stream. As
+soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy slope
+above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of traps
+<a name="pg119" />
+in the vole runways and under logs and stumps in the
+forest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a
+short distance away and slept in their ragged clothes
+without a blanket or shelter of any kind. It was delightfully
+warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was
+out, but as soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and
+the nights were freezing cold; yet the natives did not
+seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our offer
+of a canvas tent fly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We never will forget that first night on the Snow
+Mountain. As we sat at dinner about the campfire
+we could see the somber mass of the forest losing itself
+in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of
+the mighty peaks standing guard about our mountain
+home. We slept, breathing the strong, sweet perfume
+of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering
+alone through the forest opening the treasure
+boxes of the Wild.
+</p>
+<a name="pg120" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch14">CHAPTER XIV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE FIRST GORAL</h3>
+
+<p>
+We were awakened before daylight by Wu's long
+drawn call to the hunters, "<i>L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o,
+L-a-o-u H-o</i>." The steady drum of rain on our tent shot
+a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened my
+eyes, but before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags
+and dressed it lessened to a gentle patter and soon
+ceased altogether. It left a cold, gray morning with
+dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but,
+nevertheless, I decided to go out with the hunters to
+try for goral.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a
+high rock shoulder sparsely covered with scrub spruce
+while I went up the opposite slope accompanied by
+the other two. We had not been away from camp half
+an hour when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately
+we heard them coming around the summit of
+the ridge in our direction. The hunters made frantic
+signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the
+thin air with my heart pounding like a trip hammer I
+could not go faster than a walk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly
+the dogs appeared on the side of the cliff near
+the summit. Just in front of them was a bounding
+gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs
+and animals but ten minutes later a blessed gust of wind
+drifted the fog away and the goral was indistinctly visible
+<a name="pg121" />
+with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. The
+big red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for
+a nip at the animal's throat but was kept at bay by its
+vicious lunges and sharp horns.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud
+was drifting in again and I dropped down for a shot.
+The hunters were running up the slope, frantically
+waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot
+at that distance. I could just see the gray form through
+the sights and the first two shots spattered the loose
+rock about a foot low. For the third I got a dead rest
+over a stone and as the crash of the little Mannlicher
+echoed up the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air
+whirling over and over onto the rocks below.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill
+and down into the stream bed, and when I arrived the
+goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the water. The
+animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through
+its lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed
+on the rocks, its horns were uninjured and the beautiful
+gray coat was in perfect condition. It so happened
+that this ram was the largest which we killed on the
+entire trip.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp
+we met Yvette and Heller on their way to visit the
+traps just below snow line, and she returned with me
+to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies
+which I knew would be performed. One of the natives
+cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon it and at the
+first cut chanted a prayer. Then laying several leaves
+one upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart,
+wrapped it carefully in the leaves and placed it in a
+nearby tree as an offering to the God of the Hunt.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg122" />
+<p>
+I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters
+perform similar ceremonies at the death of an animal,
+and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate the God
+of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting in
+Korea in 1912, and also in other parts of China, if
+luck had been against us for a few days the hunters
+would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some
+animal to sacrifice for "good joss."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood
+we again climbed the cliff at the end of the meadow.
+When we were nearly 2,000 feet above camp the clouds
+shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped
+itself about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for
+it to drift away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After an hour the fog began to thin and the men
+sent the hounds toward a talus slope at the base of the
+highest peak. Almost immediately the big red dog
+picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with
+the pack yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly
+as possible over such hard going but before we reached
+the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp pinnacle
+and disappeared far below us. Expecting that the goral
+would swing about the base of the peak the hunters sent
+me back across the talus to watch for a shot, but the
+animal ran down the valley and into a heavily wooded
+ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance
+above camp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich
+haul from the traps. As we supposed, the runways which
+Yvette and I had discovered above timber line were
+made by a meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>) and in the forest
+almost every trap had caught a white-footed mouse
+(<i>Apodemus</i>). He also had several new shrews and we
+<a name="pg123" />
+caught eight different species of these important little
+animals at this one camp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came
+to me one day in great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese
+dictionary. He had looked up the word "shrew"
+and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The following day Heller went out with the hunters
+and saw two gorals but did not get a shot. In the
+meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and prepared the
+small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side,
+Baron Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with
+ropes and an alpine snow ax. He was about to attempt
+to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended
+but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet
+from the summit. He dined at our camp and as all
+of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we spent a
+very pleasant evening. During his three years in Yün-nan
+he had explored and mapped many sections of the
+province which had not been visited previously by foreigners
+and from him we obtained much valuable information.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the third morning we were up before daylight and
+I left with the hunters in the gray dawn. We climbed
+steadily for an hour after leaving camp and, when well
+up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak
+through a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets,
+emerging upon a steep grassy meadow; this abutted
+on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and below ran
+into a thick evergreen forest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog,
+trotted off by himself toward the rock wall above us,
+and in a few moments we heard his sharp yelps near
+<a name="pg124" />
+the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing out
+in a long line up the hillside.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had nearly crossed the open slope and were
+standing on the edge of a deep gully when the dogs
+gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure they
+were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom
+of the gorge and began the sharp ascent on the other
+side. It was almost straight up and before we had gone
+a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my
+legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of
+the dogs sounding closer and closer kept us going.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill
+I was absolutely done. I lay flat on my back for a few
+minutes and got to my knees just as the goral appeared
+on the opposite cliff. The sight of the magnificent animal
+bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet
+seemed hardly to touch down the face of a sheer wall,
+will remain in my memory as long as I live. He seemed
+the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks
+and crags, vibrant with the breath of the clouds. Selecting
+a spot which he must touch in the next flying
+leap, I waited until his body darkened the sights and
+then pulled the trigger.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to
+his feet, and with a tremendous leap landed on a projecting
+shelf of rock four yards below. Instantly I
+fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass
+not two feet from the edge of the precipice which fell
+away in a dizzy drop of six hundred feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dogs were on him long before we had worked
+our way down the cañon and up to the shelf where
+he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as the first
+one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they
+<a name="pg125" />
+were very tired from their two days of hunting, so I
+decided to return to camp with the men. On the way a
+second goral was started but it swung about the summit
+of the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction,
+giving one of the hunters a shot with his crossbow,
+which he missed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear
+and blue but the clouds still lay thickly over the meadow
+and the camp was invisible. The billowy masses clung
+to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we
+could look far across the valley into the blue distance
+where the snow-covered summits of range after range
+of magnificent mountains lay shining in the sun like
+beaten silver. There was a strange fascination about
+those mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that
+for twelve long months I was free to roam where I willed
+and explore their hidden mysteries.
+</p>
+<a name="pg126" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch15">CHAPTER XV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>MORE GORALS</h3>
+
+<p>
+Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns.
+Their hair was thick and soft, pale olive-buff tipped
+with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon bones" were
+buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. Their
+color made them practically invisible against the rocks
+and when I killed the second goral my only distinct impression
+as he dashed down the face of the precipice, was
+of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body
+which I could hardly see.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This invisibility, combined with the fact that the
+Snow Mountain gorals lived on almost inaccessible cliffs
+thickly covered with scrub spruce forest, made "still
+hunting" impossible. In fact, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,
+who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains fairly
+thoroughly in his search for plants, had never seen
+a goral, and did not know that such an animal existed
+there.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although
+he saw several gorals, he was not successful in
+getting one until we had been in camp almost a week.
+His was a young male not more than a year old with
+horns about an inch long. It was a valuable addition
+to our collection for I was anxious to obtain specimens
+of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat group" in
+the Museum and we lacked only a female.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The preparation of the group required the greatest
+<a name="pg127" />
+care and study. First, we selected a proper spot to
+reproduce in the Museum, and Yvette took a series of
+natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting
+the background. Next she made detail photographs
+of the surroundings. Then we collected portions of the
+rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss and
+leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. In
+a large group, perhaps several thousand leaves will be
+required, but the field naturalist need select typical specimens
+of only five or six different sizes from each of
+which a plaster mold can be made at the Museum and
+the leaves reproduced in wax.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After two days of rain during which I had a hard
+and unsuccessful hunt for serows we decided to return
+to the temple at the foot of the mountain which was
+nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We
+had already been in our camp on the meadow for nine
+days and, besides the gorals, had gathered a large and
+valuable collection of small mammals. The shrews were
+especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series
+of meadow voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained
+a new weasel and a single specimen of a tiny rock-cony
+or little chief hare, an Asiatic genus (<i>Ochotona</i>) which
+is also found in the western part of North America on
+the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Although we
+set dozens of traps among the rocks we did not get another
+on the entire expedition nor did we see indications
+of their presence in other localities.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The almost complete absence of carnivores at this
+camp was a great surprise. Except for weasels we saw
+no others and the hunters said that foxes or civets did
+not occur on this side of the mountain even though food
+was abundant.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg128" />
+<p>
+On the day before we went to the temple I had a
+magnificent hunt. We left camp at daylight in a heavy
+fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow trail.
+We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the
+upper edge of a little meadow and expected the animal
+to break cover any moment, but it turned down the
+mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce
+woods.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were
+well above the clouds, which lay in a thick white blanket
+over the camp, and headed for the cañon where I had
+shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go lower
+down into the forests but I prevailed upon him to stay
+along the open slopes and, while we were resting, the
+big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and
+to the right of us. It was in the exact spot where my
+second goral had been started and we were on the <i>qui
+vive</i> when the rest of the pack dashed up the mountain-side
+to join their leader.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard
+them swinging about in our direction. Just then the
+clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank below us,
+began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the
+cañon. On and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps
+of the dogs. I was trembling with impatience and
+swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the
+gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the
+ravine, until we were enveloped so completely that I
+could hardly see the length of my gun barrel. A moment
+later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff
+not a hundred yards away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each
+hoof beat and the stones which his flying feet sent rattling
+<a name="pg129" />
+into the gorge. Then the dogs came past, and
+we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing
+fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The
+goral was lost, and as though the Fates were laughing
+at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind sucked the cloud
+out of the cañon as swiftly as it had come, and above
+us shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I
+had loaned him my three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .303
+Savage) and he was as excited as a child with a new
+toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered
+the safety catches in a short time even though
+he had never before seen a breach-loading gun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain
+for the dogs might bring the goral to bay on one
+of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes we stood
+on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest.
+One of the hunters picked his way down the rock
+wall while Hotenfa and I circled the top of the spur.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter
+shouted that a goral was running in our direction. Hotenfa
+reached the edge of the ridge before me, and I
+saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which
+disappeared into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt
+only a few feet behind the animal although it must have
+been well beyond a hundred yards and almost straight
+below us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other
+hunter brought us again to the edge of the cliff just in
+time to see a second goral dash into the forest a good
+three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the
+gorge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and
+<a name="pg130" />
+Hotenfa made signs which said as plainly as words, "I
+told you so. The gorals are not on the peaks but down
+in the forest. We ought to have come here first."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were not many moments for regret, however,
+for this was "our busy day." Suddenly a burst of frantic
+yelps from the red dog turned us off to the left and
+we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which
+we had just left. One of the other hunters was standing
+there and his crossbow twanged as the goral passed
+only a few yards from him, but the wicked little poisoned
+dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches
+above the animal's back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the
+second hunter who was too surprised to shoot and only
+yelled that it was coming toward us on the cliff below.
+Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat
+himself, and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting
+shelf which overhung the gorge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We reached the rim at the same moment and saw
+a huge ram standing on a narrow ledge a hundred
+yards below. I fired instantly and the noble animal,
+with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched
+himself into space falling six hundred feet to the rocks
+beneath us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to
+go insane. Yelling with joy, he threw his arms about
+my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me
+on the back until I thought he would throw us both off
+the cliff. I was utterly dumfounded but seized his three-barrel
+gun to unload it for in his excitement there was
+imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or
+me.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then I realized what it was all about. We had both
+<a name="pg131" />
+fired simultaneously and neither had heard the other's
+shot. By mistake Hotenfa had discharged a load of
+buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the
+goral but his joy was so great that I would not for anything
+have disillusioned him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place
+where the goral had fallen. The dogs were already there
+lying quietly beside the animal when we arrived. My bullet
+had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and
+ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself
+against the breast bone; the jacket had split, one piece
+tearing into the heart, so that the ram was probably
+dead before it struck the rocks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I photographed the goral where it lay and after it
+had been eviscerated, and the hunters had performed
+their ceremonies to the God of the Hunt, I sent one
+of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked toward
+the bottom of the cañon in the hope of finding the other
+animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me
+in his vivid sign language that the gorals were likely to
+be asleep on the sunny side of the ravine; therefore we
+worked up the opposite slope.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours
+we plodded steadily upward, clinging by feet and hands
+to bushes and rocks, and were almost exhausted when
+we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds
+of the way to the summit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin,
+toiled on again. I had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa
+was still sitting down, when I saw him wave his arm
+excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped down
+to his side just as he fired at a big female goral which
+<a name="pg132" />
+was sound asleep in an open patch of grass on the
+mountain-side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the
+knee but without the slightest sign of injury she dashed
+down the cliff. I fired as she ran, striking her squarely
+in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the bushes
+a hundred feet below.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the
+summit of the ridge I never can understand, for with a
+light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all I could
+do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely
+done when we finally threw ourselves on the grass at
+the edge of the meadow which we had left in the morning.
+Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the
+goral, but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for
+my bullet had smashed the heart to a pulp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead
+tired, disappeared alone into the heavy forest below us.
+Suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up the hill in
+our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens
+and ran to an opening in the forest where we thought
+the animal must pass.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared
+higher up at the heels of a crested muntjac
+(<i>Elaphodus</i>), which was bounding along at full speed,
+its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish
+back. I had one chance for a shot at about one hundred
+and fifty yards as the pair crossed a little opening in
+the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot for, had I
+missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been
+killed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is
+an exceedingly rare species, but a few days later a
+<a name="pg133" />
+shepherd brought in another which had been wounded
+by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the
+plains to die.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out
+to meet us, falling over logs and bushes in her eagerness
+to see what we were carrying. No dinner which I have
+ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak
+that night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping
+bag, dead tired in body but with a happy heart.
+</p>
+<a name="pg134" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch16">CHAPTER XVI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE</h3>
+
+<p>
+On October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain
+and camped in the temple which we had formerly occupied.
+This was directly below the forests inhabited
+by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively
+toward obtaining a representative series of these
+animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the
+palm of my right hand almost immediately, and had it
+not been for the devoted care of my wife I should not
+have left China alive. Through terrible nights of delirium
+when the poison was threatening to spread over
+my entire body, she nursed me with an utter disregard
+of her own health and slept only during a few restless
+hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I could
+do no work but at last was able to bend my "trigger
+finger" and resume hunting although I did not entirely
+recover the use of my hand for several months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+However, the work of the expedition by no means
+ceased because of my illness. Mr. Heller continued to
+collect small mammals with great energy and the day
+after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new
+native hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit
+from the independent tribe of S'suchuan and they
+proved to be excellent men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our
+third day in the temple. Heller went out with the hunters
+<a name="pg135" />
+but in a few hours returned alone. A short time
+after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail
+of a huge serow and followed it for three miles through
+the spruce forest. They finally brought the animal to
+bay against a cliff and a furious fight ensued. One
+dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust
+in the side, and the big red leader was thrown
+over a cliff to the rocks below. More of the hounds
+undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters
+arrived and shot the animal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men brought the serow in late at night but our
+joy was considerably dampened by the loss of the red
+dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms and laid him
+gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal
+died during the night. His master cried like a
+child and I am sure that he felt more real sorrow than
+he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for wives
+are much easier to get in China than good hunting
+dogs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from
+fighting, and had lost one horn by falling over a cliff
+when he was killed. He was brownish black, with rusty
+red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was
+nine and three-quarters inches in length and five and
+three-quarters inches in circumference at the base and
+the effectiveness with which he had used his horns against
+the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means
+only for ornaments. In the next chapter the habits
+and relationships of the gorals and serows will be considered
+more fully.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning following the capture of the first
+serow the last rain of the season began and continued for
+nine days almost without ceasing. The weather made
+<a name="pg136" />
+hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so
+thickly over the woods that one could not see a hundred
+feet and Heller found that many of his small traps were
+sprung by the raindrops. The Lolos had disappeared,
+and we believed that they had returned to their village,
+but they had been hunting in spite of the weather and
+on the fifth day arrived with a fine male serow in perfect
+condition. It showed a most interesting color variation
+for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with
+hardly a tinge of reddish.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless
+sky and during the remainder of the winter we had as
+perfect weather as one could wish. Yvette's constant
+nursing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion
+of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread
+of the poison in my hand and my nights were no longer
+haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but I
+was as helpless as a babe. I could do nothing but sit
+with steaming cloths wrapped about my arm and rail
+at the fate which kept me useless in the temple.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just
+above our camp but the animal fell into a rock fissure
+more than a hundred feet deep and was recovered only
+after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging
+ladder from tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the
+serow bodily up the cliff; as it weighed nearly three
+hundred pounds this was by no means an easy undertaking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led
+by a slender young chief with patrician features who
+ruled his village like an autocrat with absolute power
+of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people who
+at one time probably occupied much of the region south
+<a name="pg137" />
+of the Yangtze River but were pushed south and west
+by the Chinese and, except in one instance, now exist
+only in scattered units in the provinces of Kwei-chau
+and Yün-nan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which
+is absolutely closed to the Chinese on pain of death
+and over which they exercise no control. Several expeditions
+have been launched against the Lolos but all
+have ended in disaster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Only a few weeks before we arrived in Yün-nan a
+number of Chinese soldiers butchered nearly a hundred
+Lolos whom they had encountered outside the independent
+territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned
+several villages almost under the walls of a fortified city
+in which were five hundred soldiers, massacred all the
+men and boys, and carried off the women as slaves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with
+comparatively fair complexions, and often with straight
+features, suggesting a mixture of Mongolian with some
+more straight-featured race. Their appearance marks
+them as closely connected by race with the eastern Tibetans,
+the latter being, if anything, rather the bigger men
+of the two." [Footnote: "Yün-nan, the Link between India and the Yangtze," by
+Major H.R. Davies, 1909, p. 389.] They are great wanderers and over a very
+large part of Yün-nan form the bulk of the hill population,
+being the most numerous of all the non-Chinese
+tribes in the province.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+
+Like almost every race which has been conquered by
+the Chinese or has come into continual contact with them
+for a few generations, the Lolos of Yün-nan, where they
+are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the Chinese.
+We found, as did Major Davies, that in some
+<a name="pg138" />
+instances they were giving up their language and beginning
+to talk Chinese even among themselves. The
+women already had begun to tie up their feet in the
+Chinese fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Those whom we employed were living entirely by
+hunting and, although we found them amiable enough,
+they were exceedingly independent. They preferred to
+hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased
+chance for game our high-power rifles gave them, and
+eventually left us while I was away on a short trip,
+even though we still owed them considerable money.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of
+Yün-nan. Major Davies has considered this question
+in his valuable book to which I have already referred,
+and I cannot do better than quote his remarks here.
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters
+in western China, form perhaps one of the most interesting
+features of travel in that country. It is safe to assert that in
+hardly any other part of the world is there such a large variety
+of languages and dialects, as are to be heard in the country
+which lies between Assam and the eastern border of Yün-nan
+and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of this
+region.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical
+characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges
+and the deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the
+differences in customs and language, and the innumerable
+tribal distinctions, which are so perplexing to the enquirer into
+Indo-Chinese ethnology.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A tribe has entered Yün-nan from their original Himalayan
+or Tibetan home, and after increasing in numbers have found
+the land they have settled on not equal to their wants. The natural
+result has been the emigration of part of the colony. The
+<a name="pg139" />
+emigrants, having surmounted pathless mountains and crossed
+unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts, have found a new
+place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to undertake
+such a journey again to revisit their old home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Being without a written character in which to preserve their
+traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside
+world, and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support
+themselves, the recollection of their connection with their
+original ancestors has died out. It is not then surprising that
+they should now consider themselves a totally distinct race from
+the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and the practice of slave
+raiding so common among the wilder members of the Indo-Chinese
+family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In
+fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated
+for hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands,
+of years, the languages of two distant tribes of the same family
+should bear to each other the marked general resemblance
+which is still to be found.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of
+good means of communication have also naturally militated
+against the formation of any large kingdoms with effective control
+over the mountainous districts. Directly we get to a flat
+country with good roads and navigable rivers, we find the
+tribal distinctions disappear, and the whole of the inhabitants
+are welded into a homogeneous people under a settled government,
+speaking one language.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the
+same everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will
+find one language spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition
+of the same length in the hilly country to the east or
+to the west of the Irrawaddy valley would bring him into contact
+with twenty mutually unintelligible tongues.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The same state of things applies to Siam and Tong-king--one
+nation speaking one language in the flat country and a
+Tower of Babel in the hills (<i>loc. cit.</i>, pp. 332-333).
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+<a name="pg140" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch17">CHAPTER XVII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>GORALS AND SEROWS</h3>
+
+<p>
+Gorals and serows belong to the subfamily <i>Rupicaprinae</i>
+which is an early mountain-living offshoot of the
+<i>Bovidae</i>; it also includes the chamois, takin, and the
+so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America. The animals
+are commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in
+order to express the intermediate position which they
+apparently hold between the goats and antelopes. They
+are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine antelopes
+from the scientific name of the chamois (<i>Rupicapra</i>).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The horns of all members of the group are finely
+ridged, subcylindrical and are present in both sexes,
+being almost as long in the female as in the male. Although
+no one would suspect that the gorals are more
+closely related to the takins than to the serows, which
+they resemble superficially, such seems to be the case,
+but the cranial differences between the two genera are
+to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of the small
+Japanese serow (<i>Capricornulus crispus</i>). This species
+is most interesting because of its intermediate position.
+In size it is larger than a goral but smaller than a serow;
+its long coat and its horns resemble those of a goral but
+it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. It is
+found in Japan, Manchuria and southern Siberia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The principal external difference between the gorals
+and serows, besides that of size, is in the fact that the
+serows have a short tail and a well developed face gland,
+<a name="pg141" />
+which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice, while
+the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are
+similar to some of the antelopes but in their clumsy
+build, heavy limbs and stout hoofs as well as in habits
+they resemble goats. The serow has a long, melancholy-looking
+face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese
+in Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey"
+but in Yün-nan it is called "wild cow."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The specific relationships of the serows are by no
+means satisfactorily determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent
+of the London Zoölogical Society's Gardens,
+has recently devoted considerable study to the serows
+of British India and considers them all to be races of
+the single species <i>Capricornis sumatrensis</i>. With this
+opinion I am inclined to agree, although I have not yet
+had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject
+in the light of our new material.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration,
+and fall into three groups all of which partake
+more or less of the characters of each other. Chinese
+serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in
+Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern
+Burma and Malayan forms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain
+can probably be referred to <i>Capricornis sumatrensis
+milne-edwardsi</i>, those of Fukien obtained by Mr.
+Caldwell represent the white-maned serow <i>Capricornis
+sumatrensis argyrochaetes</i> and one which I shot in May,
+1917, near Teng-yueh, not far from the Burma frontier,
+is apparently an undescribed form.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable
+individual variation exists in the color of the
+<a name="pg142" />
+legs of these animals; this character was considered to
+be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree,
+but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed
+to be.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain
+have the lower legs rusty red, while in two others these
+parts are buff colored. The animals, all males of
+nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain,
+and virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no
+important differences and there is no reason to believe
+that they represent anything but an extreme individual
+variation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping
+are even more surprising. The old female is coal
+black, but the young male is distinctly brownish-black
+with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along
+the mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a
+ridge. The horns of the female are nearly parallel for
+half their extent and approach each other at the tips;
+their surfaces are remarkably smooth. The horns of the
+young male diverge like a V from the skull and are very
+heavily ridged. The latter character is undoubtedly due
+to youth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These serows are an excellent example of the necessity
+for collecting a large number of specimens from
+the same locality. Only by this means is it possible to
+learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual
+variation and what are its really important characters.
+In the case of the gorals, our Expedition obtained
+at Hui-yao such a splendid series of all ages
+that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent
+study. Serows are entirely Asian and found in China,
+Japan, India, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg143" />
+<p>
+On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly
+at altitudes of from 9,000 to 13,000 feet in dense spruce
+forests, among the cliffs. The animals seemed to be
+fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were
+constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive
+use. Apparently serows seldom come out into
+the open, but feed on leaves and grass while in the
+thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill
+them without the aid of dogs or beaters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or
+four miles, and eventually lose them or it may turn at
+bay and fight the pack after only a short chase; a large
+serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds if
+in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back.
+The animal can use its strong curved horns with deadly
+effect for it is remarkably agile for a beast of its size.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high
+mountain clothed with a dense jungle of dwarf bamboo.
+It was in quite different country from that which the
+animals inhabit in Yün-nan for although the cover was
+exceedingly thick it was without such high cliffs and
+there were extensive grassy meadows. We did not see
+any serows in Fukien because of the ignorance of our
+beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks.
+The natives said that in late September the animals
+could often be found in the forests of the lower mountain
+slopes when they came to browse upon the new
+grown mushrooms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin
+of a splendid female serow and a short time later obtained
+a young male. The latter was seen swimming
+across the river just below the city wall and was caught
+alive by the natives. The female weighed three hundred
+<a name="pg144" />
+and ten pounds and the male two hundred and
+ninety pounds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather
+dangerous pets unless tamed when very young. We
+are reproducing a photograph taken and kindly loaned
+by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the
+Berlin Zoölogical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zoölogical
+Park at Calcutta and one from Darjeeling is
+owned by the London Zoölogical Society.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the
+chamois. The species which we killed on the Snow
+Mountain can probably be referred to <i>Naemorhedus griseus</i>,
+but I have not yet had an opportunity to study our
+specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals
+have blackish brown tails which from the roots to the
+end of the hairs measure about 10 inches in length. The
+horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal
+half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The
+male horns are strongly recurved and are thick and
+round at the base but narrow rapidly to the tips; the
+female horns are straighter and more slender. The
+longest horns in the series which we received measured
+six inches in length and three and three-quarters inches
+in circumference at the base. Like the serows, gorals
+are confined to Asia and are found in northern India,
+Burma, and China, and northwards through Korea and
+southern Manchuria.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain
+for in this particular region they could be killed in no
+other way. There was so much cover, even at altitudes
+of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so
+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still
+hunting" and never see a goral. They are vicious fighters,
+<a name="pg145" />
+and often back up to a cliff where they can keep
+the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds while
+hunting alone, brought a goral to bay and was found
+dead next day by the hunters with its side ripped open.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly
+but at Hui-yao, not far from the Burma frontier, where
+we hunted another species in the spring, they were
+almost universally in herds of from six to seven or
+eight. It was at the latter place that we had our best
+opportunity to observe gorals and learn something of
+their habits. We were camping on the banks of a
+branch of the Shwelie River, which had cut a narrow
+gorge for itself; on one side this was seven or eight hundred
+feet deep. A herd of about fifty gorals had been
+living for many years on one of the mountain sides not
+far from the village, and although they were seen constantly
+the natives had no weapons with which to kill
+them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to
+shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred
+to four hundred yards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We could scan every inch of the hillside through our
+field glasses and watch the gorals as they moved about
+quite unconscious of our presence. At this place they
+were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low
+bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where
+the slopes had been partly burned over. We found them
+browsing from daylight until about nine o'clock, and
+from four in the afternoon until dark. They would
+move slowly among the bushes, picking off the new
+leaves, and usually about the middle of the morning
+would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon
+the rocks, and go to sleep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides,
+<a name="pg146" />
+as do many hoofed animals, but doubled their forelegs
+under them, stretched their necks and hind legs straight
+out, and rested on their bellies. It was a most uncomfortable
+looking attitude, and the first time I saw an
+animal resting thus I thought it had been wounded, but
+both Mr. Heller and myself saw them repeatedly at
+other times, and realized that this was their natural position
+when asleep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or
+goats, they would run a short distance and stop to look
+back. This was usually their undoing, for they offered
+excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the
+sky. They were very difficult to see when lying down
+among the rocks, but our native hunters, who had most
+extraordinary eyesight, often would discover them when
+it was almost impossible for me to find them even with
+the field glasses. We never could be sure that there
+were no gorals on a mountainside, for they were adepts
+at hiding, and made use of a bunch of grass or the smallest
+crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it
+so completely that they seemed to have vanished from
+the earth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where
+it seemed impossible for any animal to move. I have
+seen a goral run down the face of a cliff which appeared
+to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared
+not venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock
+it would bounce off as though made of rubber, and leap
+eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which did not seem
+large enough to support a rabbit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is
+largely due to the animal's foot structure. Professor
+Henry Fairfield Osborn has investigated this matter in
+<a name="pg147" />
+the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost
+equally well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote
+them here:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme
+front. Behind this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which
+gives the horny hoof a chance to get its hold. Both the main
+digits and the dewclaws terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded
+and expanded soles, which are of great service in securing a
+firm footing on the shelving rocks and narrow ledges on which
+the animal travels with such ease. This sole, Smith states,
+softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is leaving the
+ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place. The
+rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by
+no means useless; they project back below the horny part of
+the hoof, and Mr. Smith has actually observed the young captive
+goats supporting themselves solely on their dewclaws on
+the edge of a roof. It is probable that they are similarly used
+on the rocks and precipices, since on a very narrow ledge they
+would serve favorably to alter the center of gravity by enabling
+the limb to be extended somewhat farther forward.<sup>*</sup>
+</p>
+<blockquote class="foornote"><p><sup>*</sup>"Mountain Goat Hunting
+with the Camera," by Henry Fairfield
+Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth <i>Annual Report of the New
+York Zoölogical Society</i>, 1906, pp. 13-14.</p></blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes
+at Hui-yao which the gorals must have used continually,
+judging by the way in which these were worn. We also
+found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on
+projecting ledges to indicate that these were definite
+resorts for numbers of the animals. Many which we
+saw were young or of varying ages running with the
+herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they
+had mastered the art of self-concealment even when
+hardly a year old. Although at Hui-yao almost all
+<a name="pg148" />
+were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to
+be especially averse to water, and several times I
+watched wounded animals swim across the stream.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little
+brutes inspire the sportsman with admiration, besides
+leading him over peaks which try his nerve to the
+utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my
+life the wonderful hunts in Yün-nan, far above the
+clouds, at the edge of the snow.
+</p>
+<a name="pg149" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch18">CHAPTER XVIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE "WHITE WATER"</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+October had slipped into November when we left
+the temple and shifted camp to the other side of the
+Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It was a brilliant
+day and the ride up the valley could not have been
+more beautiful. Crossing the <i>gangheisa</i> or "dry sea,"
+a great grassy plain which was evidently a dry lake
+basin, we followed the trail into the forest and down
+the side of a deep cañon to a mountain stream where
+the waters spread themselves in a thin, green veil over
+a bed of white stones.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the
+stream at the edge of the spruce forest. Above us towered
+the highest peak of the mountain, with a glacier
+nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered
+slopes extending in a glorious shining crescent about
+our camp. The moon was full, and each night as we
+sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned
+crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to
+purest silver at the touch of the white moonlight. We
+have had many camps in many lands but none more
+beautiful than the one at the "White Water."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone
+in a cloudless blue sky and in the morning the ground
+was frozen hard and covered with snowlike frost, but
+<a name="pg150" />
+the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that we
+could be happy at the "White Water" forever, but it
+did not prove to be as good a hunting ground as that
+on the other side of the mountain. The Lolos killed
+a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in
+a young goral a short time later, but big game was by
+no means abundant. At the "White Water" we obtained
+our first Lady Amherst's pheasant (<i>Thaumalea
+amherstiae</i>) one of the most remarkable species of a
+family containing the most beautiful birds of the world.
+The rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are
+made more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff
+about the neck. The first birds brought alive to England
+were two males which had been presented to the
+Countess Amherst after whom the species was named.
+We found this pheasant inhabiting thick forests where
+it is by no means easy to discover or shoot. It is fairly
+abundant in Yün-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan
+but its habits are not well known. Although the camp
+yielded several small mammals new to our collection,
+we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a new caravan
+for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller
+remained in camp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter
+than by way of the Snow Mountain village and at three
+o'clock in the afternoon our beloved "Temple of the
+Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city.
+As we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque
+gathering on the porch and heard the sound of many
+voices laughing and talking. The beautiful garden-like
+courtyard was filled with women and children of every
+age and description, and all the doors from one side
+of the temple had been removed, leaving a large open
+<a name="pg151" />
+space where huge caldrons were boiling and steaming.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the
+young priest was delighted to see us and insisted that
+we wait until Wu arrived. We were glad that we did
+not seek other quarters for we were to witness an
+interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of
+Chinese life. It seemed that about five years before
+a gentleman of Li-chiang had "shuffled off this mortal
+coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his mortal
+coil" certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited
+a few hundred dollars several years later and
+the village "astrologer" informed them that according
+to the <i>feng-shui</i>, or omnipotent spirits of the earth,
+wind, and water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's
+grave was ill-chosen and that if they ever hoped
+to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up,
+give the customary feast in his honor and have another
+burial site chosen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every village has a "wise man" who is always called
+upon to select the resting place of the dead, his remuneration
+varying from two dollars to two thousand
+dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's
+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether
+or not the spot will prove a propitious one and if the
+family later sell any property, receive a legacy, or are
+known to have obtained money in other ways, the astrologer
+usually finds that the <i>feng-shui</i> do not favor
+the original place and he will exact another fee for
+choosing a second grave.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dead are never buried until the astrologer has
+named an auspicious day as well as an appropriate site,
+with the result that unburied coffins are to be seen
+<a name="pg152" />
+in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in
+the back yards of many houses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Any interference by foreigners with this custom is
+liable to bring about dire results as in the case of the
+rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A number of French residents
+objected to a temple near by being used to store
+a score or more of bodies until a convenient time for
+burial and the result was the death of many people in
+the fighting which ensued. Mr. Tyler Dennet cites an
+amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling
+of the problem by a native mandarin in Yen-ping where
+we visited Mr. Caldwell:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was
+the presence of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate
+had a census taken of the coffins above ground in the city and
+found that they actually numbered sixteen thousand. The city
+itself is estimated to have only about twenty
+thousand inhabitants.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily
+move in such a way as to bring the whole city down about his
+head. But the Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps
+the cleverest people on earth. He finally devised a way out. A
+proclamation was issued levying a tax of fifty cents on every
+unburied coffin. The Chinese may be superstitious, but they
+are even more thrifty. For a few weeks Yen-ping devoted itself
+to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little city,
+one of the most isolated in China, can truly be said to be on
+the road to health.<sup>*</sup>
+</p>
+<blockquote class="note"><p><sup>*</sup>"Doctoring China," by
+Tyler Dennet, <i>Asia</i>, February, 1918, p. 114.</p></blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+There are very few such progressive cities in China,
+however, and a missionary told us that recently a young
+child and his grandfather were buried on the same day
+<a name="pg153" />
+although their deaths had been nearly fifty years apart.
+The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but
+it is the great ambition of every Chinese to have his
+resting place as near as possible to those of his ancestors.
+That is one of the reasons why they are so loath to
+emigrate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under
+the load of a heavy coffin, transporting a body sometimes
+a month's journey or more to bury it at the dead
+man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be fastened
+to the coffin for, according to the Yün-nan superstition,
+the spirit of the man enters the bird and is conveyed
+by it to his home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is a strange absence of the fear of death among
+the Chinese. One often sees large planks of wood stored
+in a corner of a house and one is told that these are
+destined to become the coffins of the man's father or
+mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying
+the most robust health. Indeed, among the
+poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most fitting gift
+for a son to present to his father.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We established our camp on the porch of the temple
+at Li-chiang and from its vantage point could watch
+the festivities going on about us. The feasting continued
+until after dark and at daylight the kettles were
+again steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour
+later there came a partial stillness which was broken by
+a sudden burst of music (?) from Chinese violins and
+pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests
+standing about an improvised altar. The foot of the
+coffin was just visible in the midst of the paper decorations
+<a name="pg154" />
+and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes
+of tempting food. These were meant as an offering
+to the spirit of the departed one, but we knew this would
+not prevent the sorrowing relatives from eating the food
+with much relish later on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting
+a figure clothed in white with a hood drawn
+over her face. She was bent nearly to the ground and
+muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her
+veil as she prostrated herself in front of the altar. For
+more than an hour this chief mourner, the wife of the
+deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure shaking
+with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. This
+same lady, however, moved about later among her guests
+an amiable hostess, with beaming countenance, the gayest
+of the gay. But every morning while the festivities
+lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate
+herself before the coffin and display heartrending grief
+in the presence of the unmoved spectators in order to
+satisfy the demands of "custom."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities
+with the Chinese, and such a display of feigned emotion
+is required on certain prescribed occasions. As one
+missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all face
+and no heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night
+while passing down a deserted street in a Chinese village
+he was startled to hear the most piercing shrieks
+issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone was
+being murdered, he rushed through the courtyard only
+to find that a girl who was to be married the following
+day, according to Chinese custom, was displaying the
+most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her
+<a name="pg155" />
+family, even though she probably was enchanted with
+the idea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the third day of the celebration in the temple at
+Li-chiang the feasting ended in a burst of splendor.
+From one o'clock until far past sundown the friends
+and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any person
+could receive an invitation by bringing a small present,
+even if it were only a bowl of rice or a few hundred cash
+(ten or fifteen cents).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All during the morning girls and women flocked up
+the hill with trays of gifts. There were many Mosos
+and other tribesmen among them as well as Chinese.
+The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the
+sides and hanging in long narrow plaits down their
+backs. They wore white leather capes (at least that was
+the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver and
+coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay
+with glowing red cheeks and laughing eyes they were
+decidedly attractive. The guests were seated in groups
+of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. Small
+boys acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of
+vegetables and huge straw platters heaped high with rice.
+As soon as each guest had stuffed himself to satisfaction
+he relinquished his place to someone else and the
+food was passed again. We were frequently pressed
+to eat with them and in the evening when the last guest
+had departed the "chief mourner" brought us some delicious
+fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that
+they had fed three hundred people during the day and
+we could well believe it. The next morning the coffin
+was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of anguished
+wails and we were left once more to the peace
+and quiet of our beautiful temple courtyard.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg156" />
+<p>
+Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for
+generations to come to provide a suitable funeral for
+one of its members, because to bury the dead without
+the proper display would not only be to "lose face"
+but subject them to the possible persecution of the angered
+spirits. This is only one of the pernicious results
+of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that most
+of the evils in China's social order today can be traced,
+directly or indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants
+to worship at his grave and appease his spirit. The
+more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who walk in
+his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. As
+a missionary humorously says "the only law of God
+that ever has been obeyed in China is to be fruitful and
+multiply." Craving for progeny has brought into existence
+thousands upon thousands of human beings who
+exist on the very brink of starvation. Nowhere in the
+civilized world is there a more sordid and desperate
+struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty.
+But fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind
+breeding. The apparent atrophy of the entire race is
+due to ancestor worship which binds it with chains of
+iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these bonds
+are severed can China expect to take her place among
+the progressive nations of the earth.
+</p>
+<a name="pg157" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch19">CHAPTER XIX</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE</h3>
+
+<p>
+In mid-November we left the White Water with a
+caravan of twenty-six mules and horses. Following the
+road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze, we crossed the
+"Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several
+tremendous wooded ridges, each higher than the
+last, to the summit of the divide.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine
+and spruce forest. Some of the trees were at least one
+hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped with
+beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from
+branch to branch and hung suspended in delicate
+streamers yards in length. The forest was choked with
+underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and
+the hundreds of fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss,
+made ideal conditions for small mammal collecting.
+However, as all the species would probably be similar
+to those we had obtained on the Snow Mountain, we
+did not feel that it was worth while stopping to trap.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a
+beautiful hill in a pine forest which was absolutely
+devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was thinly
+overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso
+hunter, who acted as our guide, assured us that the river
+was only three miles away, it proved to be more than
+fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half past
+one the next afternoon.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg158" />
+<p>
+We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in
+China is, by the inaccuracy of the natives, and especially
+of the Chinese. Their ideas of distance are most
+extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it
+is to a certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen
+<i>li</i> to go, but thirty <i>li</i> when you come back." After a
+short experience one learns how to interpret such an
+answer, for it means that when going the road is down
+hill and that the return uphill will require double the
+time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Caravans are supposed to travel ten <i>li</i> an hour, although
+they seldom do more than eight, and all calculations
+of distance are based upon time so far as the
+<i>mafus</i> are concerned. If the day's march is eight hours
+you invariably will be informed that the distance is
+eighty <i>li</i>, although in reality it may not be half as
+great.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith
+gives many illuminating observations on the inaccuracy
+of the Chinese. In regard to distance he says:
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the
+distance is given in "miles" (<i>li</i>), whether the "miles" are
+"large" or not! That there is <i>some</i> basis for estimates of distances
+we do not deny, but what we do deny is that these estimates
+or measurements are either accurate or uniform.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment
+one leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become
+"long." If 120 <i>li</i> constitute a fair day's journey on the main
+road, then on country roads it will take fully as long to go 100
+<i>li</i>, and in the mountains the whole day will be spent in getting
+over 80 <i>li</i> (p. 51).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of
+his oxen gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains
+<a name="pg159" />
+that he has omitted to estimate the bones! A servant
+who was asked his height mentioned a measure which was
+ridiculously inadequate to cover his length, and upon being
+questioned admitted that he had left out of account all above his
+shoulders! He had once been a soldier, where the height of the
+men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of burdens.
+And since a Chinese soldier is to all practical purposes
+complete without his head, this was omitted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who
+affirmed that he lived "ninety <i>li</i> from the city," but upon cross-examination
+he consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning
+both to the city and back, the real distance being as he admitted,
+only "forty-five <i>li</i> one way!" (p. 49) ...
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads
+to much vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few
+tens," or perhaps "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate
+enumeration is one of the rarest of experiences in China....
+An acquaintance told the writer that two men had spent "200
+strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition, adding a moment
+later, "It was 173 strings, but that is the same as 200--is it
+not?" (p. 54).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that
+he himself "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious
+from his narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city.
+Upon inquiry, he admitted that he did not <i>now</i> live in the village,
+and further investigation revealed the fact that the removal
+took place nineteen generations ago! "But do you not
+almost consider yourself a resident of the city now?" he was
+asked. "Yes," he replied simply, "we do live there now, but
+the old root is in that village."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+...The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a
+line of assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed,
+and they can ill comprehend the mania which seems to
+possess the Occidental to ascertain everything with unerring
+exactness. The Chinese does not know how many families there
+<a name="pg160" />
+are in his native village, and he does not wish to know. What
+any human being can want to know this number for is to him
+an insoluble riddle. It is "a few hundred," "several hundreds,"
+or "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was
+and never will be. (p. 55.)
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+After breaking camp on the day following our departure
+from the "White Water" we rode along a
+broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in the
+late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one
+of the most impressive sights which China has to offer.
+At the left, and a thousand feet below, the mighty
+Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge
+almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been
+carved out of the solid rock, sharp and clean, with a
+giant's knife. A few miles to the right the mountains
+widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the
+river. Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys
+which stretch upward between the hills, is under
+cultivation, giving support for three villages, the largest
+of which is Taku.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for
+miles where the river can be crossed. The south bank
+is so precipitous that the trail from the plain twists and
+turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow
+sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river
+is a vertical wall of rock which slopes back a little at
+the lower end to form a steep hillside covered with short
+grass. The landing place is a mass of jagged rocks
+fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the
+face of the cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by
+any loaded animal; therefore all the packs must be unstrapped
+and laboriously carted up the slope on the
+backs of the <i>mafus</i>.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg161" />
+<p>
+At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the
+boat, which carried only two animals and their packs,
+for the first trip across the river. It was difficult to
+get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved
+and actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the
+ferrymen first drew the craft along the rocks by a long
+rope, then climbed up the face of what appeared to be
+an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close
+beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the dory was
+worked well up stream and when pushed into the swift
+current was rowed diagonally to the other side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen
+decided to stop work although there was yet more than
+an hour of daylight and they could not be persuaded to
+cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an
+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do
+but camp where we were even though the greater part
+of our baggage was on the other side, with only the
+<i>mafus</i> to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a
+sandy cornfield on a level shelf just above the water,
+and pitched our tents. A slight wind was blowing and
+before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds,
+sand in our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller
+went down the river with a bag of traps while we set
+forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of
+goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of
+the day, we crawled into our sandy beds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported
+that the loads were safe but that one of the boatmen
+had gone to the village and no one knew when he would
+return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as
+breakfast was over and spent an aggravating hour trying
+<a name="pg162" />
+by alternate threats and cajoling to persuade the
+remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. But it
+was useless, for the louder I swore the more frightened
+he became and he finally retired into a rock cave from
+which the <i>mafus</i> had to drag him out bodily and drive
+him into the boat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten
+o'clock and we felt like beating them both, but Wu
+impressed upon us the necessity for patience if we ever
+expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed
+our wrath; nevertheless, we decided not to leave until
+the loads and mules were on the other side, and we ate
+a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty
+small mammals (one of which was a new rat) that our
+traps had yielded. We took a good many photographs
+and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of
+the <i>mafus</i> to get the mules aboard. Some of them went
+in quietly enough but others absolutely refused to step
+into the boat. One of the <i>mafus</i> would pull, another
+push, a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its
+feet singly over the side. With the accompaniment of
+yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the performance was
+picturesque to say the least.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken
+across the racing green water and we had some time
+before dark in which to investigate the caverns with
+which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. They
+were of two kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves.
+The latter consist of a long central shaft, just high
+enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens into
+a circular room. Along the sides of the corridor shallow
+nests have been scooped out to serve as beds and all
+<a name="pg163" />
+the cooking is done not far from the door. The caves,
+although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living
+quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling
+as the ordinary native house. The mines are straight
+shafts dug into the cliffs where the rock is quarried
+and crushed by hand.
+</p>
+<a name="pg164" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch20">CHAPTER XX</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY</h3>
+
+<p>
+We left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail
+through an open pine and spruce forest along the rim
+of the Yangtze gorge where the view was magnificent.
+Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand
+Cañon for the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and
+then immediately begins to describe it. Thus it was
+with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of this
+titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in
+delicate tints of blue and purple; in others, the sides
+fell away in sheer drops of hundreds of feet to the
+green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand
+five hundred miles away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all
+day and we were left far behind, for at each turn a
+view more beautiful than the last opened out before
+us, and until every color plate and negative in the
+holders had been exposed we worked steadily with the
+camera.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped
+region which Baron Haendel-Mazzetti had
+skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and probably
+rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost
+bare mountain-sides we passed through a parklike
+spruce forest and reached Habala, a long thin village
+of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides of
+a narrow valley.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg165" />
+<p>
+Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after
+ridge of dense spruce forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned
+peak and cut by deep ravines, the gloomy
+depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky
+cliffs--a veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our
+camping place was a grassy lawn as flat and smooth as
+the putting green of a golf course. Just below the
+tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably
+to itself and a huge dead tree was lying crushed
+and broken for the camp fire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in
+half an hour and, after setting a line of traps, we wandered
+slowly back through the darkness guided by the
+brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow
+glow over our little table spread for dinner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and
+after dinner four or five picturesque Mosos appeared.
+They said that there were many serow, goral, muntjac
+and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and
+we could well believe it, for there was never a more
+"likely looking" spot. Although the men did not claim
+to be professional hunters, nevertheless they said that
+they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and
+other animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about
+two hours late, which was doing fairly well for natives.
+It was a brilliant day just warm enough for comfort
+in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However
+it did not take many hours to demonstrate that
+the men knew almost nothing about hunting and that
+their dogs were useless. Because of the dense cover
+"still hunting" was out of the question and, after a
+hard climb, we returned to camp to spend the remainder
+<a name="pg166" />
+of the afternoon developing photographs and preparing
+small mammals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver
+mole as well as a number of mice, rats, and meadow
+voles of species identical with those taken on the Snow
+Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze
+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution
+of even the smallest forms and that the region
+in which we were now working would not produce a
+different fauna. This was an important discovery from
+the standpoint of our distribution records but was also
+somewhat disappointing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The photographic work already had yielded excellent
+results. The Paget color plates were especially
+beautiful and the fact that everything was developed
+in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality
+of each negative.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For this work the portable dark room was invaluable.
+It could be quickly erected and suspended from
+a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and offered an
+absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates.
+The moving-picture film required special treatment because
+of its size and we usually fastened in the servants'
+tent the red lining which had been made for this
+purpose in New York. Even then the space was so
+cramped that we were dead tired at the end of a few
+hours' work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and
+sees moving-picture film which has been obtained in
+such remote parts of the world does not realize the
+difficulties in its preparation. The water for developing
+almost invariably was dirty and in order to insure
+even a moderately clear film it always had to be strained.
+<a name="pg167" />
+For washing the negative pailful after pailful had to
+be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the
+film exposed for hours to the carelessness or curiosity
+of the natives. In our cramped quarters perhaps a corner
+of the tent would be pushed open admitting a
+stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to
+work, leaving us in complete darkness to finish the developing
+"by guess and by gosh," or any number of
+other accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we
+could not develop more than three hundred feet in an
+afternoon and we never breathed freely until it finally
+was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left Habala, on November 23, for a village called
+Phete where the natives had assured us we would find
+good hunters with dogs. For almost the entire distance
+the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and
+there the view of the great chasm was even more magnificent
+than that we had left. While its sides are not
+fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer than
+those of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado, nevertheless
+its grandeur is hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring.
+If Yün-nan is ever made accessible by railroads this
+gorge should become a Mecca for tourists, for it is
+without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights
+in the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three
+clusters of houses on a tableland which juts into a chasm
+cut by a tributary of the great river. One of them was
+Phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in
+half an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously
+around the hillside, down to the stream and up again
+that it was an hour and a half before we found a camping
+<a name="pg168" />
+place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the
+nearest houses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Next day we could not go to the village to find
+hunters until mid-forenoon because the natives of this
+region are very late risers and often have not yet opened
+their doors at ten o'clock. This is quite contrary to the
+custom in many other parts of China where the inhabitants
+are about their work in the first light of dawn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and
+every available inch of level ground is under cultivation
+with corn and a few rice paddys near the creek; the
+latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected
+to find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly
+picturesque but never have we met people of such
+utter and hopeless stupidity as its inhabitants. They
+were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a
+smile and salutation, but their brains seemed not to
+have kept pace with their bodies and when asked the
+simplest question they would only stare stupidly without
+the slightest glimmering of intelligence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more
+people to glean that there were no hunters in the village
+where they had lived all their lives, but Wu, our
+interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who told us of
+a hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the
+answer was "Not very far."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Well, is it ten <i>li</i>?"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I don't know how many <i>li</i>."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Have you ever been there?"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Yes; it is only a few steps."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"How long will it take to get there?"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"About the time of one meal."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience
+<a name="pg169" />
+with native ideas of distance, and we ate our tiffin
+before starting out on the "few steps." A steep trail
+led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding
+we reached the hunter's village of three large houses on
+a flat strip of cleared ground in the midst of a dense
+forest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The people looked much like those of Phete but were
+rather anemic specimens, and five out of eight had enormous
+goiters. They were exceedingly shy at first,
+watching us with side glances and through cracks in the
+wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons
+they had ever seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness
+was due to too close intermarriage, for these
+families had little intercourse with the people in Phete
+who were only "a few steps" away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we were leaving they began to eat their supper
+in the courtyard. The principal dish consisted of mixed
+cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and green vegetables.
+All the women were busy husking corn which was hung
+to dry on great racks about the house. These racks
+we had noticed in every village since leaving Li-chiang
+and they seemed to be in universal use in the north.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased
+one for $4.40 (Mexican) but there was considerable
+difficulty in paying for it since these people had never
+seen Chinese money even though living in China itself.
+For currency they used chunks of silver the size of a
+walnut and worth about one dollar (Mexican). The
+Chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the genuineness
+of our money and we purchased a few eggs
+and a little very delicious wild honey besides the sheep.
+These people as well as those of Phete spoke the Li-chiang
+dialect but with such variation that even our
+<a name="pg170" />
+<i>mafus</i> could understand them only with the greatest
+difficulty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we returned to camp we found that the coolie
+who had been engaged to carry the motion-picture camera
+and tripod had left without the formality of saying
+"good-by" or asking for the money which was due him.
+We had had considerable trouble with the camera
+coolies since leaving Li-chiang. The first one carried
+the camera to the Taku ferry with many groans, and
+there engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place, for
+he thought the load too heavy. It only weighed fifty
+pounds, and in the Fukien Province where men seldom
+carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much
+as one hundred and fifty, it would have been considered
+as only half a burden. In Yün-nan, however, animals
+do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at
+even an ordinary load.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left Phete in the early morning and camped
+about five hundred feet above the hunter's cabin in a
+beautiful little meadow. It was surrounded with splendid
+pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a
+knoll in the center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen
+little streams over the edge of a deep ravine where a
+mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo
+jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered inches
+deep with green moss, and altogether it was an ideal
+spot for small mammals. Our traps, however, yielded
+no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens
+every night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were a few families of Lolos about two miles
+away and these were engaged as hunters. They told
+us that serow and muntjac were abundant and that
+wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several
+<a name="pg171" />
+miles to the northward. Although the men had a large
+pack of good dogs they were such unsatisfactory hunters
+that we gave up in disgust after three days. They
+never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the
+morning when the sun had so dried the leaves that the
+scent was lost and the dogs could not follow a trail even
+if one were found. Moreover, the camp was a very uncomfortable
+one, due to the wind which roared through
+the trees night and day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us
+at the Taku ferry to see if he could get together a pack
+of dogs. He brought three hounds with him which he
+praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that
+they did not justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were
+glad to have Hotenfa back, for he was one of the most
+intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives
+whom we met in all Yün-nan. He was an uncouth savage
+when he first came to us, but in a very short time
+he had learned our camp ways and was as good a servant
+as any we had.
+</p>
+<a name="pg172" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch21">CHAPTER XXI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET</h3>
+
+<p>
+Since the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved
+so worthless and the traps had yielded no small mammals
+new to our collection, we decided to cross the
+mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into
+Tibet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The head <i>mafu</i> explored the trail and reported that
+it was impassable but, after an examination of some of
+the worst barriers, we decided that they could be cleared
+away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven
+in the morning.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before long we found that the <i>mafus</i> were right.
+The trail was a mass of tangled underbrush and fallen
+logs and led straight up a precipitous mountain through
+a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary
+to stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier
+or cut a passage through the bamboo thickets, and had
+it not been for the adjustable pack saddles we never
+could have taken the caravan over the trail.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals
+dragged themselves to the summit of the mountain, for
+it was not a pass. In a few hours we had come from
+autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and
+covered with snow. We were at an altitude of more
+than 15,000 feet and far above all timber except the
+rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low
+gray mass along the ridges. It was difficult to make
+<a name="pg173" />
+the slightest exertion in the thin air and a bitterly cold
+wind swept across the peaks so that it was impossible
+to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The servants and <i>mafus</i> suffered considerably but it
+was too late to go on and there was no alternative but
+to spend the night on the mountain. As soon as the
+tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the
+fire, but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller
+went in the opposite direction. We expected to catch
+some new mammals during the night, for there were
+great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. The
+ground was frozen so solidly that it was necessary to
+cut into the little <i>Microtus</i> tunnels with a hatchet in
+order to set the traps and we were almost frozen before
+the work was completed. The next morning we had
+caught twenty specimens of a new white-bellied meadow
+vole and a remarkable shrew with a long curved proboscis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it
+was bitterly cold even in our sleeping bags and the men
+had sat up about the fire in order to keep from freezing.
+There was little difficulty in getting the caravan started
+in the gray light of early dawn and after descending
+abruptly four thousand feet on a precipitous trail to a
+Lolo village strung out along a beautiful little valley
+we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natives here had never before seen a white person
+and in a few moments our tents were surrounded by
+a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. The chief
+of the village presented us with an enormous rooster
+and we made him happy by returning two tins of cigarettes.
+The Lolo women, the first we had seen, were
+especially surprising because of their graceful figures
+<a name="pg174" />
+and handsome faces. Their flat turbans, short jackets,
+and long skirts with huge flounces gave them a rather
+old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony with the
+metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they
+all wore.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque
+group in their gray and brown felt capes which
+they gather about the neck by a draw string and, to
+the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing.
+We collected all the men for their photographs, and
+although they had not the slightest idea what we were
+about they stood quietly after Hotenfa had assured
+them that the strange-looking instrument would not
+go off. But most interesting of all was their astonishment
+when half an hour later they saw the negative and
+were able to identify themselves upon it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race.
+They are exceedingly independent, and although along
+the frontier of their own territory in S'suchuan they
+wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly
+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless
+he is under the protection of a chief who acts as a
+sponsor and passes him along to others. Mr. Brooke,
+an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was not
+properly "chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the
+French expedition lived among them safely for some
+time and gives them unstinted praise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whenever we met tribesmen in Yün-nan who had
+not seen white persons they behaved much like all other
+natives. They were, of course, always greatly astonished
+to see our caravan descend upon them and were
+invariably fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact
+everything about us, but were generally shy and decidedly
+<a name="pg175" />
+less offensive in their curiosity than the Chinese
+of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by
+no means unknown. As a matter of fact we have found
+that our white skins, light eyes, and hair are a never
+failing source of interest and envy to almost all Orientals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially
+among the women, and as she wore knickerbockers and
+a flannel shirt there were times when the determination
+of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion.
+Her long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and
+when the women had decided the question of gender
+satisfactorily they often made timid, and most amusing,
+advances. One woman said she greatly admired her
+fair complexion and asked how many baths she took to
+keep her skin so white. Another wondered whether it
+was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost everyone
+wished to feel her clothes and shoes. She always
+could command more attention than anyone else by her
+camera operations, and a group would stand in speechless
+amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable
+dark room when she was developing photographs
+or loading plates.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We made arrangements to go with a number of the
+Lolos to a spot fifteen miles away on the Chung-tien
+road to hunt wapiti (probably <i>Cervus macneilli</i>) which
+the natives call <i>maloo</i>. Our American wapiti, or elk,
+is a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and
+is probably a relative of the wapiti which is found in
+Central Asia, China, Manchuria and Korea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At present these deer are abundant in but few places.
+Throughout the Orient, and especially in China, the
+growing horns when they are soft, or in the "velvet,"
+<a name="pg176" />
+are considered of great medicinal value and, during the
+summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly
+by the natives. In Yün-nan, when we were there,
+a pair of horns were worth $100 (Mexican).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with
+occasional flurries of haillike snow, but we did not heed
+the cold, for the trail led over two high ridges and along
+the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the white
+summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically
+above the surrounding peaks and, in the gray
+light, the colors were beautiful beyond description. To
+the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes
+interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid
+wapiti country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the
+Chung-tien road just within the edge of a stately, moss-draped
+forest. That night we celebrated with harmless
+bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded
+as they filled with steam and echoed among the
+trees like pistol shots. Marco Polo speaks of the same
+phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region over
+six hundred and thirty years ago.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps
+with a lantern and besides several mice (<i>Apodemus</i>)
+found two rare shrews and a new mole (<i>Blarina</i>). I
+went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except
+an old wapiti track and a little sign. All during
+the following day a dense fog hung close to the ground
+so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the night of
+December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began
+bright and clear but clouded about ten o'clock and became
+so bitterly cold that the Lolos would not hunt.
+They really suffered considerably and that night they
+<a name="pg177" />
+all left us to return to their homes. We were greatly
+disappointed, for we had brilliant prospects of good
+wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs and in
+an unknown country there was little possibility of successful
+still hunting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The <i>mafus</i> were very much worried and refused to go
+further north. They were certain that we would not be
+able to cross the high passes which lay between us and
+the Mekong valley far to the westward and complained
+unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food
+for their animals. It was necessary to visit the Mekong
+River, for even though it might not be a good big game
+region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the
+fauna and important data on the distribution of small
+mammals. Therefore we decided to leave for the long
+ride as soon as the weather permitted.
+</p>
+<a name="pg178" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch22">CHAPTER XXII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+The road near which we were camped was one of the
+great trade routes into Tibet and over it caravans were
+continually passing laden with tea or pork. Many of
+them had traveled the entire length of Yün-nan to
+S'su-mao on the Tonking frontier where a special kind
+of tea is grown, and were hurrying northward to cross
+the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to
+the "Forbidden Land."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to
+spend the night near our camp. As the horses came up,
+one by one the loads were lifted off, the animals turned
+loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and
+<i>tsamba</i> [Footnote: <i>Tsamba</i> is parched oats or barley, ground finely.]
+each man stretched out upon the ground
+without shelter of any kind and heedless of the freezing
+cold. It is truly the life of primitive man and has bred
+a hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander
+over the boundless steppes and demanding from the
+outside world only to be let alone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+
+They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in
+their swinging walk there is a care-free independence
+and an atmosphere of the bleak Tibetan steppes which
+are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a study
+for an artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat
+<a name="pg179" />
+like a Russian blouse thrown carelessly off one shoulder
+and tied about the waist, blue or red trousers, and high
+boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. A
+long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of
+glass or stones, is half concealed beneath his coat, and
+he is seldom without a gun or a murderous looking
+spear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket,
+he carries a remarkable assortment of things; a pipe,
+tobacco, tea, <i>tsamba</i>, cooking pots, a snuff box and,
+hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him
+from bullets or sickness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique
+and great strength, and are frequently more than six
+feet in height. They have brick-red complexions and
+some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine
+way. Their straight features suggest a strong mixture
+of other than Mongolian stock and they are the direct
+antithesis of the Chinese in every particular. Their
+strength and virility and the dashing swing of their
+walk are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving,
+effeminate Chinaman whom one sees being carried
+along the road sprawled in a mountain chair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the
+Tibetans were the most difficult. It was almost impossible
+to bribe them with money or tin cans to stand for
+a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera
+set up beside the trail they would make long detours to
+avoid passing in front of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by
+stealth and concealed ourselves behind bushes with the
+camera focused on a certain spot upon the road. The
+instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run like a
+<a name="pg180" />
+frightened deer and in some mysterious way they seemed
+to have passed the word along that our camp was a
+spot to be avoided. Sometimes a bottle was too great
+a temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly
+like a bird with wings half spread, only to dash
+away as though the devil were after him, when he saw
+my head disappear beneath the focusing hood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu and a <i>mafu</i> who could speak a little Tibetan
+finally captured one picturesque looking fellow. He
+carefully tucked the tin cans, given for advance payment,
+inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery
+allowed me to place him where I wished. But the instant
+the motion picture camera swung in his direction
+he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. Wu tried to
+hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved it
+wildly about his head and took to his heels, yelling at
+the top of his lungs. He was well-nigh frightened to
+death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in
+the road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails
+flapping like a sail in the wind.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture
+camera unawares. There were several women in the
+party and, as soon as the men realized that there was
+no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping
+her between him and the camera. They were taking no
+chances with their precious selves, for the women could
+be replaced easily enough if necessary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has
+the greatest possible suspicion and dislike for strangers.
+The Chinese he loathes and despises, and foreigners he
+knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and
+punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial
+peace. He is confirmed in his attitude by the
+<a name="pg181" />
+Church which throughout Tibet has the monopoly of
+all the gold in the country. And the Church utterly
+declines to believe that any foreigner can come so far
+for any end less foolish than the discovery of gold and
+the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Major Davies, who saw much of the Yün-nan Tibetans,
+has remarked that it is curious how little impression
+the civilization and customs of the Chinese have
+produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal
+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power
+of absorbing other races, but with the Tibetans exactly
+the reverse takes place. The Chinese become Tibetanized
+and the children of a Chinaman married to a Tibetan
+woman are usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan
+from being absorbed is the cold, inhospitable nature of
+his country. There is little to tempt the Chinese to emigrate
+into Tibet and consequently they never are there
+in sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around
+them. A similar cause has preserved some of the low-lying
+Shan states from absorption, the heat in this case
+being the reason that the Chinese do not settle there.
+</p>
+<a name="pg182" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch23">CHAPTER XXIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER</h3>
+
+<p>
+During the night of December 4, there was a heavy
+fall of snow and in the morning we awoke to find ourselves
+in fairyland. We were living in a great white
+palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs.
+The long, delicate strands of gray moss which draped
+themselves from tree to tree and branch to branch were
+each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a
+filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace,
+for every vista through the forest seemed more
+lovely than the one before, but we knew that another
+fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from
+the Mekong valley. The <i>mafus</i> even refused to try the
+direct route across the mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted
+on going southward to the Shih-ku ferry and up
+the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a long trip and we looked forward with no
+pleasure to eight days of hard riding. The difficulty
+in obtaining hunters since leaving the Snow Mountain
+had made our big game collecting negligible although we
+had traveled through some excellent country. The
+Mekong valley might not be better but it was an unknown
+quantity and, whether or not it yielded specimens,
+the results from a survey of the mammal distribution
+would be none the less important, and we felt that
+<a name="pg183" />
+it must be done; otherwise we should have turned our
+backs on the north and returned to Ta-li Fu.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan
+after caravan of Tibetans with heavily loaded
+horses, all bound for that land of mystery beyond the
+snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of
+the red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for
+a color photograph, but usually they only shook their
+heads stubbornly and hurried past with averted faces.
+We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were
+walking together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow
+and by giving each of them a glass jam tumbler
+they halted a moment. As soon as the photograph had
+been taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us
+to produce one and was thoroughly disgusted when we
+showed him that it was impossible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river
+gorge at the upper end of which Chung-tien is located
+and left the forests when we emerged on the main road.
+From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a
+magnificent view down the cañon to the snow-capped
+mountains, which were beautiful beyond description in
+their changing colors of purple and gold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several
+hundred horses each bearing two whole pigs bent
+double and tied to the saddles. The animals had been
+denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would
+be distributed among the villages somewhere in the interior
+of Tibet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned
+peaks as sharp and regular as the teeth of a
+saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it
+spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into
+<a name="pg184" />
+the Yangtze. Here the mighty river, flowing proudly
+southward from its home in the wind-blown steppes of
+the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago found the
+great Snow Mountain range barring its path. Thrust
+aside, it doubled back upon itself along the barrier's
+base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the wall
+of rock. Far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's
+side again, broke through, and swung south
+gathering strength and volume from hundreds of tributaries
+as it rushed onward to the sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For two days we rode along the river bank and
+crossed at the Shih-ku ferry. There was none of the
+difficulty here which we had experienced at Taku, for
+the river is wide and the current slow. It required only
+two hours to transport our entire caravan while at the
+other ferry we had waited a day and a half. Strangely
+enough, although there are dozens of villages along the
+Yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no
+sign of fishing. Moreover, we passed but three boats
+and five or six rafts and it was evident that this great
+waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its
+mouth influences the trade of China so profoundly, is
+here used but little by the natives.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the ride down the river we had good sport with
+the huge cranes (probably <i>Grus nigricollis</i>) which, in
+small flocks, were feeding along the river fields. The
+birds stood about five feet high and we could see their
+great black and white bodies and black necks farther
+than a man was visible. It was fairly easy to stalk them
+to within a hundred yards, but even at that distance they
+offered a rather small target, for they were so largely
+wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were never within shotgun
+range and indeed it would be difficult to kill the
+<a name="pg185" />
+birds with anything smaller than BB or buckshot unless
+they were very near.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage
+rifle. He stole upon five which were feeding in a meadow
+and fired while two were "lined up." One of the huge
+birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments
+and lay still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and
+started off at full speed across the fields. Two <i>mafus</i>
+left the caravan, yelling with excitement, and ran for
+nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. Then
+they were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long
+beak which is a really formidable weapon. As food the
+cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed with chestnut
+dressing and roasted. Each one provided two meals
+for three of us with enough left over for hash and our
+appetites were by no means birdlike.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are
+not often successful, for the birds are very watchful and
+will not allow a man within a hundred yards. Such a
+distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well
+be a hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we
+were able to shoot as many as were needed for food.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The birds almost invariably followed the river when
+flying and fed in the rice, barley, and corn fields not far
+from the water. It was an inspiring sight to see a flock
+of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground
+and then launch themselves into the air, their black and
+white wings flashing in the sunlight. They formed into
+orderly ranks like a company of soldiers or strung out
+in a long thin line across the sky.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable
+feeding grounds they would sometimes whirl and circle
+above the fields, ascending higher and higher in great
+<a name="pg186" />
+spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices
+coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of
+happy children.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January,
+cranes were very abundant in the fields about the lake.
+They had arrived in late October and would depart in
+early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often saw
+the birds on sand banks along the Yangtze, but they
+were usually resting or quietly walking about and were
+not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley, corn,
+or other grain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This species was discovered by the great traveler and
+naturalist, Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found
+it in the Koko-nor region of Tibet, and it was later recorded
+by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Tsang in the
+Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Yün-nan
+have not been preserved in museums and the bird
+was not known to occur in this portion of China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a
+good many mallard ducks (<i>Anas boscas</i>) and ruddy
+sheldrakes (<i>Casarca casarca</i>); the latter are universally
+known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in Burma
+and Yün-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name
+is derived from the bird's beautiful buff and rufous color
+which is somewhat like that of the robes worn by the
+Brahmin priests. In America the name "sheldrake" is
+applied erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and
+much confusion has thus arisen, for the two are quite
+unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct groups. The
+mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks
+quite unlike those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are
+entirely dissimilar.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not
+<a name="pg187" />
+bad eating. We usually found them feeding in fields
+not far from the river or in flooded rice dykes, and very
+often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water.
+They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is
+peculiarly fascinating to me and, like the honk of the
+Canada goose, awakens memories of sodden, wind-blown
+marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot
+through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes,
+and we had good shooting along the river and
+in ponds and rice fields. We also saw a few teal but
+they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were
+scarce. We shot a few along the road and near some of
+our camps, but we found no place in Yün-nan where one
+could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of
+a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea
+where in a walk over the hillsides a dozen or more
+pheasants can be flushed within an hour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze
+we turned westward toward Wei-hsi and camped on a
+beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered stream. It
+was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke
+about the fire we all turned in.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam
+of angry exclamations and Chinese curses roused
+the whole camp. In a few moments Wu came to our
+tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered,
+"Damn fool soldiers come try to take our horses; say if
+<i>mafu</i> no give them horses they untie loads. Shall I tell
+<i>mafu</i> break their heads?" We did not entirely understand
+the situation but it seemed quite proper to give
+the <i>mafus</i> permission to do the head-breaking, and they
+<a name="pg188" />
+went at it with a will. After a volley of blows, there
+was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the
+soldiers retired considerably the worse for wear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the battle was over, Wu explained matters
+more fully. It appeared that a large detachment of
+soldiers had recently passed up this road to A-tun-tzu
+and four or five had remained behind to attend to the
+transport of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity
+for "graft" the soldiers were stopping every caravan
+which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless
+the <i>mafus</i> gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity.
+Our <i>mafus</i>, with the protection which foreigners gave
+them, had paid off a few old scores with interest. That
+they had neglected no part of the reckoning was quite
+evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to
+apologize for their "mistake." One of them had a black
+and swollen eye and the other was nursing a deep cut
+on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did
+not venture into camp until they had been assured
+that we would not again loose our terrible <i>mafus</i> upon
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such extortions are every day occurrences in many
+parts of China and it is little wonder that the military
+is cordially hated and feared by the peasants. The soldiers,
+taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the
+villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress.
+If a complaint is made a dozen soldiers stand
+ready to swear that the offense was justified or was
+never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he
+escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment.
+It is a disgrace to China that such conditions are
+allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped that ere many
+<a name="pg189" />
+years have passed the country will awake to a proper
+recognition of the rights of the individual. Until she
+does there never can be a national spirit of patriotism
+in China and without patriotism the Republic can be
+one in name only.
+</p>
+<a name="pg190" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch24">CHAPTER XXIV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY</h3>
+
+<p>
+On December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a
+twelve thousand foot pass in a beautiful snow-covered
+meadow, from which we could see the glistening peaks
+of the vast mountain range which forms the Mekong-Salween
+divide. In the afternoon we reached Wei-hsi
+and camped in a grove of splendid pine trees on a hill
+overlooking the city. The place was rather disappointing
+after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and it was
+difficult to buy rice even though the entire valley was
+devoted to paddy fields, but we did get quantities of
+delicious persimmons.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wu told us that seven different languages were
+spoken in the city, and we could well believe it, for we
+recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and Tibetans. This
+region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso
+tribe which appears not to extend across the Mekong
+River.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and
+proved to be one of the most courteous officials whom
+we met in Yün-nan. We were sorry to learn that he
+was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our
+visit. Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on
+salt and fifteen hundred rebelled, attacked the city, and
+captured it after a sharp fight. It was reported that
+they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and
+children, and boiled him alive in oil.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg191" />
+<p>
+Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every
+way we could obtain no information concerning either
+hunting grounds or routes of travel. The flying squirrels
+which we had hoped to find near the city were reported
+to come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong
+in Burma, and Wei-hsi was merely a center of distribution
+for the skins. Moreover, the natives said it
+would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of
+the year, for the mountain passes were so heavily covered
+with snow that neither men nor caravans could cross
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong
+River in order to determine whether there would be a
+change in fauna, and on Major Davies' map a small road
+was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of a day and
+a half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen
+and snow-covered, brought us in sight of the green waters
+of the Mekong which has carved a gorge for itself
+in an almost straight line from the bleak Tibetan
+plateaus through Yün-nan and Indo-China to the sea.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a
+deep valley, near a small village. Wu said that the natives
+were Lutzus and I was inclined to believe he was
+right, although Major Davies indicates this region to be
+inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in
+physical appearance and dress were quite distinct from
+the Lisos whom we met later.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the
+chief, accompanied by four venerable men, brought a
+present of rice. I gave him two tins of cigarettes and
+the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and
+quite unlike those of the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The
+<a name="pg192" />
+women wore a long coat or jacket of blue cloth, trousers,
+and a very full pleated skirt. The men were dressed in
+plum colored coats and trousers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The natives said that monkeys (probably <i>Pygathrix</i>)
+were often seen when the corn was ripe and that even yet
+they might be found in the forest across the river. Heller
+spent a day hunting them, but found none and we obtained
+only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny
+mouse (<i>Micromys</i>) but the remainder of the fauna was
+essentially the same as that of the Yangtze valley and the
+intervening country.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For three days we traveled down the Mekong River.
+Although the natives said that the trail was good, we discovered
+when it was too late that it was too narrow and
+difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as
+ours. It was necessary to continually remove the loads
+in order to lift them around sharp corners or over rocks,
+and the <i>mafus</i> sometimes had to cut away great sections
+of the bank. Usually only six or seven miles could be
+traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work,
+and we were glad when we could leave the river.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred
+yards wide in this region and, like the Yangtze, the
+water is very green from the Tibetan snows. The prevailing
+rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone,
+as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the
+valley are so precipitous that it seems impossible for a
+human being to walk over them, and yet they are patched
+with brown corn fields from the summit to the water.
+Considering the small area available for cultivation there
+are a considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered
+into villages and seldom live in isolated houses
+as in the Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream comes
+<a name="pg193" />
+down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating
+ditches, the ground is beautifully terraced for
+rice paddys, but in other places, corn and peas appear to
+be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such as turnips,
+squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is
+rather remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the
+country between the Mekong and the Yangtze rivers.
+In several places the water was spanned by rope bridges.
+The cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end
+must necessarily be higher than the other, there are always
+two ropes, one to cross each way. The traveler is
+tied by leather thongs in a sitting position to a wooden
+"runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and shoots
+across the river at tremendous speed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valley is hopeless from a zoölogical standpoint.
+It is too dry for small mammals and the mountain slopes
+are so precipitous, thinly forested, and generally undesirable,
+that, except for gorals, no other large game
+would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting.
+There are no cranes or sheldrakes and, except for
+a few flocks of mallards which feed in the rice fields, we
+saw no other ducks or geese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong
+valley and began to march southeast by east across an
+unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We camped at
+night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees
+just above a deep moist ravine. In the morning our
+traps contained several rare shrews, five silver moles, a
+number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous
+spiny rat. It was too good a place to leave and I sent
+Hotenfa to inquire from a family of natives if there was
+big game of any sort in the vicinity. He reported that
+there were goral not far away, and at half past eight
+<a name="pg194" />
+we rode down the trail for three miles when I left my
+horse at a peasant's house. They told us that the goral
+were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which rose
+two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour
+and a half we climbed steadily upward.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep
+cañon when Hotenfa excitedly whispered, "<i>gnai-yang</i>"
+and held up three fingers. He tried to show the animals
+to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought was a
+goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of
+rock flew into the air while the three gorals disappeared
+among the trees two hundred feet above the spot where
+I had supposed them to be.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started
+on a run for the other side of the gorge. When we arrived,
+Hotenfa motioned me to swing about to the right
+while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. No
+sooner had he reached the edge of the precipice than I
+saw him lean far out, fire with my three-barrel gun, and
+frantically wave for me to come. I ran to him and,
+throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked
+down. There directly under us stood a huge goral, but
+just as I was about to shoot, the earth gave way beneath
+my feet and I would have fallen squarely on the animal
+had Hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me
+back to safety.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt
+and stones came from before I fired hurriedly, breaking
+his fore leg at the knee. Without the slightest sign of
+injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock.
+I dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running
+at full speed across a narrow open ledge toward a
+thick mass of cover on the opposite side of the cañon. I
+<a name="pg195" />
+fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the
+crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the
+mountain, stone dead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly
+to the bottom of the valley and, slipping and rolling in a
+cloud of red dust, dropped over a precipice. The ram
+brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred
+feet below us, and it required half an hour's hard work
+to reach the spot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which
+had been broken in the fall slipped through my fingers,
+and away went the goral on another rough and tumble
+descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven
+hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We
+returned to camp at noon bringing joy with us, for, as
+my wife had remarked the day before, "We will soon
+have to eat chickens or cans."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following
+day and we left on December 23, camping at night on a
+flat terrace beside a stream at the end of a moist ravine.
+We intended to spend Christmas here for it was a beautiful
+spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration
+was to be on Christmas Eve. The following day
+dawned bright and clear. There had not been a drop of
+rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm
+enough for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at
+night the temperature dropped to about 15°+ or 20°+
+Fahr. The camp proved to be a good one, giving us two
+new mammals and, just after tiffin, Hotenfa came running
+in to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys
+(probably <i>Pygathrix</i>) in a cornfield a mile away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but
+while we were gone Yvette had been busy and, just before
+<a name="pg196" />
+dinner, she ushered us into our tent with great ceremony.
+It had been most wonderfully transformed. At
+the far end stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny
+candles and surrounded by masses of white cotton,
+through which shone red holly berries. Holly branches
+from the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and
+hung in green waves from the ridge pole. At the base of
+the tree gifts which she had purchased in Hongkong in
+the preceding August were laid out.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from
+the Chinese wine and orange juice, and we drank to each
+other and to those at home while sitting on the ground
+and opening our packages. We had purchased two Tibetan
+rugs in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents
+for Yvette. These rugs usually are blue or red,
+with intricate designs in the center, and are well woven
+and attractive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To the servants and <i>mafus</i> we gave money and cigarettes.
+When the muleteers were brought to the tent to
+receive their gifts they evidently thought our blazing
+tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and began
+to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done
+before their heathen gods.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days
+previously I had shot a pair of mallard ducks and they
+formed the <i>pièce de résistance</i>. The dinner consisted of
+soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked
+squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and
+crackers, coffee and cigarettes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon
+passed through a very dirty Chinese town in a deep valley
+near some extensive salt wells. Red clay dust lay
+thick over everything and the filth of the streets and
+<a name="pg197" />
+houses was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a
+mile beyond the village, but were greatly annoyed by the
+Chinese who insisted on swarming into camp. Finally,
+unable longer to endure their insolent stares, I drove
+them with stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in
+row upon row exactly as in the "bleachers" at an
+American baseball game.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we left the following day we passed dozens of
+caravans and groups of men and women carrying great
+disks of salt. Each piece was stamped in red with the
+official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only
+licensed merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover,
+the importation of salt from foreign countries is forbidden.
+For the purposes of administration, China is
+divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which
+has its own sources of production and the salt obtained
+in one district may not be sold in another.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Yün-nan the salt of the province is supplied from
+three regions. The water from the wells is boiled in
+great caldrons for several days, and the resulting deposit
+is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed, mixed
+with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains.
+After passing a village of considerable size called Pei-ping,
+we began the ascent of an exceedingly steep mountain
+range twelve thousand feet high. All the afternoon
+we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening
+at a pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the
+way to the summit. During the night it snowed heavily
+and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest
+white and between the branches we could look westward
+across the valley toward the Mekong and the purple
+mountain wall of the Burma border. There were
+<a name="pg198" />
+still one thousand feet of climbing between us and the
+summit of the pass. The trail was almost blocked, but
+by slow work we forced our way through the drifts.
+Some of the mules were already weak from exposure and
+underfeeding, and two of them had to be relieved of their
+loads; they died the next day. Our <i>mafus</i> did not appear
+to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from
+the knees down and their feet had no covering except
+straw sandals. Indeed when we discovered, on the summit
+of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was burning,
+they waited only a few moments to warm themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We met two other caravans fighting their way up the
+mountain from the other side, and by following the trail
+which they had broken through the drifts we made fairly
+good time on the descent. There had been no snow on
+the broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon
+and we found that its ponds and fields were alive
+with ducks, geese, and cranes. The birds were wild but
+we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning
+and killed enough to last us several days.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On December 31, our weary days of crossing range
+after range of tremendous mountains were ended, and
+we stood on the last pass looking down upon the great
+Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the old
+city, which lies on the main A-tun-tzu--Ta-li Fu road,
+are two large marshy ponds and, away to the south, is an
+extensive lake. We camped just without the courtyard
+of a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette and I went
+over to the water which was swarming with ducks and
+geese.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious
+afternoon sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as
+we neared the pond and circled high above our heads, but
+<a name="pg199" />
+now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail" would
+swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out
+the birds would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs
+or climb higher with frightened quacks if the shot went
+wild. An hour before dark the brahminy ducks began to
+come in. We could hear their melodious plaintive calls
+long before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves
+out in the grass and mud. Soon a thin, black line
+would streak the sky, and as they drew nearer, Yvette
+would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of
+wood and bone that the flock would swing and dive toward
+us in a rush of flashing wings. When we could see
+the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit up
+and bang away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now and then a big white goose would drop into the
+pond or an ibis flap lazily overhead, seeming to realize
+that it had nothing to fear from the prostrate bodies
+which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of the marsh
+was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled
+in the wild, sweet clamor so dear to the heart of
+every sportsman. As the day began to die, hung about
+with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the
+rice fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It was
+our last camp for the year and, as if to bid us farewell as
+we journeyed toward the tropics, the peaks of the great
+Snow Mountain far to the north, had draped themselves
+in a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky
+of lavender and gold like white cathedral spires.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a
+beautiful little plain beside a spring overhung with giant
+trees at the head of Erh Hai, or Ta-li Fu Lake, which is
+thirty miles long. The fields and marshes were alive
+with ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a
+<a name="pg200" />
+glorious day of sport over decoys and on the water before
+we went on to Ta-li Fu.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip
+to the south of the province and we took possession of a
+pretty temple just within the north gate of the city.
+Here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned
+that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered
+from Hongkong had just arrived.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager
+of the Standard Oil Company of Yün-nan Fu, their
+passage through Tonking had been facilitated, and he
+had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu. Mr.
+Page rendered great assistance to the Expedition in
+numberless ways, and to him we owe our personal thanks
+as well as those of the American Museum of Natural
+History.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li
+Fu but, with the aid of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much
+better personnel for the trip to the Burma frontier. The
+cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was an especially
+fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and
+competent as the other had been lazy and helpless.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our work in the north had brought us a collection of
+thirteen hundred mammals, as well as several hundred
+birds, much material for habitat groups, and a splendid
+series of photographic records in Paget color plates,
+black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But
+what was of first importance, we had covered an enormous
+extent of diverse country and learned much about
+the distribution of the fauna of northern Yün-nan. The
+thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken
+in a more or less continuous line across six tremendous
+mountain ranges, and furnish an illuminating cross section
+<a name="pg201" />
+of the entire region from Ta-li-Fu, north to Chung-tien,
+and west to the Mekong River.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is apparent that in this part of the province, which
+is all within one "life zone," even the smallest mammals
+are widely spread and that the principal factor in determining
+distribution is the flora. Neither the highest
+mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the
+Yangtze and the Mekong appear to act as effective
+barriers to migration, and as long as the vegetation
+remains constant, the fauna changes but little.
+</p>
+<a name="pg202" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch25">CHAPTER XXV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN</h3>
+
+<p>
+During our work in Fukien Province and in various
+parts of Yün-nan we came into intimate personal contact
+with a great many missionaries; indeed every traveler in
+the interior of China will meet them unless he purposely
+avoids doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the
+missionary in his native habitat because, for the most
+part, he lives and works where the tourist does not go.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise
+traveler from carrying back with him from the East a
+very definite impression of the missionary, which he has
+gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs where he hears
+him "damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously
+he adopts the popular attitude just as he enlarges his
+vocabulary to include "pidgin English" and such unfamiliar
+phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but
+simply a matter of fair play. We feel that in justice
+we ought to present our observations upon this subject,
+which is one of very general interest, as impartially as
+upon any phase of our scientific work. But it should be
+distinctly understood that we are writing <i>only</i> of those
+persons whom we met and lived with, and whose work
+we had an opportunity to know and to see; <i>we are not
+attempting generalizations on the accomplishments of
+missionaries in any other part of China</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There are three charges which we have heard most
+<a name="pg203" />
+frequently brought against the missionary: that he
+comes to the East because he can live better and more
+luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages
+in lucrative trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes
+little good, either religious or otherwise. It is
+said that his converts are only "rice Christians," and
+treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this
+manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more
+dishonest and unreliable than any others."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town
+will be that of the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the
+mission buildings are imposing structures, and are placed
+upon a hill above and away from the rest of the city.
+Any white person who has traveled in the interior of
+China will remember the airless, lightless, native houses,
+opening, as they all do, on filthy streets and reeking
+sewers and he will understand that in order to exist at all
+a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean,
+well-ventilated house.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every missionary in China employs servants--many
+more servants than he could afford at home. So does
+every other foreigner, whatever his vocation. There is
+no such thing in China as the democracy of the West,
+and the missionary's status in the community demands
+that certain work in his house be done by servants; otherwise
+he and his family would be placed on a level with
+the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be
+discounted. But the chief reason is that the missionary's
+wife almost always has definite duties to which
+she could not attend if she were not relieved from some
+of the household cares. She leads in work among the
+women of the community by organizing clubs and "Mutual
+Improvement Societies" and in teaching in the
+<a name="pg204" />
+schools or hospitals where young men and women are
+learning English as an asset to medical work among
+their own people. Servants are unbelievably cheap.
+While we were in Foochow a cook received $3.50
+(gold) per month, a laundryman $1.75 (gold) per
+month, and other wages were in proportion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two
+months' vacation. Anyone who has lived through a
+Fukien summer in the interior of the province will know
+why the missionaries are given this vacation. If they
+were not able to leave the deadly heat and filth and disease
+of the native cities for a few weeks every year,
+there would be no missionaries to carry on the work.
+The business man can surround himself with innumerable
+comforts both in his home and in his office which
+the missionary cannot afford and, during the summer,
+life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the
+Min River and it is by no means the most remote station
+in the province. Very few travelers reach these places
+during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated.
+Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at
+one time she saw only one foreigner in eight months.
+Miss Cordelia Morgan is the sole foreign resident of
+Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six days from
+Yün-nan Fu. In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna,
+his wife and two other women, are fourteen days' ride
+from the nearest foreign settlement. In Li-chiang, Reverend
+and Mrs. A. Kok and their three small children
+live with two women missionaries. They are twenty-one
+days' travel from a doctor, and for four years previous
+to our visit they had not seen a white woman.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These are some instances of missionaries whom we met
+<a name="pg205" />
+in China who have voluntarily exiled themselves to remote
+places where they expect to spend their entire lives
+surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population.
+Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this
+life because it is easier or more luxurious than that at
+home?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business
+positions to take up medical or evangelistic work in
+China where their compensation is pitifully small--not
+one-third of the salary they were commanding at home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging
+in trade with the natives even though in some places
+there were excellent business opportunities.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences
+which missionaries bring with them. We saw
+them in various parts of China doing a magnificent work.
+Dr. Bradley has established a great leper hospital at
+Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the
+latest and most scientific treatment and beginning to
+look at life with a new hope. In Yen-ping, at the time
+of the rebellion, we saw Dr. Trimble working hour after
+hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of
+rest. In Yün-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was
+filled with patients suffering from almost every known
+disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw Mr. Hanna and his wife
+dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients
+waiting by the dozen, the fees received being not
+enough to pay for the cost of the medicines. Why is
+it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of China
+is supposed to be able to cure diseases? Certainly an
+important reason is because of the work done by the
+medical missionaries who have penetrated to the farthest
+corners of the most remote provinces.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg206" />
+<p>
+Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in
+many instances the real pioneers of western civilization.
+They bring to the people new standards of living, both
+morally and physically. They open schools and emancipate
+the Chinese children in mind and body. They fight
+the barbarous customs of foot binding and the killing
+and selling of girl babies. Until recent years it was
+not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with
+from two to six tiny infants peddling his "goods" from
+village to village. Not many years ago such a man
+appeared before the mission compound at Ngu-cheng
+(Fukien) with four babies in his basket. Three of
+these had expired from exposure and the kerosene oil
+which had been poured down their throats to stupefy
+them and drown their cries. The fourth was purchased
+by the wife of the native preacher for ten cents in order
+to save its life. This child was reared and has since
+graduated from the mission schools with credit. In
+Foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription
+stands beside a stagnant pool: "Hereafter the
+throwing of babies into this pool will be punished by
+law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna
+once remarked, "Yün-nan Province has broken the heart
+of more than one missionary." The Chinese do not understand
+their point of view, and it is difficult to make
+them see it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure
+altruism does not enter into his scheme of life. As a rule
+he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his cash bag.
+It is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the
+missionary has not come with an ulterior motive--if not
+to engage in trade, perhaps as a spy for his government.
+Others believe that it is because China is so vastly superior
+<a name="pg207" />
+to the rest of the world that the missionaries wish
+to live there. Eventually the suspicions of the natives
+become quieted and they accept the missionary at some
+part of his true worth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw
+Harry Caldwell, Mr. Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save
+the lives of hundreds of people and the city from partial
+destruction because the Chinese officers of the opposing
+forces would trust the missionaries when they would
+not trust each other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An excellent piece of practical missionary work was
+done in Fukien Province, not long after our visit there.
+As we have related in Chapter III, several large bands
+of brigands were established in the hills about Yuchi.
+Brigandage began there in the following way. During
+a famine when the people were on the verge of starvation,
+a wealthy farmer, Su Ek by name, decided to do
+his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale a
+quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He approached
+another man of similar wealth who agreed
+with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price. Su Ek
+accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people
+and, when he had remaining only enough to sustain his
+own family until the following harvest, he sent the
+peasants to the second man who had also agreed to
+dispose of his grain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price,
+and the people, angered at his treachery, looted his
+sheds. He immediately went to Foochow and reported
+to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad
+in Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and
+that they had robbed and plundered his property.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without warning a company of soldiers swooped
+<a name="pg208" />
+down upon the community and arrested a number of
+men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek made
+his escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand
+chief, and was later joined by other farmers who had
+been similarly persecuted. Unable to return to their
+homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order
+to live.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow
+upon the promise that their lives would be spared if
+they would induce their band to surrender. They met
+the conditions but the government officials broke faith
+and the men were executed. Similar attempts were
+made to enter into negotiations with the brigands and
+in 1915 two hundred were trapped and beheaded after
+pardons had been promised them. Naturally the robbers
+refused to trust the government officials again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The months which elapsed between this act of treachery
+and the spring of 1916, were filled with innumerable
+outrages. Many townships were completely devastated,
+either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers.
+Little will ever be known of what actually took place
+under the guise of settling brigandage, behind the
+mountains which separate Yuchi from the outer world.
+It is well that it should not be known.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi.
+Business called him outside the city wall and just beyond
+the west gate he saw the bodies of ten persons who
+had that day been executed. Among these were two
+children, brothers, the sons of a man who was reported
+to have "sold rice to the brigands." The smaller child
+had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel beside
+his older brother further up in the row. He was too
+<a name="pg209" />
+small to realize what it all meant but he wanted to die
+beside his brother.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was
+partly severed from his body and who had been shot
+through and through by the soldiers. He was lying
+upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of
+tea or for someone to put him out of his misery. The
+missionary learned the man's story. It appeared that
+years ago a law suit in which his father had been concerned
+had been decided in his favor. In order to
+square the score between the clans, the son of the man
+who had lost the suit had reported that he had seen this
+man carrying rice to the brigands. He had been arrested
+by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in
+the glaring sun from nine o'clock in the morning until
+dark suffering the agonies of crucifixion. Not one
+of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the
+parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having
+administered to a brigand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The missionary returned to the city that night vowing
+that he would make a recurrence of such a thing
+impossible or he would leave China. He took up the
+matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way
+and later with the military governor in Foochow. He
+was well known to the brigands by reputation and visited
+several of the chiefs in their strongholds. They
+declared that they had confidence in him but none in the
+government--or its representatives. It was only after
+assuming full responsibility for any treachery that the
+brigands agreed to discuss terms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township,
+the missionary was escorted out to civilization by
+twenty-five picked men to whom the chief had entrusted
+<a name="pg210" />
+an important charge. As the group neared the township
+the missionary sent word ahead to the commander
+of the northern soldiers to prepare to receive the
+brigands.
+</p>
+
+<p class="illus">
+[Illustration: SEAL OF A PARDONED BRIGAND.]
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit
+of a hill overlooking the city, soldiers could be seen
+forming into squads outside the barracks. Instantly
+the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their
+rifles, and threw in shells. The missionary realized that
+they suspected treachery and turning about he said, "I
+<a name="pg211" />
+am the guarantee for your lives. If a shot is fired kill
+me first."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied
+by the brigands he marched into the city, where they
+were received by the officials with all the punctilious
+ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It had
+been a dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a
+rifle had been fired by mistake, and Chinese are always
+shooting when they themselves least expect to, he would
+have been instantly killed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This conference, and others which followed, resulted
+in several hundred pardons being distributed to
+the brigands by the missionary himself. The men
+then returned to their abandoned homes and again took
+up their lives as respectable farmers. Thus the reign
+of terror in this portion of the province was ended
+through the efforts of one courageous man. It is such
+applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary
+and admire his work.
+</p>
+<a name="pg212" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch26">CHAPTER XXVI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+The last half of the expedition began January 13
+when we left Ta-li Fu with a caravan of thirty miles for
+Yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south. The <i>mafus</i>
+although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight"
+did not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence
+it was necessary to camp at Hsia-kuan at the
+foot of the lake.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We improved our time there in hunting about for
+skins and finally purchased two fine leopards and a tiger.
+The latter had been brought from the Tonking frontier.
+There were a number of Tibetans wandering about the
+market place and in the morning a caravan of at least
+two hundred horses followed by twenty or thirty Tibetans,
+passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn.
+They were bringing tea from P'u-erh and S'su-mao in
+the south of the province and although they had already
+been nearly a month upon their journey there was still
+many long weeks of travel before them ere they reached
+the wind-blown steppes of their native land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful.
+We crossed a succession of dry, thinly forested
+mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high which near their
+summits were often clothed with a thick growth of rhododendron
+trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like
+<a name="pg213" />
+fire balls among the green leaves, peach trees were in
+full blossom and in some spots the dry hills seemed
+about to break forth in the full glory of their spring
+verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called
+Shia-chai on a picturesque chain suspension bridge of a
+type which is not unusual in the southern and western
+part of the province. Several heavy iron chains are
+firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of
+the river and the roadway formed by planks laid upon
+them. Although the bridge shakes and swings in a
+rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it
+is perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the
+mountain to the great Yung-chang plain, and for two
+hours trotted over a hard dirt road. The plain is
+eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its
+scattered villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy
+fields. The city itself includes about five thousand
+houses. It is exceedingly picturesque and is remarkable
+for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast
+strongly with those of the usual Chinese town. At
+the west, but still within the city walls, is a picturesque
+wooded hill occupied almost exclusively by temples.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard
+of a large and exceptionally clean temple just outside
+the south gate of the city. It was the Chinese New
+Year and Wu told us that for several days at least it
+would be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect
+the natives to do any work whatever. It was a very
+pleasant place in which to stay although we chafed at the
+enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in
+photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting
+birds and making various excursions.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg214" />
+<p>
+Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner
+and at Yung-chang we saw many of the customs attending
+its celebration. It is a time of feasting and merry
+making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will
+work on that day. Chinese families almost always live
+under one roof but should any male member be absent at
+this season the circumstances must be exceptional to prevent
+him from returning to his home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's
+house at New Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and
+for several days after leaving the city, we were continually
+passing young women mounted on mules or horses
+and accompanied by servants returning to their homes.
+New clothes are a leading feature of this season and the
+dresses of the brides and young matrons were usually
+of the most unexpected hues for, according to our conception
+of color, the Chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous
+for their good taste. Purple and blue, orange
+and red, pink and lavender clash distressingly, but are
+worn with inordinate pride.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the
+bride's family. Dr. Smith says in "Chinese Characteristics":
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly
+business basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of
+sewing for her husband's family, which the wife's family must
+help her get through with. She is accompanied on each of
+these visits by as many of her children as possible, both to
+have her take care of them and to have them out of the way
+when she is not at hand to look after them, and most especially
+to have them fed at the expense of the family of the
+maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. In
+regions where visits of this sort are frequent, and where there
+<a name="pg215" />
+are many daughters in a family, their constant raids on the
+old home are a source of perpetual terror to the whole family,
+and a serious tax on the common resources.<sup>*</sup>
+</p>
+<blockquote class="footnote"><p><sup>*</sup>"Chinese
+Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p. 200.</p></blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous
+part in the New Year's celebration. At this time the
+"Kitchen God," according to current superstition, returns
+to heaven to render an account of the household's
+behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the
+lips of the departing deity with candy in order to
+"sweeten" his report of any evil which he may have witnessed
+during the year.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Usually all the members of the family gather before
+the ancestral tablets, or should these be lacking as
+among many of the laboring classes, a scroll with a part
+of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed
+are appeased and honored by the burning of incense
+and the mumbling of incantations. While strict
+attention is paid to the religious observance to the dead,
+at New Year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered
+to the living.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the family have paid their respects to one another
+the younger male members go from house to
+house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to receive
+them. The following days are devoted to visits
+to relatives living in the neighboring towns and villages,
+and this continues, an endless routine, until fourteen
+days later the Feast of the Lanterns puts an end
+to the "epoch of national leisure."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New
+Year's they turn feverishly to this form of amusement
+which is almost their only one. But they also have to
+<a name="pg216" />
+think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely
+necessary for all classes and conditions of men to
+meet their obligations at the end of the year.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost everyone owes money in China. According
+to the clan system an individual having surplus cash
+is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate of interest)
+to any members of his family in need of help. However,
+a Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely
+obliged to and almost never settles a debt until he has
+been dunned repeatedly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.
+</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in
+the task of trying to chase down the men who owe money to him,
+and compel them to pay up, and at the same time in trying to
+avoid the persons who are struggling to track <i>him</i> down and
+corkscrew from him the amount of his indebtedness to them!
+The dodges and subterfuges to which each is obliged to resort,
+increase in complexity and number with the advance of the season,
+until at the close of the month, the national activity is
+at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured then, it will go
+over till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status
+of a claim which has actually contrived to cheat the annual
+Day of Judgment. In spite of the excellent Chinese habit of
+making the close of a year a grand clearing-house for all debts,
+Chinese human nature is too much for Chinese custom, and
+there are many of these postponed debts which are a grief
+of mind to many a Chinese creditor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most
+sentimental of the human race. New Year <i>must not</i> be violated
+by duns for debts, and the debts <i>must</i> be collected New
+Year though it be. For this reason one sometimes sees an urgent
+creditor going about early on the first day of the year
+carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [=debtor]. His
+artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet
+<a name="pg217" />
+risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have but to imagine the application of the principles
+which we have named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we
+get new light upon the nature of the Chinese New Year festivities.
+They are a time of rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing
+so keen as that of a ruined debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd
+devices in avoiding the most relentless of his creditors and
+has thus postponed his ruin for at least another twelve months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year,
+the debtor finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters,
+where he cannot be molested. Even should his creditors
+meet him on New Year's day, there could be no possibility
+of mentioning the fact of the previous day's disgraceful flight
+and concealment, or indeed of alluding to business at all, for
+this would not be "good form" and to the Chinese "Good Form"
+(otherwise known as custom), is the chief national
+divinity.<sup>*</sup>
+</p>
+<blockquote class="footnote"><p><sup>*</sup>"Village Life in
+China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907, pp. 208-209.</p></blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>
+Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited
+by Chinese and in no part of the province did we see
+foot-binding more in evidence. Practically every
+woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station
+in life was crippled in this brutal way. The women
+wear long full coats with flaring skirts which hang
+straight from their shoulders to their knees. When the
+trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles,
+they look in a side view exactly like huge umbrellas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One day we visited a cave thirty <i>li</i> north of the city
+where we hoped to find new bats. A beautiful little
+temple has been built over the entrance to the cavern
+which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into
+the rock. But twenty <i>li</i> south of Yung-chang, just beyond
+the village of A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave
+<a name="pg218" />
+which is reported to extend entirely through the hill.
+Whether or not this is true we can not say for although
+we explored it in part we did not reach the end. The
+central corridor is about thirty feet wide and at least
+sixty or seventy high. We followed the main gallery
+for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which
+led off at a sharp angle. We were not equipped with
+sufficient candles to pursue the exploration more extensively
+and did not have time to visit it again. The
+cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable
+size, but the limestone was a dull lead color. We
+found only one bat and these animals appear not to
+have used it extensively since there was little sign upon
+the floor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At Yuang-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first
+time in Yün-nan but found them to be in universal use
+farther to the south and west. The huge brutes are as
+docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child
+but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better
+part of valor where they are concerned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the
+rice fields but Chinese cows are used as burden bearers
+in this part of the province. Such caravans travel
+much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals
+are not loaded as heavily. Two or three of the
+leading cows usually carry upon their backs large bells
+hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no
+means unmelodious when heard at a distance. Marco
+Polo, the great Venetian traveler, refers to Yung-chang
+as "Vochang." His account of a battle which
+was fought in its vicinity in the year 1272 between the
+King of Burma and Bengal and one of Kublai Khan's
+generals is so interesting that I am quoting it below:
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg219" />
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal],
+in India, who was powerful in the number of his subjects, in
+extent of territory, and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars
+had arrived at Vochang [Yung-chang] he took the resolution
+of advancing immediately to attack it, in order that by
+its destruction the grand khan should be deterred from again
+attempting to station a force upon the borders of his dominions.
+For this purpose he assembled a very large army, including
+a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his
+country abounds), upon whose backs were placed battlements
+or castles, of wood, capable of containing to the number of
+twelve or sixteen in each. With these, and a numerous army
+of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang, where the grand
+khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance from it,
+intended to give his troops a few days of rest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great
+a force, was known to Nestardín, who commanded the troops of
+the grand khan, although a brave and able officer, he felt much
+alarmed, not having under his orders more than twelve thousand
+men (veterans, indeed, and valiant soldiers); whereas the
+enemy had sixty thousand, besides the elephants armed as has
+been described. He did not, however, betray any sign of apprehension,
+but descending into the plain of Vochang, took a
+position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large
+trees, whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants,
+which his troops might not be able to sustain, they could retire,
+and from thence, in security, annoy them with their arrows....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended
+into the plain, he immediately put his army in motion,
+took up his ground at the distance of about a mile from the
+enemy, and made a disposition of his force, placing the elephants
+in the front, and the cavalry and infantry, in two extended
+wings, in their rear, but leaving between them a considerable
+interval. Here he took his own station, and proceeded
+<a name="pg220" />
+to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly,
+assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority
+of their numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable
+body of armed elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had
+never before been engaged with such combatants, could by
+no means resist. Then giving orders for sounding a prodigious
+number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly with his
+whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm,
+making no movement, but suffering them to approach their
+entrenchments.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness
+to engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses,
+unused to the sight of such huge animals, with their castles,
+were terrified, and by wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor
+could their riders by any exertions restrain them, whilst the
+king, with the whole of his forces, was every moment gaining
+ground. As soon as the prudent commander perceived this
+unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of mind, he
+instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount
+and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they
+were fastened to the trees.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced
+on foot towards the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk
+discharge of arrows; whilst, on the other side, those who were
+stationed in the castles, and the rest of the king's army, shot
+volleys in return with great activity; but their arrows did not
+make the same impression as those of the Tartars, whose bows
+were drawn with a stronger arm. So incessant were the discharges
+of the latter, and all their weapons (according to the
+instructions of their commander) being directed against the
+elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly
+giving way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who
+were thereby thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible
+for their drivers to manage them, either by force or address.
+Smarting under the pain of their wounds, and terrified
+<a name="pg221" />
+by the shouting of the assailants, they were no longer governable,
+but without guidance or control ran about in all directions,
+until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed
+into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The
+consequence of this was, that from the closeness of the branches
+of large trees, they broke, with loud crashes, the battlements
+or castles that were upon their backs, and involved in the
+destruction
+those who sat upon them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired
+fresh courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order
+and regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined
+their several divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat
+was renewed. On the part of the king's troops there was no
+want of valor, and he himself went amongst the ranks entreating
+them to stand firm, and not to be alarmed by the accident
+that had befallen the elephants. But the Tartars by their
+consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for them, and
+galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being provided
+with such armor as was worn by the former.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men
+grasped their swords and iron maces, and violently encountered
+each other. Then in an instant were to be seen many
+horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and multitudes falling to
+the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion of blood as
+was dreadful to behold. So great also was the clangor of
+arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise
+seemed to ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became
+a valiant chief, was present wherever the greatest danger
+appeared, animating his soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain
+their ground with resolution. He ordered fresh squadrons
+from the reserve to advance to the support of those that
+were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was impossible
+any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the
+impetuosity of the Tartars, the greater part of his troops
+being either killed or wounded, and all the field covered with
+<a name="pg222" />
+the carcasses of men and horses, whilst those who survived were
+beginning to give way, he also found himself compelled to take
+to flight with the wreck of his army, numbers of whom were
+afterwards slain in the pursuit....
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter
+of the enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants
+had fled for shelter, in order to take possession of them,
+where they found that the men who had escaped from the overthrow
+were employed in cutting down trees and barricading
+the passages, with the intent of defending themselves. But
+their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who
+slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed
+to the management of the elephants, they possessed
+themselves of these to the number of two hundred or more.
+From the period of this battle the grand khan has always
+chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which before that
+time he had not done. The consequences of the victory were,
+that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of
+the king of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his
+dominions.<sup>*</sup>
+</p>
+<blockquote class="footnote"><p><sup>*</sup>"The Travels of Marco
+Polo the Venetian." Everyman's Library.
+J.M. Dent &amp; Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 253-256.</p></blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+<a name="pg223" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch27">CHAPTER XXVII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS</h3>
+
+<p>
+We left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday,
+January 28. Our stay there would have been exceedingly
+pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was impossible
+not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the
+caravan. Traveling southward for two days over bare
+brown mountain-sides, their monotony unrelieved except
+by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended
+abruptly into the great subtropical valley at
+Shih-tien.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in
+a succession of rice paddys and fields of sugar cane
+interspersed with patches of graceful bamboo, their summits
+drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes;
+the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the
+surrounding hills is delightful. However, we were disappointed
+in the shooting for, although it appeared to
+be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we
+killed only five teal, and the great ponds were almost
+devoid of bird life. Even herons, so abundant in the
+north, were conspicuous by their absence and we saw
+no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard
+on the outskirts of the town, and with Wu I returned
+to the village to inquire about shooting places. We
+seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within
+ten minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the
+<a name="pg224" />
+room, overflowed through the door and windows, and
+formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which completely
+blocked the street outside. It was a simple way
+of getting all the village together and Wu questioned
+everyone who looked intelligent.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang,
+five days' travel south, and we returned to the temple
+just in time to receive a visit from the resident mandarin.
+He was a good-looking, intellectual man, with
+charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen
+whom we met in China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During his visit, and until dinner was over and we
+had retired to our tents, hundreds of men, women and
+children crowded into the temple yard to gaze curiously
+at us. After the gates had been closed they climbed
+the walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows.
+Their curiosity was insatiable but not unfriendly and
+nowhere throughout our expedition did we find such
+extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested
+by the people in this immediate region. They were
+largely Chinese and most of them must have met foreigners
+before, yet their curiosity was much greater than
+that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white
+persons for the first time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just before camping the next day we passed through
+a large village where we were given a most flattering
+reception. We had stopped to do some shooting and
+were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The
+<i>mafus</i> must have announced our coming, for the populace
+was out <i>en masse</i> to greet us and lined the streets
+three deep. It was a veritable triumphal entry and
+crowds of men and children followed us for half a
+<a name="pg225" />
+mile outside the town, running beside our horses and
+staring with saucer-like eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high
+mountain and wound down a sharp descent for about
+4,000 feet into a valley only 2,300 feet above sea level.
+We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a
+biting wind and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and
+coats over flannel shirts. After going down about 1,000
+feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets, on the
+second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the
+remainder of the descent rode with sleeves rolled up
+and shirts open at the throat. We had come from mid-winter
+into summer in two hours and the change was
+most startling. It was as though we had suddenly
+ridden into an artificially heated building like the rooms
+for tropical plants at botanical gardens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river
+where we had a splendid view of the wide valley which
+was like the bottom of a well with high mountains rising
+abruptly on all sides. It was a place of strange contrasts.
+The bushes and trees were in full green foliage
+but the grass and paddy fields were dry and brown as
+in mid-winter. The thick trees at the base of the hills
+were literally alive with doves but there were few mammal
+runways and our traps yielded no results. That
+night a muntjac, the first we had heard, barked hoarsely
+behind the tents.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The <i>yamen</i> "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien
+delivered his official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo)
+which lies farther down the valley. The magistrate,
+who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon
+after with ten or twelve men and we discovered that
+there was but one man in the village who spoke Chinese.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg226" />
+<p>
+The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to
+have the responsibility of our safety thrust upon him
+and consequently assured us that there were neither
+game nor hunters in this village. Although his anxiety
+to be rid of us was apparent, he was probably telling
+the truth, for the valley is so highly cultivated (rice),
+and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited, that it
+is doubtful if much game remains.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the morning the entire valley was filled with a
+dense white fog but we climbed out of it almost immediately,
+and by noon were back again in winter on
+the summits of the ridges. The country through which
+we passed <i>en route</i> to Gen-kang was similar to that
+which had oppressed us during the preceding week--cultivated
+valleys between high barren mountains relieved
+here and there by scattered groves of planted fir
+trees. It was a region utterly hopeless from a naturalist's
+standpoint and when we arrived at a large
+town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During almost a month of travel we had been guided
+by native information which without exception had
+proved worthless. It seemed useless to rely upon it further,
+and yet there was no other alternative, for none
+of the foreigners whom we had met in Yün-nan knew
+anything about this part of the province. We were certain
+to reach a tropical region farther south and the
+fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the
+market offered slight encouragement. These were said
+to come from a village called Meng-ting, "a little more
+far," to the tune of four or five days' travel, over on
+the Burma frontier.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of
+the weather, we left in a pouring rain on February 5,
+<a name="pg227" />
+to slip and splash southward through veritable rivers of
+mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the
+second day the country suddenly changed. The trail
+led through a wide grassy valley, bordered by heavily
+forested hills, into a deep ravine. Along the banks of
+a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered
+logs and dense vegetation made ideal conditions
+for small mammalian life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky
+gateway. At the right a green-clothed mountain rose
+out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the left wave
+after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves
+in the low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley
+filled with stately trees which spread into a thick
+green canopy overhead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the
+forest. While the tents were being pitched, I set a
+line of traps along the base of the opposite mountain
+and found a "runway" under almost every log. About
+eight o'clock I ran my traps and, with the aid of a
+lantern, stumbled about in the bushes and high grass,
+over logs and into holes. When I emptied my pockets
+there were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing
+seven species <i>and all new to our collection</i>. Heller
+brought in eight specimens and added two new species.
+We forthwith decided to stay right where we were
+until this "gold mine" had been exhausted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the morning our traps were full of mammals and
+sixty-two were laid out on the table ready for skinning.
+The length, tail, hind foot, and ear of each specimen was
+first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in
+the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our
+serial number; then an incision was made in the belly,
+<a name="pg228" />
+the skin stripped off, poisoned with arsenic, stuffed with
+cotton, and sewed up. The animal was then pinned in
+position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden
+tray which fitted in the collecting trunk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The specimens were put in the sun on every bright
+day until they were thoroughly dry and could be
+wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight trunks or
+boxes. We have found that the regulation U.S. Army
+officer's fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It
+measures thirty inches long by thirteen deep and sixteen
+inches wide and will remain quite dry in an ordinary
+rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in
+water. The skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons
+of some, are numbered like the skin, strung upon a wire,
+and dried in the sun. Also individuals of every species
+are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical
+study.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As
+soon as the skin has been removed and cleaned of flesh
+and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it and the hide
+rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the water
+which has been extracted by the salt poured off, and
+the skin hung over a rope or a tree branch to dry. If
+it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may be kept
+in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field
+conditions it should be placed in the sun. Before it becomes
+too hard, the hide is rolled or folded into a
+convenient package hair side in, tied into shape and allowed
+to become "bone dry." In this condition it will
+keep indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the
+salt absorbs moisture from the air and alternate wetting
+and drying is fatal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin
+<a name="pg229" />
+both large and small animals and they became
+quite expert. They required constant watching, however,
+and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or
+I examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the
+village of Mu-cheng ten <i>li</i> distant. The men assured
+us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac in the
+neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no
+dogs and were armed with crossbows, antiquated guns,
+and bows and arrows, but they showed us the skins of
+two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Like most of the other natives, with the exception
+of the Mosos on the Snow Mountain, these men had
+no definite plan in hunting. The first day I went out
+with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill
+not far from camp. Without giving me an opportunity
+to reach a position in front of them, they began to
+work up the hill, and I had a fleeting glimpse of a
+sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the
+summit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two days later while I was out with ten other men
+who had a fairly good pack of dogs, the first party succeeded
+in killing a female sambur. The animal weighed
+at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our
+camp and we purchased the skin for ten <i>rupees</i>. South
+of Gen-kang the money of the region, like all of Yün-nan
+for some distance from the Burma frontier, is the
+Indian <i>rupee</i> which equals thirty-three cents American
+gold; in that part of the province adjoining Tonking,
+French Indo-China money is current.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this
+camp, which we called "Good Hope."
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg230" />
+<blockquote>
+<p>
+The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough
+for comfort and the nights are clear and cold. How we do
+sleep! It seems hardly an hour from the time we go to bed
+until we hear Wu rousing the servants, and the crackle of the
+camp-fire outside the tent. We half dress in our sleeping bags
+and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our high
+boots in its comfortable warmth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I
+inspect the traps. The ground is white with frost and the
+trees and bushes are dressed in silver. Every trap holds an
+individual interest and we follow the line through the forest,
+resetting some, and finding new mammals in others. Yvette
+has conquered her feminine repugnance far enough to remove
+shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring and
+dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with
+the men, the lady of the camp works at her photography. I
+return in the late afternoon and after tea we wander through
+the woods together. It is the most delightful part of the day
+when the sun goes down and the shadows lengthen. We sit on
+a log in a small clearing where we can watch the upper
+branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of a great colony of
+red-bellied squirrels (<i>Callosciurus erythraeus</i> subsp.) and
+after a few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along
+a branch, my gun roars out, and there is a thud upon the
+ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died
+away in the forest the gun bangs again. We have already
+shot a dozen squirrels from this tree and yet more are there.
+Sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk (<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>
+subsp.) will appear on the lower branches, searching the bark
+for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to find him in
+the brown leaves. When it is too dark to see the squirrels, we
+wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious
+<a name="pg231" />
+broiled deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke
+and talk of the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a
+gun we pick our way among the trees until we strike the trail
+along which the traps are set. On the soft ground our feet
+are noiseless and, extinguishing the lanterns, we sit on a log
+to listen to the night sounds. The woods are full of life. Almost
+beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a scurry among
+the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite
+hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. Suddenly
+there is a sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards
+away has done its work. Even in the tree tops the night life
+is active. Dead twigs drop to the ground with an unnatural
+noise, and soft-winged owls show black against the sky as they
+flit across an opening in the branches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into
+a cuplike hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already
+half of them are full. In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by
+the tail as he ran across the trap; another holds a veritable
+treasure, and at my exclamation of delight Yvette runs up excitedly.
+It is a rare Insectivore of the genus <i>Hylomys</i> and
+possibly a species new to science. We examine it beside the
+lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket
+by itself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log.
+The trap is gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over
+every inch of ground. Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet
+away and stifles a scream for in it, caught by the neck and still
+alive, is a huge rat nearly two feet long; it too is a species
+which may prove new.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail
+to the edge of the forest and into the clearing where the tents
+glow in the darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is
+delightfully warmed by the charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably
+on the beds, we write our daily records or read Dickens
+<a name="pg232" />
+for half an hour. It is with a feeling of great contentment
+that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out the
+candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the moonlight.
+</p>
+</blockquote>
+<a name="pg233" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch28">CHAPTER XXVIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES</h3>
+
+<p>
+During the eight days in which we remained at the
+"Good Hope" camp, two hundred specimens comprising
+twenty-one species were added to our collection. Although
+the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was
+quite unlike that of any region in which we had previously
+collected, and that undoubtedly was responsible
+for the complete change of fauna. We were on the very
+edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the Tonking
+and Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west
+of the province.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was already mid-February and if we were to work
+in the fever-stricken valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high
+time we were on the way southward. The information
+which we had obtained near Gen-kang had been supplemented
+by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to
+go to Meng-ting as soon as possible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first march was long and uneventful but at its
+end, from the summit of a high ridge, we could see a
+wide valley which we reached in the early morning of
+the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly
+left us on a jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly
+down a steep ravine to lose itself in a veritable
+forest of tree ferns and sword grass. The slanting rays
+of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious
+depths of the mist-filled valley. To the right a giant
+sentinel peak of granite rose gaunt and naked from out
+<a name="pg234" />
+the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to the
+left in huge ascending billows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of
+the bell on the leading mule announced the approach
+of the caravan and then we picked our way slowly down
+the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation.
+In an hour we were breathing the moist warm air of
+the tropics and riding across a wide valley as level as a
+floor. The long stretches of rank grass, far higher than
+our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos,
+banana palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled
+vines.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled
+into the grass. The bamboo houses, sheltered by trees
+and bushes, were roofed in the shape of an overturned
+boat with thatch and the single street was wide and
+clean. Could this really be China? Verily, it was a
+different China from that we had seen before! It
+might be Burma, India, Java, but never China!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning.
+A real Priscilla, somewhat strange in dress to
+be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel nut, but
+Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside
+her stood John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers,
+hitched far up over one leg to show the intricate
+tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban
+completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun almost
+as ancient in design as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla
+kept her eyes upon the spinning wheel, but John's
+gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent
+even before we appeared around a corner of the house
+and the pretty picture resolved into its rightful components--a
+surprised, but not unlovely Shan girl and
+<a name="pg235" />
+a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide
+brown eyes and open mouth at what must have seemed
+to him the fancy of a disordered brain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and
+quiet, where every day was exactly like the day before,
+had suddenly ridden two big men with white skins and
+blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a
+broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little one
+had jumped from the horse and pointed a black box with
+a shiny front at him and his Priscilla. At once, but
+without loss of dignity, Priscilla vanished into the house,
+but John Alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new
+tin can had been thrust into his hand and before he had
+really discovered what it was the little person had smiled
+at him and turned her attention to the charming street
+of his village. There the great water buffalos lazily
+chewed their cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned
+natives who played trustingly with the calves
+almost beneath their feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had
+ever seen, and regretfully we rode away across the plain
+between the walls of waving grass toward the Nam-ting
+River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and
+tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs
+were soon across the muddy stream and the mules were
+made to swim to the other bank. Shortly after leaving
+the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank
+grass on to the open rice paddys which stretched away in
+a gently undulating plain from the river to the mountains.
+Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese, but
+three great flocks of cranes (probably <i>Grus communis</i>)
+rose from the fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals
+<a name="pg236" />
+above our heads until they were lost in the blue depths
+of the sky.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a
+few wisps of smoke curling above its summit, but not
+until we were well-nigh there did we realize that its beautiful
+trees sheltered the thatched roofs of Meng-ting.
+But this was only the "residential section" of the village
+and below the knoll on the opposite side of a shallow
+stream lay the shops and markets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of
+jungle separated us from the nearest house. As soon
+as the tents were up I announced our coming to the
+mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock.
+Wu and I found the <i>yamen</i> to be a large well-built
+house, delightfully cool and exhibiting several foreign
+articles which evinced its proximity to Burma.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who
+shortly introduced the mandarin--a young Shan not
+more than twenty years old who only recently had succeeded
+his late father as chief of the village. The boy
+was dressed in an exceedingly long frock coat, rather
+green and frayed about the elbows, which in combination
+with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a
+most extraordinary appearance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who
+did all the talking was the "power behind the throne."
+He accepted my gift of a package of tea with great
+pleasure, but the information about hunting localities
+for which we asked was not forthcoming. He first said
+that he knew of a place where there were tiger and
+leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us for
+we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be
+responsible for our deaths; bringing to his attention the
+<a name="pg237" />
+fact that tigers had never been recorded from the Meng-ting
+region did not impress him in the slightest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It did tend to send him off on another track, however,
+and he next remarked that if he sent us to a place
+where the hunting was disappointing we probably would
+report him to the district mandarin. Assurances to the
+contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that he
+wished only to get us out of his district and thus relieve
+himself of the responsibility of our safety. During the
+conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the young
+Shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he
+sat stolidly in his chair, hardly winking, and except for
+the constant supply of cigarettes which passed between
+his fingers there was no evidence that he even breathed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman
+that he would make inquiries concerning hunting
+grounds and communicate with us in the morning. We
+returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives
+arrived from the <i>yamen</i> bearing about one hundred
+pounds of rice, a sack of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three
+chickens, and a great bundle of fire wood. These were
+deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were at a loss to account for such generosity until
+Wu explained that whenever a high official visited a
+village it was customary for the mandarin to supply his
+entire party with food during their stay. It would be
+quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however,
+for the supplies were levied from the inhabitants
+of the town. We kept the eggs and chickens, giving the
+<i>yamen</i> "runners" considerably more than their value in
+money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and
+potatoes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan
+<a name="pg238" />
+Buddhist monastery, bamboo walled and thatched with
+straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant of
+childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley.
+All day long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the
+mud walls about the temple like a flock of birds peering
+at us with bright round eyes. They were wild as hawks,
+these little priests and, although they sometimes left the
+shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below
+the bushy hedge about our rice field.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the village we saw them often, wandering about
+the streets or sitting in yellow groups beneath the giant
+trees which threw a welcome shade over almost every
+house. They were not all children, and finely built
+youths or men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits
+of lemon peel, passed to and fro to the temple on the hill.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the
+village with male children is required to send at least
+one boy to live a part of his life under the tutelage of
+the Church. He must remain three years, and longer, if
+he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and
+their clothing is not an important item of expenditure
+as it consists merely of a straw hat and a yellow robe.
+They lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn
+in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the
+weekly market was held, and when Wu and I crossed
+the little stream to the business part of the village, we
+found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque
+crowd of natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It
+was a group flashing with color, and every individual
+a study for an artist. There were blue-clad Chinese,
+Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and
+<a name="pg239" />
+Burmans dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned
+Lisos, flat-faced Palaungs, Was, and
+Kachins in black and red strung about with beads or
+shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of those
+who did not carry a spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked
+looking daggers peeped from beneath their sashes.
+Every man carried a weapon ready for instant use.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nine tribes were present in the market that day and
+almost as many languages were being spoken. It was
+a veritable Babel and half the trading was done by signs.
+The narrow street was choked with goods of every kind
+spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails,
+knives, swords, hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats,
+crossbows, arrows, pottery, tea, opium, and scores of
+other articles for food or household use.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing
+new goods or packing up their purchases; under
+open, thatched pavilions were silent groups of men gambling
+with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses" white-faced
+natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling
+"pills" of opium and oblivious to the constant stream of
+passers-by.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic
+mass of life and color, where Chinese from civilized
+Canton drank, and gambled, and smoked with wild
+natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken
+jungles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After one glimpse of the picture in the market I
+dashed back to camp to bring the "Lady of the Camera."
+On the way I met her, hot and breathless, half coaxing,
+half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent
+in yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying
+vainly to photograph a priest and had discovered these
+<a name="pg240" />
+splendid fellows when all her color plates had been exposed.
+She might have succeeded in bringing them to
+camp had I not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage
+and rushed away with averted faces.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried
+back to the market followed by two coolies with the
+cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work alone I set
+up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less
+than a minute the narrow space in front of us was
+packed with a seething mass of natives. It was impossible
+to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly
+disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused
+the camera on the irregular line of heads and swung it
+back and forth registering a variety of facial expressions
+which it would be hard to duplicate. For some
+time it was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even
+for a moment, but after one or two had conquered their
+fear and been liberally rewarded, there was a rush for
+places. Wu asked several of the natives who could
+speak Chinese if they knew what we were doing but
+they all shook their heads. None of them had ever seen
+a camera or a photograph.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all
+the tribes as well as the most difficult to photograph.
+Yvette was not able to get them at all, and I could do
+so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two or three
+squatting near their baskets on the ground I moved
+slowly up behind them keeping in the center of the
+crowd. After the "movie camera" was in position Wu
+suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the
+women realized what was happening they were registered
+on twenty-five or thirty feet of film.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much,
+<a name="pg241" />
+suddenly became belligerent when I pointed the camera
+in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn knife.
+I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down
+in a heap. He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine,
+but it took all of the fight out of him for he received no
+sympathy from the spectators.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera
+operations and a less determined person would have
+given up in despair. The natives were so shy and suspicious
+that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to
+stand for a second and it was only after three hours of
+aggravating work in the stifling heat and dust that she
+at last succeeded in exposing all her plates. Her
+patience and determination were really wonderful and
+I am quite sure that I should not have obtained half her
+results.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals.
+They were short, and strongly built, with a
+mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and thick
+lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of a
+short black jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and
+ornamented with strings of beads and pieces of brass or
+silver. This tribe forms the largest part of the population
+in northern Burma and also extends into Assam.
+Yün-nan is fortunate in having comparatively few of
+them along its western frontier for they are an uncivilized
+and quarrelsome race and frequently give the British
+government considerable trouble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were only a few Burmans in the market
+although the border is hardly a dozen miles to the west,
+but the girls were especially attractive. Their bright
+pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile
+and their graceful figures draped in brilliant <i>sarongs</i>
+<a name="pg242" />
+were in delightful contrast to the other, not over-clean,
+natives.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which
+added to their distinction. The lips of virtually every
+other woman and man were stained from the red juice,
+which is in universal use throughout India, the Malay
+Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Yün-nan
+we first noted it at the "Good Hope" camp, and the
+Shans are generally addicted to the practice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely
+Shan, but during the winter a good many Cantonese
+Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The drug is
+smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative
+trade is carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five
+cents (Mexican) an ounce in Burma and sold for two
+dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Yün-nan Fu and for ten
+dollars in Shanghai.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The
+drug is cooked over an alcohol lamp and when the "pill"
+is properly prepared it is placed in the tiny bowl of the
+pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. The
+process is a rather complicated one and during it the
+natives always recline. No visible effect is produced
+even after smoking several pipefuls, but the deathly
+paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate
+opium user.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There can be no doubt that the Chinese government
+has been, and is, genuinely anxious to suppress the use
+of opium and it has succeeded to a remarkable degree.
+We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in
+Yün-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a
+guard of soldiers, on inspection trips. Indeed, while we
+were in Meng-ting the district mandarin arrived. We
+<a name="pg243" />
+were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of
+deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They
+were like the chimes of far away cathedral bells sounding
+nearer and louder, but losing none of the sweetness.
+Soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the
+camp bearing in their midst a covered chair. The mandarin
+established himself in a spacious temple on the
+opposite side of the village, where I visited him the following
+day and explained the difficulty we had had at
+the Meng-ting <i>yamen</i>. He aided us so effectually that
+all opposition to our plans ended and we obtained a
+guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting
+River, three miles from the Burma border.
+</p>
+<a name="pg244" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch29">CHAPTER XXIX</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER</h3>
+
+<p>
+Every morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled
+with a thick white mist and when we broke camp at daylight
+each mule was swallowed up in the fog as soon as
+it left the rice field. We followed the sound of the leader's
+bell, but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan
+visible. For thirty <i>li</i> the valley is broad and flat as at
+Meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant growth of rank
+grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved
+its way through a range of hills.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through
+a dense, tropical jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved
+bananas, and giant trees laced and interlaced with
+thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall
+of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel.
+We followed the trail all day, sometimes picking our
+way among the rocks high above the river or padding
+along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. At
+night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous
+native had fought the jungle and been defeated;
+his bamboo hut was in ruins and the fields were overgrown
+with a tangle of throttling vegetation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road
+were fascinating. Brilliant green parrots screamed in
+the tree tops and tiny sun-birds dressed in garments of
+red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail like living
+jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a
+<a name="pg245" />
+huge hornbill flapping heavily over the river, every
+beat of his stiff wing feathers sounding like the motor
+of an aëroplane. Bamboo partridges called from the
+bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed
+two thatched huts in a little clearing beside the trail and
+the guide remarked that our camping place was not far
+away. We reached it shortly and were delighted. Two
+enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark
+shade above a sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned
+rice field. From a patch of ground as level as a
+floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look across
+the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle
+and up to the green mountain beyond. A half mile
+farther down the trail, but hidden away in the jungle,
+lay a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the
+guide said we should be able to find hunters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with
+a bag of steel traps to set them on the tiny trails which
+wound through the jungle in every direction. Selecting
+a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center,
+covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body
+of a bird or a chunk of meat by a wire over the pan
+about three feet from the ground. A light branch was
+fastened to the chain as a "drag." When the trap is
+pulled this invariably catches in the grass or vines and,
+while holding the animal firmly, still gives enough
+"spring" to prevent its freeing itself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest
+of wits between the trapper and the animal with
+the odds by no means in favor of the former. The
+trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings
+may be unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands
+<a name="pg246" />
+may linger about the bait, or there may be numberless
+other possibilities to frighten the suspicious animal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the evening our guide brought a strange individual
+whom he introduced as the best hunter in the village.
+He was a tall Mohammedan Chinese who dressed
+like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He
+seemed to be afflicted with mental and physical inertia,
+for when he spoke it was in slow drawl hardly louder
+than a whisper, and every movement of his body was correspondingly
+deliberate. We immediately named him
+the "Dying Rabbit" but discovered very shortly that
+he really had boundless energy and was an excellent
+hunter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for
+beaters and we drove a patch of jungle above camp but
+without success. There were many sambur tracks in
+the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to
+be difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the
+open places were so few and small that a sambur had
+every chance to break through without giving a shot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying
+Rabbit" was armed with a .45-caliber bolt action rifle
+into which he had managed to fit a .303 shell and several
+of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875.
+The guns had all been brought from Burma and most
+were without ammunition, but each man had an assortment
+of different cartridges and used whichever he could
+force into his rifle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men worked splendidly under the direction of the
+"Dying Rabbit." On the second day they put up a
+sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but was
+absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned
+to camp we found that a civet (<i>Viverra</i>) had
+<a name="pg247" />
+walked past our tent and begun to eat the scraps about
+the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the <i>mafus</i> and
+servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun.
+After considerable difficulty they persuaded him that
+there really was some cause for their excitement and he
+shot the animal. It was probably ill, for its flesh was
+dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Civets belong to the family <i>Viverridae</i> and are found
+only in Asia and Africa. Although they resemble cats
+superficially they are not directly related to them and
+their claws are only partly retractile. They are very
+beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with
+black, a ringed tail, and a black and white striped
+pointed head. A scent gland near the base of the tail
+secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating,
+is not particularly disagreeable. The animals
+move about chiefly in the early morning and evening and
+at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals, fish,
+and frogs. One which we caught and photographed had
+a curious habit of raising the hair on the middle of its
+back from the neck to the tail whenever it was angry or
+frightened.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although there were no houses within half a mile of
+camp we were surprised on our first night to hear cocks
+crowing in the jungle. The note was like that of the
+ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat
+more abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer
+and all his harem in a deserted rice field, and he
+flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and gold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left
+of "sixes" and found that they were jungle fowl (<i>Gallus
+gallus</i>) in full plumage. The cock was a splendid bird.
+The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his back
+<a name="pg248" />
+and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was
+hardly more beautiful than the black of his underparts
+and green-glossed tail. Picture to yourself a "black-breasted
+red" gamecock and you have him in all his
+glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more
+pheasant-like in his general bearing. The female was a
+trim little bird with a lilac sheen to her brown feathers
+and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard
+hens and roosters which were probably first domesticated
+in Burma and adjacent countries long before the dawn
+of authentic history. According to tradition the Chinese
+received their poultry from the West about 1400 B.C.
+and they are figured in Babylonian cylinders between the
+sixth and seventh centuries B.C.; although they were
+probably introduced in Greece through Persia there is
+no direct evidence as to when and how they reached
+Europe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The black-breasted jungle fowl (<i>Gallus gallus</i>) inhabit
+northern India, Burma, Indo-Chinese countries,
+the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine Islands; a
+related species, <i>G. lafayetti</i>, is found in Ceylon; another,
+<i>G. sonnerati</i>, in southern India, and a fourth, <i>G. varius</i>,
+in Java.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even
+where they were seldom hunted. During the heat of the
+day they remain in thick cover, but in cloudy weather
+and in the early morning and evening they come out into
+clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River
+we could usually put up a few birds on the edge of the
+deserted rice fields which stretched up into the jungle,
+but they were never far away from the edge of the
+forest.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg249" />
+<p>
+We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but
+usually a cock had with him six or eight hens. It was
+interesting to watch such a flock feeding in the open.
+The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a
+piece of gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and
+industriously ran about among his trim little hens,
+rounding up the stragglers and directing his harem with
+a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually
+tempting food.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually
+would send the flock whirring into the jungle while
+they were well beyond shotgun range. When flushed
+from the open the birds nearly always would alight in
+the first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying
+deeper into the jungle. We caught several hens in
+our steel traps, and one morning at the edge of a swamp
+I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and
+left" as they flushed together.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of
+the mating season for the jungle fowl. It is said that
+they brood from January to April according to locality,
+laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a
+bamboo clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves
+have been scratched together for a nest. The hen announces
+the laying of an egg by means of a proud cackle,
+and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep,
+peep, peep" of the domestic birds. After the breeding
+season the beautiful red and gold neck hackles of the
+male sometimes are molted and replaced by short blackish
+feathers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the
+cocks are polygamous, but our observations tend to show
+that they are. We never saw more than one male in a
+<a name="pg250" />
+flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in
+pairs. The cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic
+birds and their long curved spurs are exceedingly effective
+weapons.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting
+River camp and on the second afternoon it contained
+a splendid polecat. This animal is a member of
+the family Mustelidae which includes mink, otter, weasels,
+skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep
+yellow throat, and long tail is really very handsome.
+Polecats inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and are
+closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated
+and used in hunting rats and rabbits. We found them
+to be abundant in the low valleys along the Burma border
+and often saw them during the day running across
+a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The
+polecat is a blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything
+that comes in its way for the pure love of killing, even
+when its appetite has been satisfied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the third morning we found two civets in the traps.
+The cook told me that some animal had stolen a chicken
+from one of his boxes during the night and we set a trap
+only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading into
+the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook
+boxes were not bothered again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was
+a delightful part of our camp life. It was like opening
+a Christmas package as we walked up the trails, for each
+one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of
+the region were so varied that surprises were always in
+store for us. Besides civets and polecats, we caught
+mongooses, palm civets, and other carnivores. The
+<a name="pg251" />
+small traps yielded a new <i>Hylomys</i>, several new rats,
+and an interesting shrew.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We saw a few huge squirrels (<i>Ratufa gigantea</i>) and
+shot one. It was thirty-six inches long, coal black above
+and yellow below. The animals were very shy and as
+they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no
+means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting
+group confined to India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula,
+the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and Borneo.
+</p>
+<a name="pg252" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch30">CHAPTER XXX</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>MONKEY HUNTING</h3>
+
+<p>
+Our most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was
+hunting monkeys. Every morning we heard querulous
+notes which sounded much like the squealing of very
+young puppies and which were followed by long, siren
+wails; when the shrill notes had reached their highest
+pitch they would sink into low mellow tones exceedingly
+musical.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The calls usually started shortly after daylight and
+continued until about nine o'clock, or later if the day was
+dark or rainy. They would be answered from different
+parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen
+places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the
+cries were made by <i>hod-zu</i> (monkeys) and several times
+we started in pursuit, but they always ceased long before
+we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from
+which they came. At last we succeeded in locating the
+animals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a
+trail which led up a valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly
+the puppy-like squealing began, followed by a low
+tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but
+the trees were empty. We stole silently along the trail
+for a hundred yards and turned into a dry creek bed
+which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. With
+infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we
+slipped along, scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill
+<a name="pg253" />
+sitting on a dead branch caught sight of us and
+flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. A flock
+of parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel
+followed persistently scolding at the top of its voice, but
+the monkeys continued to call.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood
+motionless beside a tree. For an instant the countless
+jungle sounds were hushed in a breathless stillness; then,
+low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which swelled
+into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all
+the forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again
+and again it floated over the tree tops and we listened
+strangely moved, for it was like the music of an exquisite
+contralto voice. At last it ceased but, ere the echoes had
+reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely
+siren screech.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and
+tense. The trees stretched upward full one hundred and
+fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy roof. Long
+ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant
+growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant
+trunks in a swaying mass of living green. Far above
+the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the forest
+towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost branches
+we could just discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from
+which proceeded discordant squeals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all
+in camp. I fired a charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey
+and as the gun roared out the tree tops suddenly sprang
+into life. They were filled with running, leaping, hairy
+forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to
+branch; not a dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow,
+brown, and gray.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg254" />
+<p>
+The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and
+threw itself full twenty feet to a horizontal limb, below
+and to the right. I fired again and he stopped, ran a
+few steps forward and swung to the underside of the
+branch. At the third charge he hung suspended by one
+arm and dropped heavily to the ground stone dead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up
+the hill where the branches were still swaying as the
+monkeys traveled through the tree tops. They had a
+long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every step
+our clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our
+hands were torn, and our faces scratched and bleeding.
+In ten minutes they had disappeared and we turned
+about to find the dead animal. Suddenly Yvette saw a
+splash of leaves in the top of a tree below us and a
+big brown monkey swung out on a pendent vine. I
+fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled
+slowly around and dropped to the ground. Before I had
+reloaded my gun it gathered itself together and dashed
+off through the woods on three legs faster than a man
+could run. The animal had been hiding on a branch
+and when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the
+creek bed and sat down to examine it. It was evidently
+a gibbon (<i>Hylobates</i>), for its long arms, round head,
+and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species
+with which I was familiar the male was black. This one
+was yellow and we knew it to be a prize. That there
+were two other species in the herd was certain for we
+had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed
+away among the trees, but the gibbons were far more
+interesting than the others.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg255" />
+<p>
+Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and
+teeth of all the anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group
+which also includes the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.
+They are apparently an earlier offshoot of the
+anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the
+giant apes and man are probably a later branch. Gibbons
+are essentially Oriental being found in India,
+Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the Islands of
+Hainan, Sulu, Sumatra, and Java.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River
+camp we devoted ourselves to hunting monkeys and
+soon discovered that the three species we had first seen
+were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon, another
+a brown baboon (<i>Macacus</i>), and the third a huge
+gray ape with a long tail (<i>Pygathrix</i>) known as the
+"langur." On the first day all three species were together
+feeding upon some large green beans and this
+happened once again, but usually they were in separate
+herds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although
+the same troop could usually be found in the
+valley where we had first discovered them, they chose
+hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them
+because of the thorny jungle. Usually when they
+called, it was from the upper branches of a dead tree
+where they could not only scan every inch of the ground
+below, but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun.
+Sometimes we climbed upward almost on our hands
+and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing ourselves
+up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs
+and bushes, slipping, falling, scrambling through the
+indescribable tangle. We went forward only when the
+calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood motionless
+<a name="pg256" />
+as the wailing ceased. But in spite of all our
+care they would see or hear us. Then in sudden silence
+there would be a tremor of the branches, splash after
+splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away
+through the trackless tree tops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gibbons are well named <i>Hylobates</i> or "tree-walkers"
+for they are entirely arboreal and, although
+awkward and almost helpless on the ground, once
+their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed
+as by a miracle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They launch themselves into space, catch a limb
+twenty feet away, swing for an instant, and hurl themselves
+to another. It is possible for them to travel
+through the trees faster than a man can run even on
+open ground, and when one examines their limbs the
+reason is apparent. The fore arms are so exceedingly
+long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground
+when the animal stands erect, and the slender hands are
+longer than the feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and
+would never drop until stone dead. Once I shot an
+old male with my 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher rifle at about
+one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone
+clear through his body, he hung for several minutes before
+he dropped into a tangle of vines.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work
+our way through the jungle to the spot where the animal
+had fallen, and we had been searching for nearly
+half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a
+monkey was running along a branch above our heads. I
+fired with the shotgun at a mass of moving leaves and
+killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the
+thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would
+<a name="pg257" />
+sometimes disappear as completely as though they had
+vanished in the air. After being fooled several times
+we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we
+could watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys
+would try to steal away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild
+as the gibbons and were found in larger herds. Some
+of the langurs were carrying babies which clung to their
+mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede
+them in the slightest on their leaps through the
+tree tops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The young of this species are bright orange-red and
+strangely unlike the gray adults. As they grow older
+the red hair is gradually replaced by gray, but the tail
+is the last part of the body to change. Heller captured
+one of the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to
+camp in his coat pocket. The little fellow was only a
+few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer
+little wizened face and blue eyes visible it had a startling
+resemblance to a human baby until its long tail
+would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion.
+It lived only four days in spite of constant care.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There are fifty-five species of langurs (<i>Pygathrix</i>)
+all of which are confined to the Orient. In some parts
+of India the animals are sacred and climb about the
+houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without
+fear. At times they do so much damage to crops
+that the natives who do not dare to kill the animals
+themselves implore foreigners to do so. The langurs
+are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan mountains
+range far up into the snow and enjoy the cold
+weather. In the market at Li-chiang we saw several
+<a name="pg258" />
+skins of these animals which had been brought down
+by the Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was
+used by the Chinese for rugs and coats.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River
+camp, like all others of the genus <i>Pygathrix</i>, was interesting
+because of the long hairs of the head which form
+a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never heard the
+animals utter sounds, but it is said that the common
+Indian langur, <i>Pygathrix entellus</i>, gives a loud whoop
+as it runs through the tree tops. Often when a tiger
+is prowling about the jungle the Indian langurs will
+follow the beast, keeping in the branches just above its
+head and scolding loudly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting
+was a close relative of the species (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)
+which one sees parading solemnly about the streets of
+Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian cities. In Agra,
+the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey
+Temple is visited by every tourist. A large herd of
+macaques lives in the grounds and at a few chuckling
+calls from the native attendants will come trooping over
+the walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate.
+These animals are surprisingly tame and make most
+amusing pets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water
+hole in the midst of a dense jungle where the mud was
+trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar, and other
+animals. We decided to spend a night watching beside
+it, but the "Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the
+day time lost his courage as the sunlight waned. Very
+doubtfully he consented to go.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the trip netted us no tangible results it
+was an experience of which we often think. We
+<a name="pg259" />
+started just at dusk and installed ourselves in the
+bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an
+hour the forest was enveloped in the velvety blackness
+of the tropic night. Not a star nor a gleam of light
+was visible and I could not see my hand before my face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the
+breath of the jungle, which although without definite
+sound, was vibrant with life. Now and then a muntjac
+barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag
+thrilled us like an electric shock. Once a wild boar
+grunted on the opposite bank of the river, the sound
+coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although
+the animal was far away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the
+leaves and a small animal ran across my wife's lap, leaping
+frantically down the hill as it felt her move. For
+five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. Although
+no animals came to the water hole we were silent
+with a great happiness as we groped our way back
+to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the jungle
+and were thrilled with the mystery of the night.
+</p>
+<a name="pg260" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch31">CHAPTER XXXI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER</h3>
+
+<p>
+We saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not
+only was there a village half a mile beyond our camp,
+but natives were passing continually along the trail on
+their way to and from the Burma frontier. The village
+was named Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when
+we arrived, but the natives were cordial and agreed to
+hunt with us; when the head man returned, however,
+he was most unfriendly. He forbade the villagers
+from coming to our camp and arguments were of no
+avail. It soon became evident that only force could
+change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants
+and <i>mafus</i>, we visited his house. He was informed
+that unless he ceased his opposition and ordered
+his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to
+Meng-ting for trial before the mandarin. He grudgingly
+complied and we had no further trouble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and
+honest people but abnormally lazy. During our three
+weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although the
+natives prized them highly, and often brought to us
+those in which animals had been caught. Shans were
+continually about our camp where boxes were left unlocked,
+but not an article of our equipment was missed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot
+poles and built an open porch in front of the door, while
+the dwellings at Meng-ting and farther up the valley
+<a name="pg261" />
+were all placed upon the ground. The thatched roofs
+overhung several feet and the sides of the houses were
+open so that the free passage of air kept them delightfully
+cool. Moreover, they were surprisingly clean,
+for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if
+they wore sandals, left them at the door. In the center
+of the single room, on a large flat stone, a small fire
+always burned, but much of the cooking was done on
+the porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over
+the hearth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support."
+The extensive rice paddys indicated that in the
+past there had been considerable cultivation but the
+fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers
+purchased all their vegetables from the Mohammedan
+hunter and two other Chinese who lived a mile up the
+trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes
+entertained. In all probability they lived upon the
+sale of smuggled opium for they were only a few miles
+from the Burma border.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily
+tattooed. Usually the right leg alone, but sometimes
+both, were completely covered from the hip to the knee
+with intricate designs in black or red. The ornamentations
+often extended entirely around the body over the
+abdomen and waist, but less frequently on the breast
+and arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations
+and usually fastened their wide trousers in
+such a way as to display them to the best advantage.
+We often could persuade a man to pose before the
+camera by admiring his tattoo marks and it was most
+amusing to watch his childlike pleasure.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg262" />
+<p>
+The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions,
+and it is probable that at one time it inhabited a
+large part of China south of the Yangtze River; indeed,
+there is reason to believe that the Cantonese Chinamen
+are chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial resemblance
+between the two races certainly is remarkable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory
+in Yün-nan before its conquest by the Mongol emperors
+of China in the thirteenth century A.D., and at one
+time actually subdued Burma and established a dynasty
+of their own, at present the only independent kingdom
+of the race is that of Siam. By far the greatest number
+of Shans live in semi-independent states tributary
+to Burma, China, and Siam, and in Yün-nan inhabit
+almost all of the southern valleys below an altitude of
+4,000 feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such
+an extent of fertile land is because the low plains are
+considered unhealthy and the Chinese cannot, or will
+not, live there. Whether or not the malarial fever of
+the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be
+proved, but the Chinese believe it to be so and the result
+is the same. Where the Shans are numerous
+enough to have a chief of their own they live in a semi-independent
+state, for although their head man is subordinate
+to the district Chinese official, the latter seldom
+interferes with the internal affairs of the tribe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct
+Mongolian type of features and rather fair complexions.
+Their dress varies decidedly with the region,
+but the men of the southern part of the province on the
+Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so
+baggy that they are almost skirtlike, a white jacket,
+<a name="pg263" />
+and a large white or pink turban surmounted by a huge
+straw hat. The women dress in a white jacket and
+skirt of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans
+are of similar material and may be worn in a high cylinder,
+a low oval, or many other shapes according to the
+particular part of the province in which they live.
+</p>
+<a name="pg264" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch32">CHAPTER XXXII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA</h3>
+
+<h3><i>Y.B.A.</i></h3>
+
+<p>
+The camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one
+and we left it on March 7, with much regret. Its resources
+seemed to be almost exhausted and the Mohammedan
+hunter assured us that at a village called
+Ma-li-ling we would find excellent shooting. We
+asked him the distance and he replied, "About a long
+bamboo joint away." It required three days to get
+there!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do
+not know but we eventually found it to be a tiny village
+built into the side of a hill in an absolutely barren
+country where there was not a vestige of cover.
+Our journey there was not uneventful. We left
+Nam-ka with high hopes which were somewhat dampened
+after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot
+where our caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a
+good trail which led through dense jungle where there
+was not a clearing or a sign of life. In the afternoon
+we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and
+ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and
+emerged into an absolutely treeless valley between high
+barren hills. We knew that the Burma frontier could
+not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a
+<a name="pg265" />
+large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the
+other side the hills were covered with bright green
+stalks and here and there a field glistened with white
+poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we were on
+the direct road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he
+said was in Burma. On our map it was marked well
+over the border in Chinese territory and we were
+greatly puzzled.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were
+silhouetted against the sky on a tiny knoll in the midst
+of a grove of beautiful trees, and we camped at the
+edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid mud,
+but we were told that it was the only water supply of
+the village and its cattle. As though to prove the
+statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the hill,
+and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly
+chewing their cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women
+with buckets in their hands were constantly arriving at
+the pond for their evening supply of water. We had
+no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the
+filthy liquid but there was no alternative and after repeated
+boiling and several strainings we settled it with
+alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After dinner we questioned the few natives who
+spoke Chinese, but we became only more and more confused.
+They knew of no such place as Ma-li-ling and
+our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they
+were familiar with the trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther
+west in Burma and, moreover, they said that two
+hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. We
+were quite certain that they must be native Indian
+troops but thought that a white officer might perhaps
+be in command.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg266" />
+<p>
+We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible
+political difficulties since we had no permits to
+shoot in Burma, but there seemed to be no alternative,
+for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical Ma-li-ling.
+We eventually discovered that there were two
+villages by that name--one in Burma, and the other
+in China, where it was correctly placed on the map
+which we were using.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While we were discussing the matter a tremendous
+altercation arose between the Chinese <i>mafus</i> and the
+servants. For some time Roy did not interfere, supposing
+it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance
+at last became unbearable. Calling Wu we learned
+that because we had been so careful to avoid English
+territory the <i>mafus</i> had conceived the idea that for some
+reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. Since
+we had inadvertently crossed into Burma it appeared
+to them that it would be an opportune time to extort
+an increase of wages. They announced, therefore, that
+unless extra money was given them at once they would
+untie the loads and leave us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were hardly prepared for what followed, however.
+Taking his Mannlicher rifle, Roy called the
+<i>mafus</i> together and told them that if any man touched
+a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if
+they made the slightest resistance the gun would be
+turned on them. A <i>mafus</i>' mules represent all his
+property and they did not relish the turn affairs had
+taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads
+guarded during the night. In the morning the <i>mafus</i>
+were exceedingly surprised when they learned that we
+were going to Ma-li-pa and their change of front was
+<a name="pg267" />
+laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please
+as they had been belligerent the night before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills
+through which we had passed on the previous afternoon.
+There was only one village, but it was surrounded
+by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a
+rather difficult matter for a native living in China near
+the border to understand why he should not be allowed
+to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards
+away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without
+restriction. Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better
+than on level ground. The plants begin to blossom in
+late February and the petals, when about to fall, are collected
+for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to
+cover the balls of opium. The seed pods which are left
+after the petals drop off are scarified vertically, at intervals
+of two or three days, by means of a sharp cutting instrument.
+The operation is usually performed about
+four o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form
+of dried juice, is collected the next morning. When
+China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of opium and
+the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were
+from twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the
+Empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon
+and found it to be a straggling village built on
+two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed population of
+Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly market
+day and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of
+Indian soldiers in khaki were standing about, and I
+called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of them speak
+English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with
+cap in hand, and said, "Yes, Madame, I speak English."
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg268" />
+<p>
+One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our
+own language from a native in this out-of-the-way spot!
+He was the "compounder," or medical assistant, and
+told us that the hundred native troops were in charge
+of a white officer whose house was on the opposite side
+of the river gorge. He guided us to a temple and,
+while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a tall,
+handsome young British officer who introduced himself
+as Captain Clive. He was almost speechless with
+surprise at seeing me, for he had not spoken a sentence
+in English or seen a white person since his arrival at
+this lonely post five months before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin
+and we accepted gladly. On the way he gave us our
+first news of the outside world, for we had been beyond
+communication of any sort for months, and we learned
+that the United States had severed diplomatic relations
+with Germany.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo
+house with a broad veranda and thatched with straw.
+It was delightfully cool and dark after the glare of the
+yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order.
+The care which Britishers take to keep from "letting
+down" while guarding the frontiers of their vast
+empire is proverbial, and Captain Clive was a splendid
+example of the Indian officer. He was as clean-shaved
+and well-groomed as though he had been expecting us
+for days and the tiffin to which we sat down was as
+dainty and well served as it could have been in the midst
+of civilization.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of
+our young officer who had been temporarily detached
+from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis, and sent on border
+<a name="pg269" />
+duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers
+were in active service in East Africa, and he had
+cried to resign several times, but the Indian government
+would not release him. When we reached Rangoon
+some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined
+his regiment and was at the front. Ma-li-pa
+was a recently established "winter station" and in May
+would be abandoned when the troop returned to Lashio,
+ten days' journey away. Comfortable barracks, cook
+houses, and a hospital had been erected beside a large
+space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade
+ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph
+with Lashio, at the end of the railroad, and received a
+<i>résumé</i> of world news two or three times a week. With
+mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages
+were flashed from one mountain top to another and,
+under favorable conditions, reached Lashio in seven or
+eight hours.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks
+in an open field, for there was no available shade.
+Although Captain Clive was perfectly satisfied with
+our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed
+until he had communicated with the Indian government
+by heliograph. The border was being
+guarded very closely to prevent German sympathizers
+from crossing into Burma from China and inciting
+the native tribes to rebellion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among
+the Kachins in the Myitkyina district on the upper
+waters of the Irawadi River had been incited by a foreigner,
+I believe, and Clive had assisted in suppressing
+it. The Indian government was taking no further
+<a name="pg270" />
+chances and had given strict orders to arrest and hold
+anyone, other than a native, who crossed the border
+from China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Very fortunately H.B.M. Consul-General Goffe
+at Yün-nan Fu had communicated with the Lieutenant-Governor
+of Burma concerning our Expedition and
+we consequently expected no trouble, but Captain Clive
+could not let us proceed until he had orders to do so
+from the Superintendent of the Northern Shan States.
+Through a delayed message this permission did not
+reach him for five days and in the meantime we made
+the most of the limited collecting resources which Ma-li-pa
+afforded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma.
+He rose at six o'clock and after coffee and rolls had
+drill for two hours. At half past ten a heavy meal took
+the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with sandwiches
+and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at
+eight. His company was composed of several different
+native tribes, and each religious caste had its own cook
+and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not prepare
+meals for men of another. It is an extraordinary
+system but one which appears to operate perfectly well
+under the adaptable English government. Certainly
+one of the great elements in the success of the British
+as colonizers is their respect for native customs and
+superstitions!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised
+to hear all commands given in English although
+none of the men could understand that language. This
+is done to enable British and Indian troops to maneuver
+together. Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to
+his officers. In the evening the men played football
+<a name="pg271" />
+on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had
+suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic
+carpet of the Arabian Nights.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned
+about nine o'clock. Conditions were not favorable
+for small mammals and although we could undoubtedly
+have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats
+we did not set a line of steel traps for we expected to
+leave at any time. Our attention was mostly devoted
+to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred
+interesting specimens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain
+Clive and he dined with us in the evening. He
+had brought with him from Lashio a large quantity of
+supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done
+at home. Although the days were very warm, the
+nights were cold and a camp fire was most acceptable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese
+authorities and, while we were there, a very old
+mandarin, blind and infirm, called to present his compliments.
+He had been an ardent sportsman and was
+especially interested in our guns; had we been willing
+to accept the commission he would have paid us the
+money then and there to purchase for him a Savage
+.250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old
+gentleman always had been very loyal to the British
+and had received several decorations for his services.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman
+crawled into camp with his throat terribly cut. He had
+been attacked by brigands only a few miles over the
+border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The
+company "compounder" took him in charge and, when
+Clive asked him about the patient, his evasive answers
+<a name="pg272" />
+were most amusing; like all Orientals he would not
+commit himself to any definite statement because he
+might "lose face" if his opinion proved to be wrong.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman
+will die?" Looking very judicial the native replied,
+"Sir, he <i>may</i> die, and yet, he may live." "But,"
+said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "Yes,"
+was the answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That
+was all the satisfaction he was able to get.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Clive told us of another native who formerly had
+been in his company. He had been transferred and
+one day the Captain met him in Rangoon. When
+asked if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical,
+"Sir, it is good, but not <i>s-o-o</i> good!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a
+heliograph from Rangoon announced that "The Asiatic
+Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum
+of Natural History is especially commended to His
+Majesty's Indian Government and permission is
+hereby granted to carry on its work in Burma wherever
+it may desire." This was only one of the many courtesies
+which we received from the British.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The morning following the receipt of the heliogram
+we broke camp at daylight. When the last mule of
+the caravan had disappeared over the brown hills
+toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode
+away. If we are ever again made "prisoners of war"
+we hope our captor will be as delightful a gentleman as
+Captain Clive.
+</p>
+<a name="pg273" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch33">CHAPTER XXXIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER</h3>
+
+<p>
+From Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the
+Salween River. The country through which we
+passed was a succession of dry treeless hills, brown and
+barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of
+the third day we reached the Salween at a ferry a few
+miles from the village of Changlung where the river
+begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across
+the border from China into Burma.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself
+through the mountains and the sides are so precipitous
+that the trail doubles back upon itself a dozen times before
+it reaches the river 3,500 feet below. The upper
+half of the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees,
+but in the lower part the grass is long and rank and a
+thin dry jungle straggles along the water's edge. The
+Salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide,
+but narrows to half that distance below the ferry and
+flows in a series of rapids between rocky shores.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valley is devoid of human life except for three
+boatmen who tend the ferry, but the deserted rice fields
+along a narrow shelf showed evidence of former cultivation.
+On the slopes far up the side of the cañon is
+a Miao village, a tribe which we had not seen before.
+Probably the valley is too unhealthy for any natives to
+live close to the water's edge and, even at the time of
+<a name="pg274" />
+our visit in early March, the heated air was laden with
+malaria.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with
+opium, and assured us that there were no mammals
+near the river. They admitted that they sometimes
+heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched
+on a steep sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird
+catlike call of a peacock echoed up the valley. It was
+answered by another farther down the river, and the
+report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth
+a wild "pe-haun," "pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a
+dozen places.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles
+lashed together with vines and creepers. It floated just
+above the surface and was half submerged when loaded.
+The natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in
+place of oars. It consisted of a piece of tightly woven
+bamboo matting three feet long and two feet wide at
+right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle.
+With these the men nonchalantly raked the water
+toward them from the bow and stern when they had
+poled the raft well into the current. The invested capital
+was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers"
+needed repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed
+to build an entirely new outfit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the
+river from our camp where the jungle was thickest.
+On the first morning my wife and I floated down the
+river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a
+peacock which had called frequently from a rocky point
+near the water's edge. We picked our way through
+the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old
+cock either saw or heard us before we were within range,
+<a name="pg275" />
+and I caught just a glimpse of a brilliant green neck
+as he disappeared into the bushes. A second bird
+called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused
+to come into the open and as we started to stalk it in
+the jungle we heard a patter of feet among the dry
+leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw the bird
+sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a
+bush-clad hill.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was the only peacock which we were ever able
+to flush when it had already gained cover. Usually the
+birds depend entirely upon their ability to hide or run
+through the bushes. After several attempts we learned
+that it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully.
+The jungle was so crisp and parched that the dry leaves
+crackled at every step and even small birds made a
+loud noise while scratching on the ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for
+them at the river when they came to drink in the early
+morning and evening. Between two rocky points
+where we had first seen the birds there was a long
+curved beach of fine white sand. One morning Heller
+waited on the point nearest camp while my wife and I
+posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river.
+We had been sitting quietly for half an hour when we
+heard a scratching in the jungle. Thinking it was a
+peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water and
+sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. Meanwhile,
+Heller witnessed an interesting little drama enacted
+behind us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An old male peacock with a splendid train stole
+around the point close to the water, jumped to a high
+stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a full minute
+craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view
+<a name="pg276" />
+as we kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his
+presence. After he had satisfied his curiosity he hopped
+off the observation pinnacle and, with his body flattened
+close to the ground, slipped quietly away. It was an
+excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had
+Heller not witnessed the scene we should never have
+known how the clever old bird had fooled us.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The following morning we got a peahen at the same
+place. Heller had concealed himself in the bushes on
+one side of the point while I watched the other.
+Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the
+jungle on set wings and alighted at the water's edge.
+She saw Heller almost instantly, although he was completely
+covered by the vines, and started to fly, but he
+dropped her with a broken wing. Recovering herself,
+she darted around the rocky point only to meet a
+charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was a beautiful
+bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow
+and blue face patch and a green neck and back, but
+her plumes were short and inconspicuous when compared
+with those of the male.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Probably these birds had never before been hunted
+but they were exceedingly shy and difficult to kill. Although
+they called more or less during the entire day and
+we could locate them exactly, they were so far back
+in the jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made
+a stalk impossible. We tried to drive them but were
+unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush unless
+they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover.
+Apparently realizing that their brilliant plumage made
+them conspicuous objects, the birds relied entirely upon
+an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful sight
+and hearing to protect themselves from enemies.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg277" />
+<p>
+They usually came to the river to drink very early in
+the morning and just before dusk in the afternoon, but
+on cloudy days they might appear at almost any hour.
+If undisturbed they would remain near the water's
+edge for a considerable time or strut about the sand
+beach just at the edge of the jungle. At the sound of
+a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks would
+answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the
+domesticated birds will do.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is
+poison and our servants were horrified when they
+learned that we intended to eat it. They fully expected
+that we would not survive the night and, even when
+they saw we had experienced no ill effects, they could
+not be persuaded to touch any of it themselves. An
+old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds
+are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and
+roasted they are almost the equal of turkey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The species which we killed on the Salween River is
+the green peafowl (<i>Pavo munticus</i>) which inhabits
+Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. Its
+neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common
+Indian peacock (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>), and it is said that it
+is the most beautiful bird of the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are
+dropped about August and the birds assume more simple
+barred plumes, but the molt is very irregular; usually
+the full plumage is resumed in March or even
+earlier. The train is, of course, an ornament to attract
+the female and, when a cock is strutting about with
+spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar
+rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground
+<a name="pg278" />
+under a bush in the dense jungle, are dull brownish white
+and nearly three inches long. The chicks are sometimes
+domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said
+they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The
+birds are omnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles,
+flower buds, young shoots, and grain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The common peafowl (<i>Pavo cristatus</i>) is a native of
+India, Ceylon, and Assam. It is held sacred by some
+religious castes and we saw dozens of the birds wandering
+about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra,
+and Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable
+pets because they often attack infirm persons and children
+and kill young poultry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so
+abundant and easily killed that they do not furnish even
+passable sport, but in other places they are as wild and
+difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the Salween
+River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen
+that wherever peafowls are common, there tiger
+will be found.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen
+abruptly in domestication is the so-called "japanned"
+or black-shouldered peacock named <i>Pavo nigripennis</i> by
+Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is intermediate between
+<i>P. munticus</i> and <i>P. cristatus</i> and apparently
+"breeds true" but never has been found in a wild state.
+Albino specimens are by no means unusual and are a
+feature of many zoölogical gardens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Peacocks have been under domestication for many
+centuries and are mentioned in the Bible as having been
+imported into Palestine by Solomon; although the bird
+is referred to in mythology, the Greeks probably had but
+<a name="pg279" />
+little knowledge of it until after the conquests of Alexander.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from
+our camp on the Salween River I put up a silver pheasant
+(<i>Euplocamus nycthemerus</i>), one of the earliest
+known and most beautiful species of the family Phasianidae.
+Its white mantle, delicately vermiculated with
+black, extends like a wedding veil over the head, back
+and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black underparts,
+red cheek patches, and red legs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon
+the heart and back badges of the official dresses of civil
+mandarins to denote the rank of the wearer, and is found
+only in southern and western China. It is by no means
+abundant in the parts of Yün-nan which we visited and,
+moreover, lives in such dense jungle that it is difficult to
+find. The natives sometimes snare the birds and offer
+them for sale alive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween
+River, but were not successful in killing any. They
+were probably the Indian baboon (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)
+and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most
+extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and
+sometimes came down to the water to skip and dance
+along the sand and play among the rocks. The monkeys
+invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river
+from us and by the time we hunted up the boatmen and
+got the clumsy raft to the other shore the baboons had
+disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running
+through the trees up the mountain-side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping
+ground for either small or large mammals, but
+the birds were interesting and we secured a good many
+<a name="pg280" />
+species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were abundant
+and pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks
+along the river and only two cormorants.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay,
+for it is a long way from the main road and the climb
+out of the gorge is too formidable to be undertaken if
+the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where
+the valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped
+at the river the heat was most uncomfortable during
+the middle of the day and was but little mitigated by
+the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer
+the valley at this point must be a veritable furnace and
+doubtless reeks with fever. We slept under nets at
+night and in the early evening, while we were watching
+for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome.
+</p>
+<a name="pg281" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch34">CHAPTER XXXIV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley.
+We left on March 24 and all day crawled up the steep
+sides on a trail which doubled back and forth upon itself
+like an endless letter S. From our camp at night
+the river was just visible as a thin green line several
+thousand feet below, and for the first time in days, we
+needed a charcoal fire in our tents.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were <i>en route</i> to Lung-ling, a town of considerable
+size, where there was a possibility that mail might
+be awaiting us in care of the mandarin. Although ordinarily
+a three days' journey, it was more than four
+days before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack
+of malaria shortly after leaving the Salween River and
+we had to travel half stages.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude
+of 5,000 feet, we arrived at a Chinese town. Its
+dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together in a crowded
+mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged
+children and foot-bound women, were in unpleasant
+contrast to the charming little Shan villages which we
+had seen in the low country. The inhabitants themselves
+appeared to no better advantage when compared with
+their Shan neighbors, for their stares and insolent curiosity
+were almost unbearable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The region between the Salween River at Changlung
+and Lung-ling is as uninteresting to the zoölogist
+<a name="pg282" />
+as it could possibly be, for the hills are dry and bare
+and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical Chinese
+town except that the streets are wide and it is not as
+dirty as usual. The mandarin was a jolly rotund little
+fellow who simulated great sympathy when he informed
+me that he had received no mail for us. We had left
+directions to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang
+and in the event that he did not find our camp to proceed
+to Lung-ling with the mail. We learned some
+weeks later that the runner had been frightened by brigands
+and had turned back long before he reached
+Meng-ting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We had heard from our <i>mafus</i> and other natives that
+black monkeys were to be found on a mountain pass
+not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu, on the main
+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain
+that they would prove to be gibbons, we decided to make
+that our next hunting camp. It was three stages from
+Lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we
+again descended to the Salween River.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valley at this point is several miles wide and is
+so dry that the few shrubs and bushes seem to be parched
+and barely able to live. At the upper end a picturesque
+village is set among extensive rice fields. Although a
+few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly Shans
+who are in a transitory state and are gradually adopting
+Chinese customs. The houses are joined to each other
+in the Chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with
+straw. In shape as well as in composition they are quite
+unlike the dwellings of the southern Shans. The women
+wore cylindrical turbans, about eighteen inches high,
+which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the men
+were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of Chinese
+<a name="pg283" />
+blue. I believe that some of the Shan women also had
+bound feet but of this I cannot be certain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree
+at the far end of the village street, and a short time
+after the tents were up we had a visit from the Shan
+magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow
+wearing foreign dress and quite <i>au courant</i> with foreign
+ways. He even owned a breech-loading shotgun,
+and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. He presented
+us with the usual chickens and I returned several tins
+of cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman
+and directed us to a place on the mountain above the
+village where he said monkeys were abundant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left early in the morning with a guide and, after
+a hard climb, arrived at a little village near the forest
+to which the magistrate had directed us. Not only did
+the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys
+but we discovered for ourselves that the only water was
+more than a mile away, and that camping there was
+out of the question.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu.
+It is a tiny village built into the mountain-side with
+hardly fifty yards of level ground about it, but commanding
+a magnificent view over the Salween valley.
+Although we reached there at half past two in the afternoon
+the <i>mafus</i> insisted on camping because they swore
+that there was no water within fifty <i>li</i> up the mountain.
+Very unwillingly I consented to camp and the next
+morning found, as usual, that the <i>mafus</i> had lied for
+there was a splendid camping place with good water not
+two hours from Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for
+the Chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small
+matters, and the head <i>mafu</i> blandly admitted that he
+<a name="pg284" />
+knew there was a camping place farther on but that he
+was tired and wanted to stop early.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted
+with a ringing "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the
+forest five hundred feet below us; they were the calls of
+gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those
+of the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once
+and, after considerable prospecting, chose a flat place
+beside the road. It was by no means ideal but had the
+advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from
+either side of the ridge which for its entire length was
+scarcely two hundred feet in width. The sides fell away
+for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad slopes and,
+as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of
+mountains rolled outward in a great sea of green.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our camp would have been delightful except for the
+wind which swept across the pass night and day in an
+unceasing gale. My wife and I set a line of traps
+along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge,
+while Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced
+with the forest. The trees were immense
+spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed
+a solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft moss carpet
+underneath. Every trunk was clothed in a smothering
+mass of vines and ferns and parasitic plants and, from
+the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers
+swayed back and forth with every breath of wind. Below,
+the forest was fairly open save for occasional
+patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so
+close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more
+than a somber twilight beneath the trees.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale
+which howled up the valley from the south and swept
+<a name="pg285" />
+across the ridge in a torrent of wind. The huge trees
+around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed
+about to be torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of
+branches and the roar of the wind it was impossible to
+hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question.
+We lay in our bags expecting every second to have the
+covering torn from above our heads, but the tough cloth
+held, and at midnight the gale began to lull. In the
+morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind
+never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was
+a breathless calm among the trees a few hundred feet
+below.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our
+line of traps about nine o'clock in the morning when the
+forest suddenly resounded with the "hu-wa," "hu-wa,"
+"hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off at
+first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At
+the first note we seized our guns and dashed down the
+mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and falling. The
+animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet
+below the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we
+moved cautiously from tree to tree, going forward only
+when they called. It was one of the most exciting stalks
+I have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed
+always close above our heads.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black
+monkey leaped out of a tree top just as I stepped from
+behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. For a full half
+minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head
+thrust forward staring intently; then launching himself
+into the air as though shot from a catapult he caught a
+branch twenty feet away, swung to another, and literally
+flew through the tree tops. Without a sound save the
+<a name="pg286" />
+swish of the branches and splash after splash in the
+leaves, the entire herd followed him down the hill. It
+was out of range for the shotgun and my wife was ten
+feet behind me with the rifle, but had I had it in my
+hand I doubt if I could have hit one of those flying
+balls of fur.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but
+two days later we redeemed ourselves and brought in the
+first new gibbons. We were sitting on a bed of fragrant
+pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been
+chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when
+suddenly the wild call of the monkeys echoed up the
+mountain-side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were far away to the left, and we ran toward
+them, stumbling and slipping on the moss-covered rocks
+and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" sounding
+louder every moment. They seemed almost under us
+at times and we would stand motionless and silent only
+to hear the howls die away in the distance. At last we
+located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge
+filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny
+plants. It was an impossible place to cross, and we sat
+down, irresolute and discouraged. In a few moments
+a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black
+apes swinging along through the trees, two hundred
+yards away. Finally they stopped and began to feed.
+They were small marks at that distance but I rested
+my little Mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot
+while Yvette watched them with the glasses. One big
+fellow swung out on a branch and hung with one arm
+while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other. Yvette
+saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did
+not move, and at the roar of the second he dropped
+<a name="pg287" />
+heavily into the vines below. A brown female ran
+along the branch a few seconds later and peered down
+into the jungle where the first monkey had fallen. I
+covered her carefully with the ivory head of the front
+sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong off the tree.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of
+leaves and three huge black males leaped into full view
+from the summit of a tall tree. They were silhouetted
+against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick succession
+registering two clean misses. The bullets must
+have whizzed too close for comfort and they faded instantly
+into the forest like three black shadows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense
+foliage hoping to catch a glimpse of a swaying branch.
+Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling in the low tree beneath
+which we were sitting and seized me violently by
+the arm, screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above
+us. Quick, quick, he's going!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not
+twenty feet away hung a huge brown monkey half the
+size of a man. Almost in a daze I fired with the shotgun.
+The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long
+arm and a pair of eyes blazing like living coals, stared
+into mine. I fired again point blank as the huge mouth,
+baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a bloodcurdling
+howl. The monkey slowly swung back again,
+its arm relaxed and the animal fell at my feet, stone
+dead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance
+we had chosen, from all the trees in the forest, to sit
+under the very one in which the gibbon had been hiding
+and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg288" />
+<p>
+While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of
+the gorge, I climbed down into the jungle to try and
+make my way up the opposite side where the other
+monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the
+rocks were covered with a thin layer of earth which
+supported a dense growth of vegetation. If I tried to
+let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern
+it would almost invariably strip away with a long layer
+of dirt and send me headlong.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine
+where a mountain torrent leaped and foamed over
+the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade to a pool
+fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite
+side was more difficult than the descent and twice I had
+to return after finding the way impassable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated
+me from the spot where the gibbons had fallen.
+I skirted the rock face and had laboriously worked my
+way around and above it when a vine to which I had
+been clinging stripped off and I began to slide. Faster
+and faster I went, dragging a mass of ferns and creepers
+with me, for everything I grasped gave way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I thought it was the end of things for me because I
+was hardly ten feet above the precipice which fell away
+to the jagged rocks of the stream bed in a drop of seventy
+feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my life.
+Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me
+flattened out against the cliff. But even then I was
+far from safe, as I realized when I tried to twist about
+to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from
+a bush above my head.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+How I managed to crawl back to safety among the
+trees I can remember only vaguely. I finally got down
+<a name="pg289" />
+to the bottom of the cañon, but felt weak and sick and
+it was half an hour before I could climb up to the place
+where my wife was waiting. She was already badly
+frightened for she had not seen me since I left her an
+hour before and, when I answered her call, she was
+about to follow into the jungle where I had disappeared.
+We left the two monkeys to be recovered from above
+and went slowly back to camp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of
+the Nam-ting River. They represent a well-known
+species called the "hoolock" (<i>Hylobates hoolock</i>) which
+is also found in Burma.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The males, both old and young, are coal black with a
+fringe of white hairs about the face, and the females are
+light brown. Their note is totally unlike the Nam-ting
+River gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the top
+of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle
+for an hour or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty
+minutes as they swing through the branches and are silent
+during the remainder of the day. They called
+most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom
+heard them during cloudy weather.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which
+were visited every day, but the herds seemed to cover
+a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons of the Nam-ting
+River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops
+at almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing
+things which I have ever witnessed was the way in
+which they could throw themselves from one tree to
+another with unerring precision.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three
+months and our share amounted to 105 letters besides
+a great quantity of magazines. Wu had ridden to Teng-yueh
+<a name="pg290" />
+for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had
+a basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Reuter's
+cablegrams which were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer
+and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of the Chinese
+Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen
+also sent a note telling us of a good hunting ground
+near Teng-yueh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our
+letters and papers and, through them, began to get in
+touch with the world again. It is strange how little one
+misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its
+reach and has properly adjusted one's mental perspective.
+And it is just as strange how essential it all seems
+immediately one is again within reach of such adjuncts
+of civilization.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water
+fell in torrents, and the roar, as it drummed upon the
+tent, was so incessant that we could barely hear each
+other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp
+had not been made with reference to weather and during
+the night I waked to find that we were in the middle
+of a pond with fifteen inches of water in the tent. Shoes,
+clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface
+of the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our
+cots. This was the beginning of a ten days' rain after
+which we had six weeks of as delightful weather as one
+could wish.
+</p>
+<a name="pg291" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch35">CHAPTER XXXV</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION</h3>
+
+<p>
+After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we
+shifted camp to a village called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles
+nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride along
+the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed
+through grove after grove of rhododendrons in full
+blossom. The trees were sometimes thirty feet in height
+and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living coals
+among their dark green leaves. In the northern part of
+Yün-nan the rhododendrons grow above other timber
+line on mountains where it is too high even for spruces.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu.
+I had another attack of the Salween malaria and for
+five or six days could do little work. Heller, however,
+made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned
+pheasant, Temmick's tragopan (<i>Ceriornis temmincki</i>),
+besides half a dozen langurs of the same species as
+those we had collected on the Nam-ting River. He also
+was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels
+(<i>Petaurista yunnanensis</i>) which we had hoped to
+get at Wei-hsi. He saw the animal in the upper branches
+of a dead tree on the first evening we were in Tai-ping-pu
+but was not able to get a shot. The next night he
+watched the same spot and killed the squirrel with a
+charge of "fours." It measured forty-two and one-quarter
+inches from the nose to the end of the tail and was a
+rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the
+<a name="pg292" />
+underparts were cream white. As in all flying squirrels,
+the four legs were connected by a sheet of skin
+called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body.
+This acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail
+from tree to tree for, of course, it cannot fly like a
+bat. As these huge squirrels are strictly nocturnal, they
+are not often seen even by the natives. We were told
+by the Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building
+huge fires in the woods they could attract the animals
+and shoot them with their crossbows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel
+from a native and kept it for several days in the hope
+that it might become tame. The animal was exceedingly
+savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at
+anyone who approached its basket. It could not be
+tempted to eat or drink and, as it was a valuable specimen,
+we eventually chloroformed it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half
+dozen families of Lisos were living, and we hired the
+men to hunt for us. They were good-natured fellows,
+as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and worked
+well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck
+which had been killed with their crossbows and poisoned
+darts. The arrows were about twelve inches long, made
+of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece of
+the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels
+were sharpened to a needle point, but the hunting darts
+were tipped with steel or iron. The poison they extracted
+from a plant, which I never saw, and it was said
+that it takes effect very rapidly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot
+in the side with a single arrow and they assured us that
+only the flesh immediately surrounding the wound had
+<a name="pg293" />
+been spoiled for food. These natives like the Mosos,
+Lolos, and others carried their darts in a quiver made
+from the leg skin of a black bear, and none of the men
+wished to sell their weapons; I finally did obtain a
+crossbow and quiver for six dollars (Mexican).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the
+Lisos guided my wife and me to a large cave where
+they said there was a colony of bats. The cavern was
+an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult
+and dangerous place in the side of a cliff just above
+a swift mountain stream. We strung our gill net across
+the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to stir
+up the animals while we caught them as they flew out.
+In less than half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown
+bats, but our fingers were cut and bleeding from the
+vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. They all represented
+a widely distributed species which we had already
+obtained at Yün-nan Fu.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans
+at Ta-li Fu asking him to forward to Teng-yueh the
+specimens which we had left in his care, and the day
+following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing
+our cases passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves,
+were about ready to leave and two days later at ten
+o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain
+summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh
+plain which lay before us like a relief map. It is as
+flat as a plain well can be and, except where a dozen
+or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley
+is one vast watery rice field. Far in the distance, outside
+the gray city walls, we could see two temple-like
+buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds, and
+<a name="pg294" />
+Wu told us they were the houses of the Customs officials.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting"
+or second-class Chinese city, is one of the most important
+places in the province, for it stands as the door
+to India. All the trade of Burma and Yün-nan flows
+back and forth through the gates of Teng-yueh, over
+the great caravan road to Bhamo on the upper Irawadi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs,
+which are administered by the British government as
+security for the Boxer indemnity, is situated in this
+city, and we were looking forward with the greatest
+interest to meeting its white population. At the time
+of our visit the foreigners included Messrs. H.G.
+Fletcher and Ralph C. Grierson, respectively Acting
+Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Customs;
+Messrs. W.R. Palmer and Abertsen, also of the Customs;
+Mr. Eastes, H.B.M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian
+Medical Officer, and Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the
+China Inland Mission; Mr. Eastes, accompanied by the
+resident mandarin, was absent on a three months' opium
+inspection tour so that we did not meet him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and
+camped in a temple outside the city walls. Immediately
+after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson and went with
+him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and
+Palmer were living. We found there a Scotch botanist,
+Mr. Forrest, an old traveler in Yün-nan who
+was <i>en route</i> to A-tun-zu on a three-year plant-hunting
+expedition for an English commercial firm. We had
+heard much of Forrest from Messrs. Kok and Hanna
+and were especially glad to meet him because of his
+<a name="pg295" />
+wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province.
+Mr. Forrest was interested chiefly in primroses
+and rhododendrons, I believe, and in former years obtained
+a rather remarkable collection of these plants.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United
+States had declared war on Germany. It had been announced
+only a week before, and the information had
+reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately.
+It came as welcome news to us Americans
+who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to ourselves
+and others our country's lethargy in the face of Teuton
+insolence, and made us feel that once again we could
+acknowledge our nationality with the pride we used
+to feel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his
+guests and to move our caravan and belongings to his
+beautiful home. We were charmed with it and our host.
+The house was built with upturned, temple-like gables,
+and from his cool verandah we could look across an
+exquisite flower-filled garden to the blue mountains
+from which we had had our first view of Teng-yueh
+the day before. The interior of the dwelling was as
+attractive as its surroundings, and the beautifully served
+meals were as varied and dainty as one could have had
+in the midst of a great city.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their
+sport with them. Just beyond the city walls an excellent
+golf course had been laid out with Chinese graves as
+bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind
+the Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent
+polo ponies, besides three trained pointer dogs,
+and riding and shooting over the beautiful hills gave
+him an almost ideal life. We found that Mr. Fletcher
+<a name="pg296" />
+had a really remarkable selection of records and an excellent
+Victrola. After dinner, as we listened to the
+music, we had only to close our eyes and float back to
+New York and the Metropolitan Opera House on the
+divine harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or Caruso's
+matchless voice. But none of us wished to be there
+in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and the
+music already brought with it a lingering sadness because
+our days in the free, wild mountains of China
+were drawing to a close.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we
+dried and packed all our specimens in tin-lined boxes
+which were purchased from the agent of the British
+American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were
+just the right size to carry on muleback and, after the
+birds and mammals had been wrapped in cotton and
+sprinkled with napthalene, the cases were soldered and
+made air tight. The most essential thing in sending
+specimens of any kind through a moist, tropical climate
+such as India is to have them perfectly dry before the
+boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their
+destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased
+from a native two bear cubs (<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>) about a
+week old. Each was coal black except for a V-shaped
+white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When they
+first came to us they were too young to eat and we fed
+them diluted condensed milk from a spoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the
+story of their amusing ways as they grew older is a
+book in itself. After a month one of the cubs died,
+leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only
+lived and flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg297" />
+<p>
+He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the
+Irawadi River to Rangoon, and across the Bay of Bengal
+to Calcutta. He then visited many cities in India,
+and at Bombay boarded the P. &amp; O.S.S. <i>Namur</i> for
+Hongkong and became the pet of the ship. From China
+we took him to Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver,
+and finally to our home at Lawrence Park, Bronxville,
+New York. After an adventurous career as a house
+pet, when his exploits had made him famous and ourselves
+disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully sent
+him to the National Zoölogical Park, Washington,
+D.C., where he is living happily at the present time. He
+was the most delightful little pet we have ever owned
+and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his
+early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can
+see him still as he came to us the first week. He might
+well have been the model for the original "Teddy Bear"
+for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears
+and sparkling little eyes.
+</p>
+<a name="pg298" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch36">CHAPTER XXXVI</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>A BIG GAME PARADISE</h3>
+
+<p>
+A few months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen
+had discovered a splendid hunting ground near the village
+of Hui-yao, about eighty <i>li</i> from Teng-yueh. He
+had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while
+passing through the village, the natives told him that
+a large herd of <i>gnai-yang</i> or "wild goats" lived on the
+side of a hill through which a branch of the Shweli River
+had cut a deep gorge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the
+accuracy of the report he spent two days hunting and
+with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover, he saw
+twenty-five others. We examined the two skins and
+realized at once that they represented a different species
+from those of the Snow Mountain. Therefore, when
+we left Teng-yueh our first camp was at Hui-yao.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller and I started with four natives shortly after
+daylight. We crossed a tumbledown wooden bridge
+over the river at a narrow cañon where the sides were
+straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for
+about two miles. On the way Heller, who was in front,
+saw two muntjac standing in the grass on an open
+hillside, and shot the leader. The deer pitched headlong
+but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off
+into the thick cover at the edge of the meadow. It had
+disappeared before Heller reached the clearing but he
+saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock.
+<a name="pg299" />
+Although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal
+ran a quarter of a mile, and he finally discovered
+her several hours later in the bushes beside the river.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a short time we reached an open hillside which
+rose six or seven hundred feet above the river in a
+steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall of rock
+bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We separated
+at this point. Heller, with two natives, keeping
+near the river, while I climbed up the hill to work along
+the cliffs half way to the summit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort
+and, looking up, saw three gorals standing on a ledge
+seventy-five yards above him. He fired twice but missed
+and the animals disappeared around a corner of the
+hill. A few hundred yards farther on he saw a single
+old ram but his two shots apparently had no effect.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far
+from the summit for a mile or more without seeing an
+animal. Fresh tracks were everywhere and well-cut
+trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass.
+I had reached an impassable precipice and was returning
+across a steep slope when seven gorals jumped out
+of the grass where they had been lying asleep. I was
+in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick
+succession as the animals appeared through the branches,
+but missed both times.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then
+nearly two hundred yards away. One big ram had left
+the herd and was trotting along broadside on. I
+aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his
+head appeared in the peep sight. He turned a beautiful
+somersault and rolled over and over down the hill, finally
+disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg300" />
+<p>
+The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds
+later I saw a small one slowly skirting the rocks on the
+very summit of the hill. The first shot kicked the dirt
+beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran
+behind a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher
+on the trunk of a tree, covering the edge of the rock
+with the ivory head of the front sight and waited. I
+was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal
+out, and in two or three minutes his head appeared.
+I fired instantly, boring him through both shoulders,
+and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging against
+a rock not fifty yards from where we stood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling
+at the top of their lungs, ran up the hill like goats
+to bring the animal down to me. It was a young male
+in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches
+long. Our pleasure was somewhat dampened, however,
+when we went to recover the first goral for we
+found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge
+of the river it had either rolled or crawled into the water.
+We searched along the bank for half a mile but without
+success and returned to Hui-yao just in time for tiffin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little
+grove on the opposite side of the river behind the
+hunting grounds. Heller, instead of going over with the
+caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the
+pine forest where he could look across the river to the
+hill on which we had hunted in the morning. With his
+field glasses he discovered five gorals in an open meadow,
+and opened fire. It was long shooting but the animals
+did not know which way to run, and he killed three of
+the herd before they disappeared. Our first day had,
+<a name="pg301" />
+therefore, netted us one deer and four gorals which was
+better than at any other camp we had had in China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao
+would prove to be a wonderful hunting ground, and the
+two weeks we spent there justified all our hopes. At
+other places the cover was so dense or the country so
+rough that it was necessary to depend entirely upon
+dogs and untrained natives, but here the animals were
+on open hillsides where they could be still hunted with
+success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn
+something about the habits of the animals for we could
+watch them with glasses from the opposite side of the
+river when they were quite unconscious of our presence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that
+we did not bring in one or more gorals and even after
+we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens were left.
+Shooting the animals from across the river was rather
+an unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very
+effective method of collecting the particular specimens
+we needed for the Museum series. The distance was so
+great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the
+bullets were coming and almost any number of shots
+might be had before the animals made for cover. It
+became simply a case of long range target shooting at
+seldom less than three hundred yards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter,
+however, and was as good sport as I have ever had.
+The rocks and open meadow slopes were so precipitous
+that there was very real danger every moment, for one
+misstep would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to
+the bottom where he would inevitably be killed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the
+sheerest cliffs or to hide in the rank grass, and it took
+<a name="pg302" />
+close work to find them. I used most frequently to ride
+from camp to the river, send back the horse by a <i>mafu</i>,
+and work along the face of the rock wall with my two
+native boys. Their eyesight was wonderful and they
+often discovered gorals lying among the rocks when I
+had missed them entirely with my powerful prism
+binoculars. Their eyes had never been dimmed by
+study and I suppose were as keen as those of primitive
+man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives thousands
+of years ago over these same hills.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were many glorious hunts and it would be
+wearisome were I to describe them all, but one afternoon
+stands out in my memory above the others. It
+was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away
+from camp, across the rice fields and up the grassy valley
+to the long sweep of open meadow on the rim of the
+river gorge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter,
+and I crawled carefully to a jutting point of rocks and
+lay face down to inspect the cliffs above and to the left.
+With my glasses I scanned every inch of the gray wall,
+but could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi
+I saw him gazing intently at the rock which I had just
+examined, and in a moment he whispered excitedly
+"<i>gnai-yang</i>." By putting both hands to the side of his
+head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and
+although he pointed with my rifle, it was full five minutes
+before I could discover the goral flat upon his belly
+against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore legs
+doubled beneath his body. He was sound asleep in
+the sun and looked as though he might remain forever.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up
+above and circle around the cliff to a ragged promontory
+<a name="pg303" />
+which jutted into space within a hundred yards of
+the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour
+before we peered cautiously between two rocks opposite
+the ledge where the goral had been asleep. The
+animal was gone. We looked at each other in blank
+amazement and then began a survey of the ground
+below.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the
+ram feeding in an open meadow and we began at once
+to make our way down the face of the cliff. It was
+dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety
+and worked cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the
+goral had been standing. Again we crawled like snakes
+among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving
+grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared, and
+even Achi could not discover a sign of life upon the
+meadow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and
+looked around. Instantly there was a rattle of stones
+and a huge goral leaped out of the grass thirty yards
+away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle and
+shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the
+animal. Swearing softly at my carelessness, I threw in
+another shell, selected a spot in front of the ram, and
+fired. The splendid animal sank in its tracks without
+a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized
+me by the arm, whispering "<i>gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang,
+na, na, na, na</i>," and pointing to the cliffs two
+hundred yards above us. I looked up just in time to
+see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit
+of the ridge. An instant later he appeared again and
+stopped broadside on with his noble head thrown up,
+<a name="pg304" />
+silhouetted against the sky. It was a perfect target
+and, resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the animal
+with the white bead and centered it in the rear
+sight. As I touched the hair trigger and the roar of
+the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the
+cliff, the animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling
+over and over down the meadow and bringing up
+against a boulder not twenty yards from the first goral.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk
+I would not have changed my lot with any man on earth.
+The breathless excitement of the stalk and the wild thrill
+of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid rams were
+still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley and
+across the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette
+ran to the edge of the grove, her hands filled with wet
+photographic negatives. "How many?" she called.
+"Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many
+for you?" "Fourteen color plates," she sung back
+happily, "and all good."
+</p>
+<a name="pg305" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch37">CHAPTER XXXVII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>SEROW AND SAMBUR</h3>
+
+<p>
+We had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during
+our first week in camp. He rode out on Thursday afternoon
+and remained until Sunday, bringing us mail,
+war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with
+goral meat for all the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the
+afternoon of his visit I had killed three monkeys which
+represented a different species from any we had obtained
+before. They were the Indian baboon (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>)
+and were probably like those of the Salween River at
+Changlung.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I found two great troupes of the monkeys running
+along the opposite river bank. The first herd was climbing
+up the almost perpendicular rock walls, swinging
+on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in
+the tufts of grass. I could not approach nearer than
+one hundred and fifty yards and did some very bad
+shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at
+that distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires
+a much better shot than I am to register more hits than
+misses. I did kill two, but both dropped into the river
+and promptly sank, so that I gave it up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Less than a half mile farther on another and larger
+troupe appeared among the boulders just at the water's
+edge. Profiting by my experience, I kept out of sight
+among the bushes and watched the animals play about
+until one hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant.
+<a name="pg306" />
+I got six in this way, but we were able to recover only
+three of them from the water.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the
+doe which he killed on the first day. One of the largest
+bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers three and one half
+inches long from the burr to the tip. The skin-covered
+projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the
+summits of which the antlers grow, measured two and
+one-half inches from the skull to the burrs. Evidently
+the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for, although
+they were all in full summer pelage, two already
+had lost their antlers while the other had not. I can
+think of no more delicious meat than the flesh of these
+little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by
+the English sportsmen of India as they are by the foreigners
+of China.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was
+fortunate in killing a splendid coal-black serow which
+represents a sub-species new to science; although the
+natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick
+jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen
+for years. Heller and I had gone to this part of the
+gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys which he had
+located on the previous day. We had separated, Heller
+keeping close to the water while I skirted the cliffs near
+the summit not far from the road which led through the
+pine forest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when
+suddenly with a snort a large animal dashed out of a
+thicket below and to the left. I caught a glimpse of a
+great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns
+as the beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized
+that it was a serow. A few seconds later it reappeared,
+<a name="pg307" />
+running directly away from me along the upper edge
+of the gorge. I fired and the animal dropped, gave
+a convulsive twist, rolled over, and plunged into the
+cañon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited
+yells from below, and it was evident that some
+natives near the water had seen it fall. I had slight hope
+that they might have rescued it from the river, but my
+heart was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying
+to find a place where it was possible to descend. A
+wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away
+guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible
+for a human being to walk along it, and in proof
+I slid the last half of the way to the rocks at the river's
+edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we reached the stream it was only to find a
+flat wall against which the water surged in a mass of
+white foam, separating us from the place where the
+serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock
+but in two steps the water was above my waist. It was
+evident that we would have to swim, and I began to
+undress, inviting Achi and the wood cutter to follow;
+the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few
+clothes with considerable hesitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a swim of only about forty feet around the
+face of the cliff but the current was strong and it was
+no easy matter to fight my way to the other side. After
+I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood
+cutter to follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently
+the current was more than he had bargained for and a
+look of fear crossed his face, but he went manfully at it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had almost reached the rock on which I was
+standing with outstretched hand when his strength
+<a name="pg308" />
+seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. I
+jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one
+hand and letting my legs float out behind. The wood
+cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to which he
+clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning
+man and I dragged him up stream until, to my intense
+relief, he could grasp the rocks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We picked our way among the boulders for a few
+yards and suddenly came upon the serow lying partly
+in the water. I felt like dancing with delight but the
+sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations
+and I merely yelled to Achi who understood from
+the tone, if not from my words, that the animal was
+safe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men who had shouted when the animal fell over
+the cliff were only fifty feet away, but they too were
+separated from it by a wall of rock and surging water.
+They said that there was an easier way up the cliff
+than the one by which we had descended, and prepared
+a line of tough vines, one end of which they let down to
+us. We made it fast to the serow and I kept a second
+vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as
+they dragged it to the other shore. It was landed safely
+and the wood cutter was hauled over by the same means.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered
+that Achi had disappeared, taking my garments
+and those of the wood cutter with him. He evidently
+intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in
+the rather awkward predicament of making our way
+through the thick brush with only the proverbial smile
+and minus even the necktie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The men fastened together the serow's four legs,
+slipped a pole beneath them and toiled up the steep
+<a name="pg309" />
+slope preceded by a naked brown figure and followed
+by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with
+vines and creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing
+through them with no bodily protection was far from
+comfortable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge
+I was dismayed to find that Achi was not there with my
+clothes. The wood cutter did not appear to be greatly
+worried and indicated that we would find him farther
+up the road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every
+second to meet some person, and sure enough, a Chinese
+woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. I dived
+into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a
+rabbit, and from the frightened way in which she hurried
+past, she must have thought she had seen one of her
+ancestral spirits stalking abroad. We eventually found
+the boy, and, decently dressed, I faced the world again
+with confidence and happiness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the
+cliffs across the river. It was high up and fully three
+hundred and fifty yards away but, of course, quite unconscious
+of our presence. My first two shots struck
+close beside the animal, but at the third it rolled over
+and over down the hill, lodging among the rocks just
+above the river.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half
+the village acted as an escort to the serow, an animal
+which few had ever seen. It was a female, and probably
+weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The
+mane was short and black and strikingly unlike the long
+white manes of the Snow Mountain serows; the horns
+were almost smooth. Getting this specimen was one of
+<a name="pg310" />
+the lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman,
+for one might hunt for weeks in the same place without
+ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is exceedingly
+dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk
+except in a few spots. The animal had been feeding on
+the new grass just at the edge of the heavy cover and
+probably had been sleeping under a bush when she was
+disturbed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good
+collection of reptiles and lizards at Hui-yao, but in all
+other parts of the province which we visited they were
+exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in a
+place where there were so few reptiles and batrachians.
+We obtained only one species of poisonous snake here.
+It was a small green viper which we sometimes saw
+coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass.
+Several species of nonpoisonous snakes were more common
+but were nowhere really abundant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for
+a village called Wa-tien where there was a report of
+sambur. None of us had any real hope of finding the
+huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we
+camped in the early afternoon on an open hilltop five
+miles from Wa-tien where the natives assured us the
+animals often came to eat the young rice during the
+night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters,
+but awoke to find a dense fog blanketing the valley and
+mountains. It was not until half past nine that the gray
+mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough
+for us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly
+behind the camp and skirted the edge of a heavily forested
+ravine which the men wished to drive.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg311" />
+<p>
+Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed
+to a sharp ridge above and beyond him. In less than
+half an hour the dogs began to yelp in an uncertain
+way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to
+the ground, and a few seconds later Heller fired twice
+in quick succession. Two sambur had skirted the edge
+of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he
+had missed with both shots.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense
+underbrush. In a few moments the dogs began to yelp
+again and, while Heller remained on the hillside to watch
+the open fields, I followed the hounds along the creek
+bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 250-300
+rifle sounded five times in quick succession just above
+our heads, and we climbed hurriedly out of the gorge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur
+running along the edge of a bean field but the animal
+showed no sign of being hit. We easily picked up the
+trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found
+several drops of blood, showing that at least one bullet
+had found its mark. The blood soon ceased and we
+began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely
+scratched.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine,
+a branch of the one out of which it had first been driven,
+and while he watched the upper side I worked my way
+to the bottom to look for tracks. A few moments later
+the natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and
+Heller called out that they had found the deer, which
+was lying stone dead half way down the side of the gorge
+in a mass of thick ferns. The sambur had been hit only
+once but the powerful Savage bullet had crashed
+through the shoulder into the lungs; it was quite sufficient
+<a name="pg312" />
+to do the work even on such a huge animal and
+the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the
+place where it had been shot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair
+of antlers which measured twenty-seven inches in length.
+The deer was about the size of an American wapiti, or
+elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred
+pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese
+hunters were wild with excitement, but especially so
+when we began to eviscerate the animal, for they wished
+to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal
+value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every
+receptacle which they could find after each man had
+drunk all he could possibly force down his throat and
+had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the sambur was brought to camp a regular
+orgy was held by our servants, <i>mafus</i>, and dozens of
+villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or steal some of the
+blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his perquisite,
+carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a
+basin. The liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum,
+and in fact every part of the viscera was saved.
+Because the antlers were hard they were not considered
+of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we
+should have had to guard them closely; then they would
+have been worth about one hundred dollars (Mexican).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that
+it would not be difficult to get sambur, and indeed,
+Heller did see another in the afternoon but failed to
+kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of the hunters
+died suddenly during the night and all the men went
+off with their dogs to the burial feast which lasted several
+<a name="pg313" />
+days, and we were not able to find any other good
+hounds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity
+of our camp but they fed entirely during the
+night and spent the day in such thick cover that it was
+impossible to drive them out except with good beaters
+or dogs. We hunted faithfully every morning and
+afternoon but did not get another shot and, after a
+week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain
+range six miles away near a Liso village.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain
+range is the same on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu
+and reaches a height of 11,000 feet near Wa-tien.
+It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests
+must shelter a good deal of game.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded
+ridges rising out of open cultivated valleys, which
+often run into the jungle-filled ravines in which the
+sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this particular
+region and not in the neighboring country is a
+mystery unless it is the proximity of the great forested
+mountain range. But in similar places only a few miles
+away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives
+said the animals had never been seen, and neither were
+they known on the opposite side of the mountain range
+where the Teng-yueh--Tali-Fu road crosses the Salween
+valley.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three
+or four days hunting monkeys before we returned to
+Teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the field
+work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I
+became separated from the caravan but as we had one
+of our servants for a guide we were not uneasy.
+</p>
+
+<a name="pg314" />
+<p>
+The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang
+(which we had changed to "Leaping Frog" because
+he never did leap for any cause whatever), and
+before long he had us hopelessly lost.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would appear easy enough to ask the way from
+the natives, but the Chinese are so suspicious that they
+often will intentionally misdirect a stranger. They do
+not know what business the inquirer may have in the
+village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on
+general principles, they send him off in the wrong direction.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer
+of whom we inquired the way directed us to a road
+at nearly right angles to the one we should have taken,
+and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found
+the caravan.
+</p>
+<a name="pg315" />
+
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="ch38">CHAPTER XXXVIII</a></h2>
+
+
+<h3>LAST DAYS IN CHINA</h3>
+
+<p>
+It was of paramount importance to pack our specimens
+before the beginning of the summer rains. They
+might be expected to break in full violence any day
+after June 1, and when they really began it would
+be impossible to get our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually
+all caravan travel ceases during the wet season. Therefore
+our second stay at Hui-yao was short and we returned
+to Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field
+work of the Expedition exactly a year from the time
+it began with our trip up the Min River to Yeng-ping
+in Fukien Province.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become
+his guests and no place ever seemed more delightful,
+after our hot and dusty ride, than his beautiful garden
+and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served.
+Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the
+specimens were packed and the boxes sealed it was necessary
+to wrap them in waterproof covers; moreover,
+the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded,
+a caravan engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of
+motion-picture film developed. This was done in the spacious
+dark room connected with Mr. Grierson's house
+which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters
+of the tent which we had used for so many months.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much of the success of our motion film lay in the
+fact that it was developed within a short time after
+<a name="pg316" />
+exposure, for had we attempted to bring or send it to
+Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such
+work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic
+changes. Although cinematograph photography
+requires an elaborate and expensive outfit and is a
+source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an
+actual moving record of the life of such remote regions
+is worth all the trouble it entails.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently
+satisfactory and were among the most interesting
+results of the expedition. The stereoscopic effects and
+the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric
+shading in the photographs are remarkable. Although
+the plates had been subjected to a variety of climatic
+conditions and temperatures by the time the last ones
+were exposed in Burma, a year and a half after their
+manufacture, they showed no signs of deterioration even
+when the ordinary negatives which we brought with us
+from America had been ruined. The other photographs,
+some of which are reproduced in this book, speak for
+themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The entire collections of the Expedition were packed
+in forty-one cases and included the following specimens:
+</p>
+<table class="indent" summary="">
+<tr><td class="right"> 2,100</td><td>mammals</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">   800</td><td>birds</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">   200</td><td>reptiles and batrachians</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">   200</td><td>skeletons and formalin preparations
+                                     for anatomical study</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">   150</td><td>Paget natural color plates</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">   500</td><td>photographic negatives</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="right">10,000</td><td>feet of motion-picture film.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>
+Since the Expedition was organized primarily for
+the study of the mammalian fauna and its distribution,
+<a name="pg317" />
+our efforts were directed very largely toward this
+branch of science, and other specimens were gathered
+only when conditions were especially favorable. I believe
+that the mammal collection is the most extensive
+ever taken from China by a single continuous expedition,
+and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to
+represent species new to science. Our tents were pitched
+in 108 different spots from 15,000 feet to 1,400 feet
+above sea level, and because of this range in altitudes,
+the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably
+varied. Moreover, during our nine months in Yün-nan
+we spent 115 days in the saddle, riding 2,000 miles on
+horse or mule back, largely over small roads or trails
+in little known parts of the province.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably
+and the leisure hours were made delightful by golf, tennis,
+riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson was a charming
+host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants,
+at our disposal, utter strangers though we were,
+and we shall never forget his welcome.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because
+of the rain which was expected every day, and
+the coolies made us very comfortable upon our sleeping
+bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and
+covered with a strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the
+regulation Chinese "mountain schooner," at which we
+had so often laughed, but they proved to be infinitely
+more desirable than riding in the rain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh
+on June 1, behind a caravan of thirty mules for the
+eight-day journey to Bhamo on the outskirts of civilization.
+Our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of
+humanity. They were from S'suchuan Province and
+<a name="pg318" />
+were all unmarried which alone is almost a crime in
+China. Every cent of money, earned by the hardest
+sort of work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and
+smoking opium. As Wu tersely put it "they make how
+much--spend how much!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously
+in the midst of a filthy village and disappear
+into some dark den in spite of our remonstrances.
+We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out
+of our chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we
+would see them huddled on a "kang" over tiny yellow
+flames sucking at their pipes. At tiffin each one would
+stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and
+his broad straw hat propped up to screen him from the
+wind. With infinite care he would extract a few black
+grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little water,
+and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium
+bubbled and was almost ready to drop. Then placing
+it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe he would hold it against
+the flame and draw in long breaths of the sickly-sweet
+smoke. The men could work all day without food, but
+opium was a prime necessity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was almost impossible to start them in the morning
+and it became my regular duty to make the rounds
+of the filthy holes in which they slept, seize them by the
+collars and drag them into the street. Force made the
+only appeal to their deadened senses and we were
+heartily sick of them before we reached Bhamo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five
+thousand feet to almost sea level. Because of the fever
+the valleys are largely inhabited by "Chinese Shans"
+who differ in dress and customs from the Southern
+Shans of the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were
+<a name="pg319" />
+tattooed and the women all wore the enormous cylindrical
+turban which we had seen once before in the Salween
+Valley.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Yün-nan
+border into Burma. It is a beautiful spot where a foaming
+mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in a series
+of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall
+of green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron
+bridge from which a fine wide road of crushed stone
+leads all the way to Bhamo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What a difference between the country we were leaving
+and the one we were about to enter! It is the
+"deadly parallel" of the old East and the new West. On
+the one side is China with her flooded roads and bridges
+of rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a
+nation still living in the Middle Ages, fighting progress,
+shackled by the iron doctrines of Confucius to the long
+dead past. Across the river is English Burma, with
+eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of
+her people, her iron bridges and macadam roads representing
+the very essence of modern thought and progress.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With paternal care of her officials the British government
+has provided <i>dâk</i> (mail) bungalows at the end
+of each day's journey which are open to every foreign
+traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on
+piles. Each one has a spacious living room, with
+a large teakwood table and inviting lounge chairs. In
+a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and glass,
+all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are
+provided with adjoining baths and a covered passageway
+connects the kitchen with the house. All is ready
+for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a
+<a name="pg320" />
+trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such comforts
+can only be appreciated when one has journeyed for
+months in a country where they do not exist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our last night on the road was spent at a <i>dâk</i> bungalow
+near a village only a few miles from Bhamo. We
+were seated at the window, when, with a rattle of wheels,
+the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by.
+That cart brought to us more forcibly than any other
+thing a realization that the Expedition was ended and
+that we were standing on the threshold of civilization.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were
+wet with unshed tears, and a lump had risen in my
+throat. Not all the pleasures of the city, the love of
+friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild,
+free life of the year gone by. Silently we left the house
+and walked across the sunlit road into a grove of graceful,
+drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between
+the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled
+the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy
+East; the East which, like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves
+a mystic spell about the wanderer whom she has loved
+and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. And
+when he would cast her off and return to his own again
+she knows full well that her subtle charm will bring
+him back once more.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="narrow" />
+
+<p>
+The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of
+low, cool houses, wide lawns and tree-decked streets
+built on the bank of the muddy Irawadi River. Only
+a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and palatial
+steamers run to Mandalay and Rangoon. We
+called upon Mr. Farmer, the Deputy Commissioner,
+<a name="pg321" />
+who offered the hospitality of the "Circuit House" and
+in the evening took us with him to the Club.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed
+women, and officers in uniform strolled about or
+sipped iced drinks beside the tennis court. We felt
+strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange
+to them for we were newly come from a far country
+which they saw only as a mystic, unknown land.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile
+journey to Rangoon, exactly nine months after
+we had ridden away from Yün-nan Fu toward the
+Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need
+not be related here. When we reached civilization we
+expected that our transport difficulties were ended; instead
+they had only begun. India was well-nigh isolated
+from the Pacific and to expose our valuable collection
+to the attacks of German pirates in the Mediterranean
+and Atlantic was not to be considered even
+though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the
+world to reach America safely.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with
+all our baggage to Bombay, and after a seemingly endless
+wait eventually succeeded in arriving at Hongkong
+by way of Singapore. There we separated from our
+faithful Wu and sent him to his home in Foochow. It
+was hard to say "good-by" to Wu, for his efficient service,
+his enthusiastic interest in the work of the Expedition,
+and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed
+to be done, had won our gratitude and affection. We
+ourselves went northward to Japan, across the Pacific
+to Vancouver, and overland to New York, arriving on
+October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen months from the time
+we left. We were never separated from our collections
+<a name="pg322" />
+for, had we left them, I doubt if they would ever have
+reached America. It was difficult enough to gather
+them in the field, but infinitely more so to guide the
+forty-one cases through the tangled shipping net of a
+war-mad world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They reached New York without the loss of a single
+specimen and are now being prepared in the American
+Museum of Natural History for the study which will
+place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition
+before the public.
+</p>
+
+<hr class="narrow" />
+
+<p>
+The story of our travels is at an end. Once more
+we are indefinable units in a vast work-a-day world,
+bound by the iron chains of convention to the customs
+of civilized men and things. The glorious days in our
+beloved East are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems
+not far away, for the miles of land and water can be
+traversed in a thought. Again we stand before our
+tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us,
+watching the glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain
+turn purple and gold in the setting sun; again, we feel
+the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet
+tones of a gibbon's call. We have only to shut our eyes
+to bring back a picture of the bleak barriers of the Forbidden
+Land or the sunlit streets of a Burma village.
+Thank God, we saw it all together and such blessed
+memories can never die.
+</p>
+<a name="pg323" />
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h2>INDEX</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+Abercrombie &amp; Fitch Co., <a href="#pg76">76</a><br />
+Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of, <a href="#pg290">290</a>,
+         <a href="#pg294">294</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao,
+         <a href="#pg298">298</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">killed two gorals,
+         <a href="#pg298">298</a></span><br />
+Africa, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Akeley, Carl E., <a href="#pg4">4</a>, <a href="#pg76">76</a><br />
+Alaska, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Allen, Dr. J.A., <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+American flags, <a href="#pg43">43</a><br />
+American Legation, Peking, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+American Museum Journal, <a href="#pgix">ix</a><br />
+American Museum of Natural History, <a href="#pg2">2</a>,
+         <a href="#pg5">5</a>, <a href="#pg77">77</a>,
+         <a href="#pg200">200</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">trustees of, specimens being prepared at,
+         <a href="#pg321">321</a></span><br />
+Americans, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+Ammunition, loss of, <a href="#pg79">79</a><br />
+Amoy, <a href="#pg16">16</a><br />
+<i>Anas boscas</i> (Mallard ducks), <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Anglo-Chinese College, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Animal life, lack of, <a href="#pg89">89</a><br />
+Annamits, <a href="#pg78">78</a><br />
+Antlers, <a href="#pg306">306</a>, <a href="#pg312">312</a><br />
+Ape, gray (<i>Pygathrix</i>), <a href="#pg255">255</a><br />
+<i>Apodemus</i> (white-footed mouse), <a href="#pg122">122</a>,
+         <a href="#pg176">176</a><br />
+Asia, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+<i>Asia</i> Magazine, quoted from, <a href="#pg152">152</a><br />
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition, <a href="#pg2">2</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">members of, <a href="#pg3">3</a></span><br />
+Assam, <a href="#pg241">241</a><br />
+Assistants, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+A-tun-zu, <a href="#pg198">198</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Babies, killing and selling of, <a href="#pg206">206</a><br />
+Baboon, brown (<i>Macacus</i>), <a href="#pg255">255</a><br />
+Baboon, Indian (<i>Macacus rhesus</i>), <a href="#pg279">279</a><br />
+Bamboo chickens, <a href="#pg26">26</a><br />
+Bandits, attack of, <a href="#pg95">95</a><br />
+Bankhardt, Mr., <a href="#pg32">32</a>, <a href="#pg40">40</a>,
+         <a href="#pg42">42</a>, <a href="#pg207">207</a><br />
+Bat apartment house, <a href="#pg30">30</a><br />
+Bat cave, description of, <a href="#pg29">29</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">experience of girl in, <a href="#pg31">31</a></span><br />
+Bats, method of killing, <a href="#pg30">30</a><br />
+Batrachians, <a href="#pg310">310</a><br />
+Bear cubs (<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>), purchased at Teng-yueg,
+         <a href="#pg296">296</a><br />
+Bedding, <a href="#pg93">93</a><br />
+Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+Bering Strait, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L., <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Betel nut, <a href="#pg241">241</a>, <a href="#pg242">242</a><br />
+Bhamo, <a href="#pg294">294</a>, <a href="#pg315">315</a>,
+         <a href="#pg317">317</a>, <a href="#pg319">319</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">railroad from, <a href="#pg81">81</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">road to, <a href="#pg318">318</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg320">320</a></span><br />
+Big Ravine, description of, <a href="#pg26">26</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">temples near, <a href="#pg26">26</a></span><br />
+Birds, game, <a href="#pg90">90</a><br />
+<i>Blarina</i>, <a href="#pg176">176</a><br />
+Boat, Chinese, eye on, <a href="#pg15">15</a><br />
+Bode, Mr., <a href="#pg99">99</a><br />
+Bohea Hills, <a href="#pg64">64</a><br />
+Bound feet, <a href="#pg34">34</a><br />
+Bowdoin, George, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Bradley, Dr., <a href="#pg78">78</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">established leper hospital at Paik-hoi,
+         <a href="#pg205">205</a></span><br />
+Brahmin priests, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Brahminy ducks, <a href="#pg186">186</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg187">187</a></span><br />
+Bridge, suspension, description of, <a href="#pg213">213</a><br />
+Bridges, rope, <a href="#pg193">193</a><br />
+Brigand, seal of a pardoned, <a href="#pg210">210</a><br />
+Brigandage, <a href="#pg207">207</a>, <a href="#pg208">208</a>,
+         <a href="#pg211">211</a><br />
+Brigands; beheading of, <a href="#pg36">36</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">infest Yün-nan, <a href="#pg33">33</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg96">96</a></span><br />
+British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong, <a href="#pg97">97</a>,
+         <a href="#pg100">100</a><br />
+British East Africa, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos, <a href="#pg174">174</a><br />
+Buffaloes, <a href="#pg265">265</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">water, <a href="#pg218">218</a></span><br />
+Bui-tao, <a href="#pg60">60</a>, <a href="#pg61">61</a><br />
+Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Burial, expenses of, <a href="#pg39">39</a><br />
+Burma, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg91">91</a>, <a href="#pg191">191</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">border of, <a href="#pg197">197</a>,
+         <a href="#pg241">241</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">girls of, <a href="#pg242">242</a>, <a href="#pg243">243</a>,
+         <a href="#pg248">248</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mammals caught near, <a href="#pg250">250</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">frontier of, <a href="#pg264">264</a>, <a href="#pg265">265</a>,
+         <a href="#pg294">294</a>, <a href="#pg316">316</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">boundary of, <a href="#pg319">319</a></span><br />
+Burmans, <a href="#pg239">239</a>, <a href="#pg241">241</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Calcutta, <a href="#pg297">297</a>, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Caldwell, Rev. Harry R., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg3">3</a>,
+         <a href="#pg17">17</a>, <a href="#pg20">20</a>, <a href="#pg21">21</a>,
+         <a href="#pg22">22</a>, <a href="#pg23">23</a>, <a href="#pg24">24</a>,
+         <a href="#pg26">26</a>, <a href="#pg27">27</a>, <a href="#pg28">28</a>,
+         <a href="#pg29">29</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">letter from, <a href="#pg32">32</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">house of, <a href="#pg36">36</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">stationed at Futsing, <a href="#pg44">44</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">tiger hunting, method of, <a href="#pg45">45</a>,
+         <a href="#pg46">46</a>, <a href="#pg55">55</a>, <a href="#pg56">56</a>,
+         <a href="#pg61">61</a>, <a href="#pg64">64</a>, <a href="#pg141">141</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">obtains serows at Yen-ping, <a href="#pg142">142</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">purchases serow skins in Fukien, <a href="#pg143">143</a>,
+         <a href="#pg152">152</a>, <a href="#pg154">154</a>, <a href="#pg207">207</a></span><br />
+California, <a href="#pg3">3</a><br />
+<i>Callosciurus erythraeus</i>, <a href="#pg89">89</a>, <a href="#pg230">230</a><br />
+Camera equipment, <a href="#pg75">75</a><br />
+Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of,
+         <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock, <a href="#pg262">262</a><br />
+<i>Capricornulus crispus</i>, <a href="#pg140">140</a><br />
+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis</i>, <a href="#pg141">141</a><br />
+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes</i>, <a href="#pg29">29</a>,
+         <a href="#pg141">141</a><br />
+<i>Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi</i>, <a href="#pg141">141</a><br />
+Caravan, robbing of, <a href="#pg96">96</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">buying of, <a href="#pg104">104</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">renting of, <a href="#pg104">104</a></span><br />
+Caravan ponies, <a href="#pg104">104</a><br />
+Caravans, distance traveled by, <a href="#pg158">158</a>, <a href="#pg197">197</a><br />
+Cary, F.W., Commissioner of Customs, <a href="#pg4">4</a>, <a href="#pg77">77</a><br />
+<i>Casarca casarca</i> (ruddy sheldrake), <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Caverns, <a href="#pg162">162</a><br />
+Central Asia, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Central Asian plateau, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+<i>Cervus macneilli</i>, <a href="#pg175">175</a><br />
+Chair-coolies, <a href="#pg317">317</a><br />
+Chairs, description of, <a href="#pg92">92</a>, <a href="#pg317">317</a><br />
+Chang, Dr., <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Chang-hu-fan, <a href="#pg20">20</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">night at, <a href="#pg21">21</a></span><br />
+Changlung, <a href="#pg273">273</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">ferry at, <a href="#pg274">274</a>,
+         <a href="#pg281">281</a></span><br />
+Chien-chuan, <a href="#pg198">198</a><br />
+Chi-li, <a href="#pg7">7</a><br />
+China, <a href="#pg1">1</a>, <a href="#pg2">2</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">aboriginal inhabitants of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">press, <a href="#pg13">13</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">inland mission, <a href="#pg78">78</a>,
+         <a href="#pg101">101</a></span><br />
+Chinaman, Cantonese, <a href="#pg242">242</a><br />
+Chinese, Republic, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg2">2</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">army of, <a href="#pg7">7</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">face saving, <a href="#pg11">11</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Foreign Office, <a href="#pg11">11</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">screaming, habit of, <a href="#pg15">15</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">lack of sympathy of, <a href="#pg19">19</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">not affected by sun, <a href="#pg22">22</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">love of companionship, <a href="#pg22">22</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">bride of, <a href="#pg69">69</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">wedding of, <a href="#pg72">72</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">dress of, <a href="#pg72">72</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with,
+         <a href="#pg82">82</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">education of, <a href="#pg88">88</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">villages, description of, <a href="#pg90">90</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">etiquette of, <a href="#pg102">102</a>,
+         <a href="#pg158">158</a>, <a href="#pg190">190</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">New Year, <a href="#pg212">212</a>, <a href="#pg213">213</a>,
+         <a href="#pg214">214</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">collecting debts of, <a href="#pg216">216</a></span><br />
+Chipmunk (<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>), <a href="#pg230">230</a><br />
+Chi-yuen-kang, <a href="#pg26">26</a>, <a href="#pg27">27</a>, <a href="#pg29">29</a><br />
+Chou Chou, <a href="#pg99">99</a><br />
+Christians, native, persecution of, <a href="#pg21">21</a><br />
+Christianity, lesson in, <a href="#pg39">39</a><br />
+Christmas, <a href="#pg195">195</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">celebration of, <a href="#pg196">196</a></span><br />
+Chu-hsuing Fu, <a href="#pg94">94</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a><br />
+Chung-tien, <a href="#pg172">172</a>, <a href="#pg175">175</a>,
+         <a href="#pg176">176</a>, <a href="#pg183">183</a>, <a href="#pg201">201</a><br />
+Civet (<i>Viverra</i>), <a href="#pg246">246</a>, <a href="#pg247">247</a><br />
+Clive, Captain, <a href="#pg268">268</a>, <a href="#pg270">270</a>,
+         <a href="#pg272">272</a><br />
+Clothing, <a href="#pg75">75</a><br />
+Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M., <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Collecting case, <a href="#pg228">228</a><br />
+Color plates, <a href="#pg240">240</a><br />
+Confucius, rules of, <a href="#pg67">67</a><br />
+Cook, difficulty in obtaining, <a href="#pg17">17</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg105">105</a></span><br />
+Coolies, <a href="#pg54">54</a><br />
+Cormorants, <a href="#pg280">280</a><br />
+Corn, <a href="#pg91">91</a><br />
+Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese, <a href="#pg218">218</a><br />
+Cranes, <a href="#pg184">184</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg185">185</a>, <a href="#pg199">199</a>,
+         <a href="#pg236">236</a></span><br />
+Crossbows, <a href="#pg229">229</a><br />
+Cui-kau, <a href="#pg18">18</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg20">20</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Da-Da, <a href="#pg45">45</a>, <a href="#pg54">54</a><br />
+Daing-nei, <a href="#pg54">54</a>, <a href="#pg66">66</a><br />
+<i>Dâk</i> (mail) bungalows, <a href="#pg319">319</a><br />
+Da-Ming, <a href="#pg33">33</a><br />
+Darjeeling, <a href="#pg144">144</a><br />
+Davies, Major H.R., <a href="#pgix">ix</a>, <a href="#pg93">93</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">quoted, <a href="#pg137">137</a>, <a href="#pg138">138</a>,
+         <a href="#pg139">139</a>, <a href="#pg191">191</a></span><br />
+Dead, burying of, <a href="#pg151">151</a><br />
+Deer, <a href="#pg246">246</a>, <a href="#pg301">301</a>, <a href="#pg312">312</a>,
+         <a href="#pg313">313</a><br />
+Deer, barking, <a href="#pg63">63</a><br />
+Denby, Hon. Charles, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+Dennet, Tyler, quoted, <a href="#pg152">152</a><br />
+D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition, <a href="#pg174">174</a><br />
+D'Orleans, Prince Henri, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Dog, red, death of, <a href="#pg135">135</a><br />
+Dogs, description of, <a href="#pg115">115</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">for food, <a href="#pg115">115</a></span><br />
+Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China, <a href="#pg93">93</a><br />
+Duai Uong, <a href="#pg51">51</a><br />
+Ducks brahminy, <a href="#pg90">90</a>, <a href="#pg198">198</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">shooting of, <a href="#pg199">199</a></span><br />
+Dupontès, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition, <a href="#pg80">80</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Eastes, Mr., Consul, <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Education, foreign, <a href="#pg71">71</a><br />
+<i>Elaphodus</i>, <a href="#pg132">132</a><br />
+Elephants, <a href="#pg219">219</a>, <a href="#pg222">222</a><br />
+Elk, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Ellsworth, Lincoln, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of, <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Empress Dowager, <a href="#pg70">70</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">issued edict prohibiting opium growing,
+         <a href="#pg91">91</a></span><br />
+Equipment, purchase of, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake, <a href="#pg199">199</a><br />
+Etiquette, <a href="#pg102">102</a><br />
+Europe, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+European war, <a href="#pg8">8</a><br />
+Evans, H.G., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">assistance of, <a href="#pg100">100</a>,
+         <a href="#pg106">106</a>, <a href="#pg186">186</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a>,
+         <a href="#pg293">293</a></span><br />
+Expedition, announcement of, <a href="#pg5">5</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">applicants for positions on, <a href="#pg5">5</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">results of, <a href="#pg316">316</a></span><br />
+Expeditions, preliminary, <a href="#pg2">2</a><br />
+Eye on Chinese boat, <a href="#pg15">15</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Farmer, Mr., <a href="#pg320">320</a><br />
+Fauna, mammalian, <a href="#pg316">316</a><br />
+<i>Felis temmicki</i>, <a href="#pg103">103</a><br />
+<i>Felis uncia</i>, <a href="#pg103">103</a><br />
+Ferry, <a href="#pg160">160</a><br />
+Fletcher, H.G., <a href="#pg294">294</a>, <a href="#pg295">295</a><br />
+Flying squirrel, <a href="#pg103">103</a>, <a href="#pg191">191</a><br />
+Foochow, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>, <a href="#pg11">11</a>,
+         <a href="#pg15">15</a>, <a href="#pg16">16</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">foreign residents of, <a href="#pg17">17</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">streets of, <a href="#pg17">17</a>, <a href="#pg23">23</a>,
+         <a href="#pg24">24</a>, <a href="#pg35">35</a>, <a href="#pg40">40</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mail from, <a href="#pg43">43</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">schools for native girls at, <a href="#pg67">67</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">woman's college at, <a href="#pg67">67</a>,
+         <a href="#pg206">206</a>, <a href="#pg207">207</a>, <a href="#pg209">209</a>,
+         <a href="#pg321">321</a></span><br />
+Food box, <a href="#pg74">74</a><br />
+Foot binding, origin of, <a href="#pg69">69</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">method of, <a href="#pg70">70</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Natural Foot Society of, <a href="#pg70">70</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">agitation against, <a href="#pg71">71</a></span><br />
+Forbidden City, <a href="#pg12">12</a><br />
+Ford, James B., <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Foreign Office, <a href="#pg97">97</a><br />
+Forest conservation, lack of, <a href="#pg88">88</a><br />
+Formosa, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+Forrest, Mr., <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Fossil animals, <a href="#pg103">103</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">beds, <a href="#pg103">103</a></span><br />
+Francolins, <a href="#pg26">26</a><br />
+French Consul, <a href="#pg78">78</a><br />
+Frick, Childs, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Frick, Henry C., <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Fukien Province, China, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg6">6</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">deforestation of, <a href="#pg24">24</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mammals of, <a href="#pg25">25</a>, <a href="#pg26">26</a>,
+         <a href="#pg28">28</a>, <a href="#pg29">29</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">climate and temperature of, <a href="#pg63">63</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">collecting in summer at, <a href="#pg63">63</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">birds of, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">herpetology of, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">trapping for small mammals at, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">zoölogical study of, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">language of, <a href="#pg65">65</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">travel in, <a href="#pg65">65</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">servants in, <a href="#pg65">65</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">serows hunted in, <a href="#pg143">143</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">missionary work in, <a href="#pg207">207</a></span><br />
+Funeral customs, <a href="#pg151">151</a>, <a href="#pg153">153</a><br />
+Futsing, <a href="#pg43">43</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">blue tiger hunting at, <a href="#pg54">54</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Galápagos Islands, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+<i>Gallus gallus</i>, <a href="#pg247">247</a><br />
+<i>Gallus lafayetti</i>, <a href="#pg248">248</a><br />
+<i>Gallus sonnerati</i>, <a href="#pg248">248</a><br />
+<i>Gallus varius</i>, <a href="#pg248">248</a><br />
+Gamblers, <a href="#pg215">215</a><br />
+Geese, <a href="#pg90">90</a>, <a href="#pg198">198</a><br />
+Gen-kang, <a href="#pg224">224</a>, <a href="#pg226">226</a>, <a href="#pg229">229</a>,
+         <a href="#pg233">233</a><br />
+Gibbon (<i>Hylobates</i>), <a href="#pg253">253</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg254">254</a>, <a href="#pg255">255</a>,
+         <a href="#pg281">281</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of, <a href="#pg285">285</a></span><br />
+Goffe, Consul-General at Yün-nan Fu, <a href="#pg270">270</a><br />
+Goitre, prevalence of, <a href="#pg92">92</a><br />
+Gorals, <a href="#pg25">25</a>, <a href="#pg76">76</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">first hunt for, <a href="#pg120">120</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">ceremonies at death of, <a href="#pg121">121</a>,
+         <a href="#pg123">123</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">collecting for groups, <a href="#pg126">126</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">color of, <a href="#pg126">126</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">invisibility of, <a href="#pg128">128</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg144">144</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">horns of, <a href="#pg144">144</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">distribution of, <a href="#pg144">144</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of, <a href="#pg144">144</a>, <a href="#pg194">194</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fighting of, <a href="#pg145">145</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg146">146</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">feet of, <a href="#pg146">146</a>, <a href="#pg194">194</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of, at Hui-yao, <a href="#pg302">302</a>,
+         <a href="#pg309">309</a></span><br />
+Great Invisible, <a href="#pg44">44</a><br />
+Grierson, Ralph C., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a>,
+         <a href="#pg295">295</a>, <a href="#pg305">305</a>, <a href="#pg317">317</a><br />
+<i>Grus communis</i>, <a href="#pg236">236</a><br />
+<i>Grus nigricollis</i>, <a href="#pg184">184</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Habala, <a href="#pg164">164</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting at, <a href="#pg165">165</a>, <a href="#pg167">167</a></span><br />
+Hainan, description of, <a href="#pg77">77</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">fauna of, <a href="#pg77">77</a></span><br />
+Haiphong, <a href="#pg77">77</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">arrival at, <a href="#pg78">78</a>, <a href="#pg79">79</a></span><br />
+Hanna, Rev. William J., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg79">79</a>,
+         <a href="#pg89">89</a>, <a href="#pg101">101</a>, <a href="#pg106">106</a>,
+         <a href="#pg201">201</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a>, <a href="#pg205">205</a>,
+         <a href="#pg206">206</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Hanoi, description of, <a href="#pgx">x</a>, <a href="#pg79">79</a><br />
+<i>Harper's Magazine</i>, <a href="#pgix">ix</a><br />
+Hartford, Mabel, <a href="#pg22">22</a>, <a href="#pg23">23</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a><br />
+Heller, Edmund, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg4">4</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>,
+         <a href="#pg61">61</a>, <a href="#pg75">75</a>, <a href="#pg79">79</a>,
+         <a href="#pg85">85</a>, <a href="#pg94">94</a>, <a href="#pg104">104</a>,
+         <a href="#pg105">105</a>, <a href="#pg115">115</a>, <a href="#pg116">116</a>,
+         <a href="#pg122">122</a>, <a href="#pg123">123</a>, <a href="#pg134">134</a>,
+         <a href="#pg135">135</a>, <a href="#pg136">136</a>, <a href="#pg146">146</a>,
+         <a href="#pg150">150</a>, <a href="#pg161">161</a>, <a href="#pg162">162</a>,
+         <a href="#pg173">173</a>, <a href="#pg185">185</a>, <a href="#pg195">195</a>,
+         <a href="#pg196">196</a>, <a href="#pg227">227</a>, <a href="#pg229">229</a>,
+         <a href="#pg247">247</a>, <a href="#pg275">275</a>, <a href="#pg276">276</a>,
+         <a href="#pg284">284</a>, <a href="#pg291">291</a>, <a href="#pg298">298</a>,
+         <a href="#pg299">299</a>, <a href="#pg300">300</a>, <a href="#pg306">306</a>,
+         <a href="#pg311">311</a>, <a href="#pg312">312</a><br />
+Himalaya Mountains, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Hoi-hau, <a href="#pg77">77</a><br />
+Homes, <a href="#pg69">69</a><br />
+Ho-mu-shu, <a href="#pg281">281</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">monkeys found near, <a href="#pg282">282</a>,
+         <a href="#pg283">283</a>, <a href="#pg289">289</a>, <a href="#pg291">291</a>,
+         <a href="#pg313">313</a></span><br />
+Hongkong, purchase of supplies at, <a href="#pg74">74</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a>,
+         <a href="#pg297">297</a>, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Hoolock (<i>Hylobates hoolock</i>), <a href="#pg289">289</a><br />
+Hornbill, <a href="#pg245">245</a>, <a href="#pg252">252</a><br />
+Horses, size of, <a href="#pg85">85</a>, <a href="#pg104">104</a><br />
+Hospital attendants, <a href="#pg38">38</a><br />
+Hotenfa, <a href="#pg129">129</a>, <a href="#pg130">130</a>, <a href="#pg131">131</a>,
+         <a href="#pg132">132</a>, <a href="#pg134">134</a>, <a href="#pg135">135</a>,
+         <a href="#pg161">161</a>, <a href="#pg171">171</a>, <a href="#pg174">174</a>,
+         <a href="#pg193">193</a>, <a href="#pg194">194</a>, <a href="#pg195">195</a><br />
+Hsia-kuan, description of, <a href="#pg99">99</a>, <a href="#pg103">103</a>,
+         <a href="#pg212">212</a><br />
+Hui-yao, <a href="#pg142">142</a>, <a href="#pg145">145</a>, <a href="#pg298">298</a>,
+         <a href="#pg300">300</a>, <a href="#pg301">301</a>, <a href="#pg306">306</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">reptiles and lizards found at, <a href="#pg310">310</a>,
+         <a href="#pg313">313</a>, <a href="#pg315">315</a></span><br />
+Hunan, <a href="#pg35">35</a>, <a href="#pg36">36</a><br />
+Hung-Hsien, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+Hunters, <a href="#pg114">114</a><br />
+Hutchins, Commander Thomas, <a href="#pg10">10</a><br />
+Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at, <a href="#pg23">23</a><br />
+<i>Hylobates</i>, <a href="#pg254">254</a>, <a href="#pg289">289</a><br />
+<i>Hylomys</i>, <a href="#pg231">231</a>, <a href="#pg251">251</a><br />
+<i>Hystrix</i>, <a href="#pg116">116</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+India, <a href="#pg1">1</a>, <a href="#pg57">57</a>, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Inns, <a href="#pg93">93</a><br />
+Irawadi River, <a href="#pg81">81</a>, <a href="#pg269">269</a>, <a href="#pg297">297</a>,
+         <a href="#pg320">320</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Japan, <a href="#pg5">5</a>, <a href="#pg8">8</a><br />
+Japanese newspaper reporters, <a href="#pg6">6</a><br />
+Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Jungle fowl, <a href="#pg247">247</a>, <a href="#pg248">248</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg248">248</a>, <a href="#pg280">280</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Kachins, <a href="#pg239">239</a>, <a href="#pg269">269</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">women, appearance of, <a href="#pg241">241</a></span><br />
+Katha, <a href="#pg320">320</a><br />
+Kellogg, C.R., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg11">11</a>, <a href="#pg15">15</a>,
+         <a href="#pg17">17</a>, <a href="#pg43">43</a>, <a href="#pg61">61</a>,
+         <a href="#pg66">66</a><br />
+Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">Pentecostal missionary, <a href="#pg108">108</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">assistance of, <a href="#pg112">112</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a>,
+         <a href="#pg294">294</a></span><br />
+Koko-nor, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Koo, Wellington, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+Korea, <a href="#pg6">6</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">pheasants found in, <a href="#pg187">187</a></span><br />
+Kraemer, M., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+Kucheng, <a href="#pg23">23</a><br />
+Kwang-si, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+Kwei-chau Province, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg9">9</a>, <a href="#pg137">137</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Lane &amp; Crawford Company of Hongkong, <a href="#pg77">77</a><br />
+Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by, <a href="#pg144">144</a><br />
+Languages and dialects, number of, <a href="#pg138">138</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">reason for, <a href="#pg138">138</a>, <a href="#pg139">139</a></span><br />
+Langur, <a href="#pg255">255</a><br />
+Langurs (<i>Pygathrix</i>), <a href="#pg257">257</a>, <a href="#pg258">258</a><br />
+Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad, <a href="#pg81">81</a><br />
+Lapwings, <a href="#pg199">199</a><br />
+Las, <a href="#pg239">239</a><br />
+Lashio, <a href="#pg269">269</a><br />
+Legge, Prof. J., quoted, <a href="#pg68">68</a><br />
+Leopards, <a href="#pg25">25</a>, <a href="#pg64">64</a><br />
+Leper hospital, <a href="#pg78">78</a><br />
+<i>Li</i>, length of, <a href="#pg84">84</a><br />
+Li-chang, <a href="#pg96">96</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">animal life on route to, <a href="#pg107">107</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">arrival at, <a href="#pg107">107</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">camp in, <a href="#pg108">108</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">collecting in, <a href="#pg109">109</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mammals of, <a href="#pg109">109</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">important fur market at, <a href="#pg110">110</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">inhabitants of, <a href="#pg117">117</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">return to, <a href="#pg150">150</a>, <a href="#pg155">155</a>,
+         <a href="#pg157">157</a>, <a href="#pg190">190</a>, <a href="#pg196">196</a>,
+         <a href="#pg254">254</a>, <a href="#pg257">257</a></span><br />
+Li-Hung Chang, <a href="#pg7">7</a><br />
+Ling-suik, monastery of, <a href="#pg61">61</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg62">62</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">priests at, <a href="#pg62">62</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">collecting at, <a href="#pg63">63</a></span><br />
+Lisos, <a href="#pg191">191</a>, <a href="#pg239">239</a>, <a href="#pg292">292</a><br />
+Livingstone, H.W., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg19">19</a><br />
+Loads, weight of, <a href="#pg54">54</a><br />
+Lolos, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg134">134</a>, <a href="#pg136">136</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">depredations of, <a href="#pg137">137</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">independence of, <a href="#pg138">138</a>, <a href="#pg170">170</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">dress of, <a href="#pg173">173</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">capes worn by, <a href="#pg174">174</a>, <a href="#pg183">183</a>,
+         <a href="#pg190">190</a></span><br />
+London Zoölogical Society's Garden, <a href="#pg141">141</a><br />
+Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at, <a href="#pg57">57</a><br />
+Lucas, Dr. F.A., acknowledgment to, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Tsia-kuan, <a href="#pg99">99</a><br />
+Lung-ling, <a href="#pg281">281</a>, <a href="#pg282">282</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Lung-tao, <a href="#pg45">45</a>, <a href="#pg54">54</a>, <a href="#pg60">60</a>,
+         <a href="#pg63">63</a><br />
+Lutzus, <a href="#pg191">191</a>, <a href="#pg202">202</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+McMurray, J.V.A., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+<i>Macacus rhesus</i>, <a href="#pg258">258</a>, <a href="#pg279">279</a>,
+         <a href="#pg305">305</a><br />
+<i>Mafus</i>, description of, <a href="#pg87">87</a><br />
+Mail, <a href="#pg290">290</a><br />
+Malaria, <a href="#pg274">274</a>, <a href="#pg291">291</a><br />
+Malay Peninsula, <a href="#pg57">57</a><br />
+Ma-li-ling, <a href="#pg264">264</a>, <a href="#pg266">266</a><br />
+Ma-li-pa, <a href="#pg265">265</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">poppy fields at, <a href="#pg267">267</a>, <a href="#pg269">269</a>,
+         <a href="#pg270">270</a>, <a href="#pg272">272</a>, <a href="#pg273">273</a></span><br />
+Mallard ducks, <a href="#pg186">186</a>, <a href="#pg199">199</a><br />
+Mammals, small, importance of, <a href="#pg110">110</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">preparing of, <a href="#pg227">227</a></span><br />
+Man, primitive, migrations of, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Man-eater, killing of, <a href="#pg49">49</a><br />
+Mandalay, <a href="#pg320">320</a><br />
+Mandarins, relations with, <a href="#pg102">102</a>, <a href="#pg248">248</a><br />
+Ma-po-lo, low valley at, <a href="#pg225">225</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">game at, <a href="#pg226">226</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fog in, <a href="#pg226">226</a></span><br />
+Marco Polo, <a href="#pg104">104</a><br />
+Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), <a href="#pg23">23</a><br />
+Mazzetti-Haendel, Baron, <a href="#pg113">113</a>, <a href="#pg123">123</a>,
+         <a href="#pg126">126</a>, <a href="#pg164">164</a><br />
+Meadow vole (<i>Microtus</i>), <a href="#pg118">118</a>, <a href="#pg122">122</a><br />
+Mekong, <a href="#pg191">191</a>, <a href="#pg197">197</a><br />
+Mekong river, description of, <a href="#pg192">192</a>, <a href="#pg193">193</a>,
+         <a href="#pg201">201</a>, <a href="#pg292">292</a><br />
+Mekong-Salween divide, <a href="#pg190">190</a><br />
+Mekong valley, <a href="#pg177">177</a>, <a href="#pg182">182</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">vegetables in, <a href="#pg193">193</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">zoölogy of, <a href="#pg193">193</a></span><br />
+Meng-ting, <a href="#pg226">226</a>, <a href="#pg233">233</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg236">236</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mandarin of, <a href="#pg236">236</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Buddhist monastery at, <a href="#pg238">238</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">market at, <a href="#pg238">238</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Cantonese visit and buy opium at, <a href="#pg242">242</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fog at, <a href="#pg244">244</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">valley at, <a href="#pg244">244</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">birds at, <a href="#pg244">244</a></span><br />
+Mergansers, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Methodist mission, <a href="#pg24">24</a><br />
+Mexico, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Miao village, <a href="#pg273">273</a><br />
+Mice, <a href="#pg176">176</a><br />
+<i>Micromys</i>, <a href="#pg192">192</a><br />
+<i>Microtus</i>, meadow vole, <a href="#pg118">118</a>, <a href="#pg122">122</a>,
+         <a href="#pg173">173</a><br />
+Min River, <a href="#pg15">15</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">life on, <a href="#pg19">19</a>, <a href="#pg22">22</a>,
+         <a href="#pg204">204</a></span><br />
+Mission hospital, <a href="#pg36">36</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">China Inland, <a href="#pg101">101</a></span><br />
+Missionaries, <a href="#pg35">35</a>, <a href="#pg40">40</a>, <a href="#pg59">59</a>,
+         <a href="#pg67">67</a>, <a href="#pg202">202</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">servants of, <a href="#pg203">203</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">natives trading with, <a href="#pg205">205</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">civilizing influence of, <a href="#pg206">206</a></span><br />
+Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan, <a href="#pg246">246</a><br />
+Mohammedan hunter, <a href="#pg261">261</a>, <a href="#pg264">264</a><br />
+Mohammedan war, <a href="#pg101">101</a><br />
+Mole, <a href="#pg176">176</a><br />
+Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a><br />
+Money, carrying of, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">transmitting of, <a href="#pg97">97</a></span><br />
+Monkey, <a href="#pg192">192</a>, <a href="#pg195">195</a><br />
+Monkey temple, <a href="#pg258">258</a><br />
+Moose, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Morgan, Cordelia, <a href="#pg94">94</a>, <a href="#pg95">95</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a><br />
+Mosos, <a href="#pg110">110</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg111">111</a>, <a href="#pg155">155</a>,
+         <a href="#pg165">165</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">capes worn by, <a href="#pg174">174</a>, <a href="#pg190">190</a>,
+         <a href="#pg229">229</a></span><br />
+Motion pictures, <a href="#pg76">76</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">developing of, <a href="#pg315">315</a></span><br />
+Mountain goat, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+"Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from, <a href="#pg147">147</a><br />
+Mouse (<i>Micromys</i>), <a href="#pg192">192</a><br />
+Moving picture film, <a href="#pg166">166</a><br />
+Mu-cheng, <a href="#pg229">229</a>, <a href="#pg233">233</a><br />
+Muntjac, description of, <a href="#pg28">28</a>, <a href="#pg132">132</a>,
+         <a href="#pg225">225</a>, <a href="#pg258">258</a>, <a href="#pg292">292</a><br />
+Museum authorities, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+Mustelidae, <a href="#pg250">250</a><br />
+Myitkyina district, <a href="#pg269">269</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Naemorhedus griseus</i>, <a href="#pg144">144</a><br />
+Nam-ka, Shans at, <a href="#pg260">260</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg260">260</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">camp at, <a href="#pg264">264</a></span><br />
+Nam-ting River, ferry at, <a href="#pg235">235</a>, <a href="#pg243">243</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">camping at, <a href="#pg244">244</a>, <a href="#pg245">245</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunters at, <a href="#pg246">246</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">camp on, <a href="#pg249">249</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">polecat trapped at, <a href="#pg250">250</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">monkeys, hunting at, <a href="#pg252">252</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hornbill, seen at, <a href="#pg253">253</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">monkeys found at, <a href="#pg258">258</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Shans seen at, <a href="#pg260">260</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">caravan crossed, <a href="#pg264">264</a>, <a href="#pg284">284</a>,
+         <a href="#pg289">289</a>, <a href="#pg291">291</a>, <a href="#pg318">318</a></span><br />
+<i>Namur</i>, S.S., <a href="#pg297">297</a><br />
+Natives, <a href="#pg91">91</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">inaccuracy of, <a href="#pg158">158</a></span><br />
+New York, return to, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Ngu-cheng, <a href="#pg205">205</a><br />
+Non-Chinese tribes, <a href="#pg3">3</a><br />
+North America, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Northern soldiers, <a href="#pg35">35</a>, <a href="#pg42">42</a><br />
+Northern troops, <a href="#pg40">40</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Opium, <a href="#pg91">91</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">growing of, <a href="#pg91">91</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">inspection of, <a href="#pg91">91</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">scandal, <a href="#pg91">91</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">smuggling of, <a href="#pg91">91</a>, <a href="#pg267">267</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">smoking of, <a href="#pg318">318</a></span><br />
+Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted, <a href="#pg146">146</a>, <a href="#pg147">147</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pack saddle, description of, <a href="#pg85">85</a><br />
+Pack, weight of, <a href="#pg85">85</a><br />
+Page, Howard, <a href="#pg82">82</a>, <a href="#pg84">84</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a><br />
+Paget color plates, <a href="#pg166">166</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a>,
+         <a href="#pg316">316</a><br />
+Pagoda Anchorage, <a href="#pg15">15</a>, <a href="#pg66">66</a><br />
+Paik-hoi, <a href="#pg78">78</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">leper hospital at, <a href="#pg205">205</a></span><br />
+Palaungs, <a href="#pg239">239</a><br />
+Palmer, Mr., <a href="#pg290">290</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a><br />
+Pandas, coats of, <a href="#pg103">103</a><br />
+Pangolin, scales of, <a href="#pg103">103</a><br />
+Parrots, <a href="#pg244">244</a><br />
+Partridges, bamboo, <a href="#pg245">245</a><br />
+Passports, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+<i>Pavo cristatus</i>, <a href="#pg277">277</a><br />
+<i>Pavo munticus</i>, <a href="#pg277">277</a><br />
+Peacock, black-shouldered, <a href="#pg279">279</a><br />
+Peacock, hunting of, <a href="#pg274">274</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg277">277</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">eggs of, <a href="#pg277">277</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">domestication of, <a href="#pg278">278</a></span><br />
+Peacock, Indian, <a href="#pg277">277</a><br />
+Peafowl, killed on Salween River, <a href="#pg277">277</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">flesh of, <a href="#pg277">277</a></span><br />
+Peking, <a href="#pg6">6</a>, <a href="#pg7">7</a>, <a href="#pg11">11</a>,
+         <a href="#pg12">12</a>, <a href="#pg82">82</a>, <a href="#pg209">209</a><br />
+<i>Petaruista yunnanensis</i>, <a href="#pg103">103</a><br />
+Phasiandae, <a href="#pg279">279</a><br />
+Pheasants, shooting of, <a href="#pg90">90</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">Lady Amherst's, <a href="#pg150">150</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">silver, <a href="#pg279">279</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">horned, <a href="#pg291">291</a></span><br />
+Phete, <a href="#pg167">167</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">country about, <a href="#pg168">168</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">natives of, <a href="#pg168">168</a>, <a href="#pg170">170</a></span><br />
+Photographic work, <a href="#pg166">166</a><br />
+Photographs in natural colors, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Photography, cinematograph, <a href="#pg316">316</a><br />
+Pigeons, <a href="#pg280">280</a><br />
+Pigs, killing of, <a href="#pg22">22</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">wild, <a href="#pg25">25</a>, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">treatment of, <a href="#pg90">90</a>, <a href="#pg183">183</a></span><br />
+Pin-tail, <a href="#pg199">199</a><br />
+Pleistocene, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Pocock, Mr., <a href="#pg141">141</a><br />
+Polecat, <a href="#pg250">250</a><br />
+Polo, Marco, <a href="#pg176">176</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">quoted, <a href="#pg219">219</a></span><br />
+Poppy blossoms, <a href="#pg265">265</a><br />
+Poppy fields, <a href="#pg91">91</a><br />
+Porcupine, description of, <a href="#pg115">115</a><br />
+Portable dark room, <a href="#pg166">166</a><br />
+Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+P'u-erh, <a href="#pg212">212</a><br />
+<i>Pygathrix</i> (monkeys), <a href="#pg192">192</a>, <a href="#pg195">195</a>,
+         <a href="#pg258">258</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Railroad, Hanoi to Yün-nan, <a href="#pg80">80</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg81">81</a></span><br />
+Rain, last of the season, <a href="#pg135">135</a>, <a href="#pg290">290</a>,
+         <a href="#pg315">315</a>, <a href="#pg317">317</a><br />
+Rainey, Paul J., <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Rangoon, <a href="#pg269">269</a>, <a href="#pg272">272</a>, <a href="#pg279">279</a>,
+         <a href="#pg320">320</a>, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+<i>Ratufa gigantea</i>, <a href="#pg251">251</a><br />
+Rebellion of 1913, <a href="#pg8">8</a><br />
+Reinsch, Hon. Paul, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+Republic, <a href="#pg16">16</a><br />
+Rhododendrons, <a href="#pg291">291</a><br />
+Rice, <a href="#pg168">168</a><br />
+Rice fields, <a href="#pg89">89</a><br />
+Rifle, Mannlicher, <a href="#pg75">75</a>, <a href="#pg256">256</a>, <a href="#pg266">266</a>,
+         <a href="#pg300">300</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">Savage, <a href="#pg75">75</a>, <a href="#pg271">271</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Winchester, <a href="#pg60">60</a>, <a href="#pg75">75</a></span><br />
+Riot in Shanghai, <a href="#pg152">152</a><br />
+Roads, descriptions of, <a href="#pg87">87</a><br />
+Rocky Mountain sheep, <a href="#pg1">1</a><br />
+Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+<i>Rupicapra</i>, <a href="#pg140">140</a><br />
+Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of, <a href="#pg140">140</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Salt, preparation of, <a href="#pg196">196</a>, <a href="#pg197">197</a><br />
+Salween River, <a href="#pg273">273</a>, <a href="#pg278">278</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">heat of, <a href="#pg280">280</a>, <a href="#pg282">282</a>,
+         <a href="#pg283">283</a>, <a href="#pg305">305</a></span><br />
+Sambur, <a href="#pg226">226</a>, <a href="#pg229">229</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of, <a href="#pg311">311</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">blood of, <a href="#pg312">312</a></span><br />
+Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General, <a href="#pg12">12</a><br />
+Sampans, first night in, <a href="#pg20">20</a><br />
+San Francisco, <a href="#pg5">5</a><br />
+Scandinavian steamer, <a href="#pg11">11</a><br />
+Schools for native girls, <a href="#pg67">67</a><br />
+Sclater, Mr., <a href="#pg278">278</a><br />
+Screaming, Chinese habit of, <a href="#pg15">15</a><br />
+Sedan chairs, <a href="#pg16">16</a><br />
+Serows, <a href="#pg25">25</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">hunt for, <a href="#pg27">27</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg29">29</a>, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting for, <a href="#pg134">134</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg135">135</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">color variation of, <a href="#pg136">136</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Japanese, <a href="#pg140">140</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">difference from gorals, <a href="#pg140">140</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">horns of, <a href="#pg141">141</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">relationship of, <a href="#pg141">141</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">appearance of, <a href="#pg141">141</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">killed on Snow Mountain, <a href="#pg142">142</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping, <a href="#pg142">142</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">distribution of, <a href="#pg142">142</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg143">143</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">weight of, <a href="#pg143">143</a>, <a href="#pg305">305</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of at Hui-yao, <a href="#pg306">306</a>,
+           <a href="#pg307">307</a>, <a href="#pg308">308</a>, <a href="#pg309">309</a></span><br />
+Servants, wages of, <a href="#pg204">204</a><br />
+Shanghai, <a href="#pg11">11</a>, <a href="#pg12">12</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">riot in, <a href="#pg152">152</a>, <a href="#pg316">316</a></span><br />
+Shans, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg225">225</a>, <a href="#pg238">238</a>,
+         <a href="#pg242">242</a>, <a href="#pg282">282</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of village of, <a href="#pg234">234</a>,
+         <a href="#pg245">245</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">houses of, <a href="#pg260">260</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">heavily tattooed, <a href="#pg261">261</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">tribes of, <a href="#pg262">262</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg262">262</a>, <a href="#pg283">283</a>,
+         <a href="#pg318">318</a></span><br />
+Sheldrakes, <a href="#pg186">186</a><br />
+Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by, <a href="#pgx">x</a><br />
+Shia-chai, <a href="#pg213">213</a><br />
+Shie-tien, <a href="#pg223">223</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">bird life at, <a href="#pg223">223</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">natives, curiosity of, <a href="#pg224">224</a>,
+         <a href="#pg225">225</a></span><br />
+Shih-ku ferry, <a href="#pg182">182</a>, <a href="#pg184">184</a><br />
+Shoverling, Daly &amp; Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Shrew, <a href="#pg173">173</a>, <a href="#pg251">251</a><br />
+Shwelie River, <a href="#pg145">145</a><br />
+Singapore, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Slave raiding, <a href="#pg139">139</a><br />
+Smith, Arthur H., quoted, <a href="#pg158">158</a>, <a href="#pg214">214</a>,
+         <a href="#pg215">215</a><br />
+Snow Mountain, camp at, <a href="#pg112">112</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">traveling to, <a href="#pg112">112</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of hunters at, <a href="#pg114">114</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mammalogy of, <a href="#pg116">116</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">camp on slopes of, <a href="#pg118">118</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mammals collected at, <a href="#pg127">127</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">serows killed on, <a href="#pg142">142</a>, <a href="#pg166">166</a>,
+         <a href="#pg176">176</a>, <a href="#pg182">182</a>, <a href="#pg184">184</a></span><br />
+Soldiers, guard of, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">guns of, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">expense of, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">use of, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">treatment by natives of, <a href="#pg98">98</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fight with, <a href="#pg187">187</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">extortions of, <a href="#pg188">188</a></span><br />
+South America, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Specimens, packing of, <a href="#pg296">296</a>, <a href="#pg315">315</a><br />
+Squirrel, flying (<i>Petaurista yunnanensis</i>), <a href="#pg294">294</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent"><i>Ratufa gigantea</i>, <a href="#pg251">251</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">red-bellied (<i>Callosciurus erythraeus</i>), <a href="#pg89">89</a>,
+         <a href="#pg230">230</a></span><br />
+S'suchuan Province, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg137">137</a>, <a href="#pg174">174</a><br />
+S'su-mao, <a href="#pg178">178</a>, <a href="#pg212">212</a><br />
+Standard Oil Co., <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">launch of, <a href="#pg19">19</a>, <a href="#pg82">82</a>,
+         <a href="#pg200">200</a></span><br />
+Su Ek, <a href="#pg207">207</a><br />
+Sun-birds, <a href="#pg244">244</a><br />
+<i>Sung-kiang</i>, S.S., <a href="#pg78">78</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tablets, ancestral, description of, <a href="#pg215">215</a><br />
+Tai-ping-pu, <a href="#pg291">291</a>, <a href="#pg293">293</a><br />
+Taku, <a href="#pg160">160</a>, <a href="#pg184">184</a><br />
+Taku ferry, <a href="#pg164">164</a><br />
+Ta-li Fu, <a href="#pg83">83</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">soldiers guard to, <a href="#pg99">99</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">road to, <a href="#pg100">100</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">graves at, <a href="#pg100">100</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">lake at, <a href="#pg100">100</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">mandarin at, <a href="#pg100">100</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">pagodas at, <a href="#pg100">100</a>, <a href="#pg104">104</a>,
+         <a href="#pg105">105</a>, <a href="#pg183">183</a>, <a href="#pg186">186</a>,
+         <a href="#pg193">193</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a>, <a href="#pg201">201</a></span><br />
+Ta-li Fu Lake, description of, <a href="#pg199">199</a><br />
+<i>Tamiops macclellandi</i>, <a href="#pg230">230</a><br />
+Taoist temple, <a href="#pg26">26</a><br />
+<i>Tao-tai</i>, <a href="#pg35">35</a><br />
+Tartars, <a href="#pg219">219</a>, <a href="#pg221">221</a><br />
+Temple, camp in, <a href="#pg86">86</a><br />
+Teng-yueh, <a href="#pg4">4</a>, <a href="#pg141">141</a>, <a href="#pg289">289</a>,
+         <a href="#pg291">291</a>, <a href="#pg293">293</a>, <a href="#pg294">294</a>,
+         <a href="#pg295">295</a>, <a href="#pg298">298</a>, <a href="#pg313">313</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">return to, <a href="#pg315">315</a>, <a href="#pg317">317</a></span><br />
+Tents, <a href="#pg74">74</a><br />
+<i>Tenyo Maru</i>, <a href="#pg5">5</a>, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+Thompson, Dr., <a href="#pg205">205</a><br />
+Tibet, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg103">103</a>, <a href="#pg172">172</a>,
+         <a href="#pg178">178</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">monopoly of gold in, <a href="#pg181">181</a>,
+         <a href="#pg183">183</a></span><br />
+Tibetan plateaus, <a href="#pg191">191</a><br />
+Tibetans, description of, <a href="#pg178">178</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">photographing of, <a href="#pg179">179</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">dislike for strangers of, <a href="#pg180">180</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">influence of Chinese on, <a href="#pg181">181</a>,
+         <a href="#pg183">183</a>, <a href="#pg190">190</a>, <a href="#pg191">191</a>,
+         <a href="#pg212">212</a></span><br />
+Tiger, <a href="#pg22">22</a>, <a href="#pg25">25</a>, <a href="#pg64">64</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">man-eating, <a href="#pg44">44</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">lairs of, <a href="#pg45">45</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">stalking a goat, <a href="#pg45">45</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">habits of, <a href="#pg46">46</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">daring of, <a href="#pg47">47</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">strength of, <a href="#pg48">48</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">excitement of hunting, <a href="#pg49">49</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">weight of, <a href="#pg50">50</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">blood of, <a href="#pg50">50</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">skins in temples of, <a href="#pg51">51</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">food of, <a href="#pg51">51</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting in lair of, <a href="#pg51">51</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">flesh and bones of, <a href="#pg51">51</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">marking trees by, <a href="#pg52">52</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">skins of, <a href="#pg103">103</a></span><br />
+Tiger, blue, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg43">43</a>, <a href="#pg55">55</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg56">56</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">hunting of, <a href="#pg57">57</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">trying to trap, <a href="#pg60">60</a></span><br />
+Tonking, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg77">77</a>, <a href="#pg81">81</a>,
+         <a href="#pg93">93</a>, <a href="#pg178">178</a>, <a href="#pg212">212</a><br />
+Tragopan, Temmick's, <a href="#pg291">291</a><br />
+Transportation, difficulties of, <a href="#pg321">321</a><br />
+Trapping, methods of, <a href="#pg110">110</a><br />
+Traps, steel, <a href="#pg75">75</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">method of setting, <a href="#pg245">245</a></span><br />
+Trees, marking of, by tiger, <a href="#pg52">52</a><br />
+Tribes, non-Chinese, description of, <a href="#pg138">138</a><br />
+Trimble, Dr., <a href="#pg32">32</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">house of, <a href="#pg34">34</a>, <a href="#pg36">36</a>,
+         <a href="#pg37">37</a>, <a href="#pg205">205</a>, <a href="#pg207">207</a></span><br />
+Trowbridge, Captain Harry, <a href="#pg77">77</a>, <a href="#pg78">78</a>,
+         <a href="#pg79">79</a><br />
+Tsai-ao, General, <a href="#pg9">9</a><br />
+<i>Tsamba</i>, <a href="#pg178">178</a><br />
+Tsang mountains, <a href="#pg100">100</a><br />
+Tsinan-fu, <a href="#pg12">12</a><br />
+<i>Tupaia belangeri chinensis</i>, <a href="#pg89">89</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+United States, <a href="#pg4">4</a><br />
+Universal Camera, <a href="#pg76">76</a><br />
+<i>Ursus tibetanus</i>, <a href="#pg296">296</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vegetarians, <a href="#pg23">23</a><br />
+<i>Viverra</i>, <a href="#pg246">246</a><br />
+Viverridae, <a href="#pg247">247</a><br />
+Vochang, <a href="#pg218">218</a><br />
+Vole, <a href="#pg176">176</a><br />
+Von Hintze, Admiral, <a href="#pg11">11</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wapiti, <a href="#pg1">1</a>, <a href="#pg175">175</a><br />
+War, Mohammedan, <a href="#pg101">101</a><br />
+Was, <a href="#pg239">239</a><br />
+Waterhole, <a href="#pg258">258</a><br />
+Wa-tien, <a href="#pg310">310</a>, <a href="#pg313">313</a><br />
+Wei-hsi, <a href="#pg182">182</a>, <a href="#pg187">187</a>, <a href="#pg190">190</a>,
+         <a href="#pg196">196</a><br />
+White Water, <a href="#pg149">149</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">camp at, <a href="#pg149">149</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">weather at, <a href="#pg149">149</a></span><br />
+Wild boar, <a href="#pg258">258</a><br />
+Wilden, Henry M., French Consul, <a href="#pg82">82</a><br />
+Wolves, <a href="#pg25">25</a><br />
+Woman's college at Foochow, <a href="#pg67">67</a><br />
+Women, position of, in China, <a href="#pg67">67</a><br />
+Worship, ancestor, <a href="#pg156">156</a><br />
+Wu-Hung-tao, interpreter, <a href="#pgx">x</a>, <a href="#pg4">4</a>,
+         <a href="#pg77">77</a>, <a href="#pg87">87</a>, <a href="#pg102">102</a>,
+         <a href="#pg105">105</a>, <a href="#pg108">108</a>, <a href="#pg123">123</a>,
+         <a href="#pg136">136</a>, <a href="#pg168">168</a>, <a href="#pg187">187</a>,
+         <a href="#pg191">191</a>, <a href="#pg200">200</a>, <a href="#pg213">213</a>,
+         <a href="#pg238">238</a>, <a href="#pg267">267</a>, <a href="#pg289">289</a>,
+         <a href="#pg294">294</a>, <a href="#pg312">312</a>, <a href="#pg318">318</a>,
+         <a href="#pg321">321</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Yamen</i>, <a href="#pg39">39</a><br />
+Yangtze River, <a href="#pg19">19</a>, <a href="#pg81">81</a>, <a href="#pg137">137</a>,
+         <a href="#pg150">150</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">road to, <a href="#pg157">157</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">crossing of, <a href="#pg161">161</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">barrier to mammals, <a href="#pg163">163</a>,
+         <a href="#pg184">184</a>, <a href="#pg187">187</a>, <a href="#pg193">193</a>,
+         <a href="#pg201">201</a>, <a href="#pg262">262</a></span><br />
+Yangtze gorge, description of, <a href="#pg160">160</a>, <a href="#pg160">160</a>,
+         <a href="#pg167">167</a><br />
+Yen-ping, <a href="#pg20">20</a>, <a href="#pg22">22</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">climate of, <a href="#pg24">24</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">description of, <a href="#pg24">24</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">residence of Mr. Caldwell at, <a href="#pg24">24</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Methodist Mission at, <a href="#pg24">24</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">trapping at, <a href="#pg25">25</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">rebellion in, <a href="#pg33">33</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">refugees from, <a href="#pg33">33</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fighting in, <a href="#pg34">34</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">attacked by rebels in, <a href="#pg35">35</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">wounded in, <a href="#pg36">36</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">schools for native girls at, <a href="#pg67">67</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Chinese wedding at, <a href="#pg72">72</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">missionary buildings of, <a href="#pg203">203</a>,
+         <a href="#pg205">205</a>, <a href="#pg207">207</a></span><br />
+Yokohama, <a href="#pg5">5</a><br />
+Yuan, <a href="#pg7">7</a>, <a href="#pg8">8</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>,
+         <a href="#pg12">12</a><br />
+Yuan-Shi-kai, <a href="#pg7">7</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">death of, <a href="#pg12">12</a>, <a href="#pg14">14</a>,
+         <a href="#pg34">34</a></span><br />
+Yuchi, <a href="#pg22">22</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">brigands at, <a href="#pg23">23</a>, <a href="#pg24">24</a>,
+         <a href="#pg35">35</a>, <a href="#pg36">36</a>, <a href="#pg204">204</a>,
+         <a href="#pg207">207</a>, <a href="#pg208">208</a>, <a href="#pg211">211</a></span><br />
+Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at, <a href="#pg212">212</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">road to, <a href="#pg212">212</a>, <a href="#pg214">214</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">water buffaloes at, <a href="#pg218">218</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">battle at, <a href="#pg218">218</a></span><br />
+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road, <a href="#pg282">282</a><br />
+Yün-nan, <a href="#pgxi">xi</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">size of, <a href="#pg2">2</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">topography of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">boundaries of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">fauna of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">natives of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">language of, <a href="#pg3">3</a>, <a href="#pg10">10</a>,
+         <a href="#pg25">25</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">infested with brigands, <a href="#pg83">83</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">zoölogical study of, <a href="#pg83">83</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">meaning of, <a href="#pg88">88</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">summer climate of, <a href="#pg99">99</a></span><br />
+Yün-nan Fu, <a href="#pg9">9</a>;<br />
+  <span class="indent">foreign residents of, <a href="#pg82">82</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">foreign office at, <a href="#pg97">97</a>;</span><br />
+  <span class="indent">Dr. Thompson's hospital at, <a href="#pg205">205</a></span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Zoölogical Garden, Berlin, <a href="#pg144">144</a><br />
+Zoölogical Park, Calcutta, <a href="#pg144">144</a>
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
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diff --git a/old/old/20040507-12296-8.txt b/old/old/20040507-12296-8.txt
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Camps and Trails in China
+       A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China
+
+Author: Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+Release Date: May 7, 2004 [EBook #12296]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Paul Hollander, Christopher Lund and PG Distributed
+Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: OUR CAMP ON THE SNOW MOUNTAIN
+AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET]
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA
+
+BY
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.
+
+ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND
+LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917; FELLOW
+NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER ZOÖLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
+LONDON, MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON; AUTHOR OF 'WHALE
+HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA'
+
+AND
+
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION
+
+1918
+
+
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN AS AN EXPRESSION
+OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION
+
+
+"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
+Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
+There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
+And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
+
+--_Service_.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the Asiatic
+Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History to China in
+1916-17. Details of a purely scientific nature have been condensed, or
+eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our experiences with the
+strange natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the hope
+that the book will be interesting to the general reader.
+
+The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon the technical
+reports of its work which will be published in due course by the American
+Museum of Natural History. To these reports we would refer those readers
+who desire more complete information concerning the results of our
+researches. At the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press the
+collections were still undergoing preparation and the study of the
+different groups had just begun.
+
+Although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his
+collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all the
+illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been made of
+her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in reference
+work and in numerous other ways.
+
+The information concerning the relationships and distribution of the native
+tribes of Yün-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference work by
+Major H.R. Davies and we have followed his spelling of Chinese names.
+
+Parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the _American
+Museum Journal, Harper's Magazine_, and _Asia_ and to the editors of the
+above publications our acknowledgments are due.
+
+That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative collection of
+small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts of Mr. Edmund
+Heller, our companion in the field. He worked tirelessly in the care and
+preservation of the specimens, and the fact that they reached New York in
+excellent condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill and
+thoroughness with which they were prepared.
+
+Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely to the success of
+the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic devotion to our interests and
+his tact and resourcefulness under trying circumstances won our lasting
+gratitude and affectionate regard.
+
+The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among
+the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest
+gratitude to the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, and
+especially to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, whose enthusiastic
+endorsement and loyal support made the Expedition possible. Director F.A.
+Lucas, Dr. J.A. Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in
+furthering our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
+
+To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions materially
+assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we wish to acknowledge our
+great personal indebtedness as well as that of the Museum; Mr. and Mrs.
+Charles L. Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Messrs. George
+Bowdoin, Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford, Henry C. Frick, Childs Frick,
+and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
+
+The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the
+following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it would have been
+impossible to have carried on the work successfully. Their services have
+been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book: The Director
+of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs of the Province of Yün-nan; M. Georges
+Chemin Dupontès, Director de l'Exploration de la Compagnie Française des
+Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yün-nan, Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry
+Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai; M. Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong;
+Mr. Howard Page, Standard Oil Co., Yün-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch,
+Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the Chinese Republic,
+Mr. J.V.A. McMurray, First Secretary of the American Legation, Peking; Mr.
+H.G. Evans, British-American Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna,
+Ta-li Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chang Fu; Ralph Grierson, Esq., Teng-yueh;
+Herbert Goffe, Esq., H.B.M. Consul General, Yün-nan Fu; Messrs. C.R.
+Kellogg, and H.W. Livingstone, Foochow, China; the General Passenger Agent,
+Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.R. Caldwell,
+Yenping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript and who through his
+criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long experience in China.
+
+To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger we wish to express
+our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the preparation
+of the volume.
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+JUSTAMERE HOME,
+_Lawrence Park,
+Bronxville, N.Y._
+
+_May 10, 1917._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The importance of the scientific exploration of Central Asia--The region
+which the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition investigated--Personnel of the
+Expedition--Equipment--Applicants for positions upon the Expedition
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our arrival
+in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral von Hintze, the German
+Minister--_En route_ to Shanghai--Death of Yuan Shi-kai
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The Min River--Our
+first night in a _sampan_--Miss Mabel Hartford--Brigands at
+Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at Yen-ping
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment house
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation in the
+city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded men at the hospital--We do Red
+Cross work--More fighting--A Chinese puzzle--The missionaries save the
+city--The narrow escape of a young Chinese--The mission cook--Return to
+Foochow
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+HUNTING THE GREAT INVISIBLE
+
+Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first tiger--Habits of
+tigers--Experiences with the Great Invisible--Killing a man eater--Chinese
+superstitions--Hunting in the lair
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first view of the
+beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck with the tiger--A meeting in
+the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life at the temple--Fukien Province as a
+collecting ground
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's life in
+the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A Chinese wedding
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+VOYAGING TO YÜN-NAN
+
+Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--_En route_ to Tonking--The
+Island of Hainan--We engage a cook at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss
+of our Ammunition--Hanoi--The railroad to Yün-nan Fu--Yün-nan--The Chinese
+Foreign Office endorses our plans
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+Our caravan--The Yün-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
+_mafus_--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese scholar--New
+mammals--Village life--Opium growing--An opium scandal--Goitre--The
+Chinese "Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss Morgan--Brigands--Our guard
+of soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr. H.G.
+Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese mandarins--Mammals at Ta-li--Caravan
+horses and mules--The cook becomes ill
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+LI-CHIANG, AND THE "TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The surprise of the
+foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small mammals--The Moso
+natives--Customs--The Snow Mountain--Baron Haendel-Mazzetti
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Cross-bows and poisoned arrows--Dogs--A
+porcupine--New mammals--We find a new camp on the mountain
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small mammals--The
+second goral
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material for a
+Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two gorals--A crested muntjac
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading dog--Rain--Two more
+serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of Yün-nan
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Our new camp--A serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial ceremony--Ancestor
+worship
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view of the
+gorge--The Taku ferry--Caves
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
+mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid inhabitants--Strange
+natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving with the Lolos
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing frightened
+natives--Reason for suspicion
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The Shih-ku
+ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A well-deserved beating--Chinese soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties in the
+valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The salt wells--A snow covered
+pass--Duck shooting--Return to Ta-li Fu
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yün-nan
+Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary exile--Medical
+missionaries--A missionary's experience with the brigands at Yuchi
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants of the
+city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
+cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical valley at
+Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid camp--Many new mammals--Preparing
+specimens--Sambur--Trapping
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE: OF MANY TONGUES
+
+The first Shan village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The Shan
+mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing under
+difficulties--Suppression of opium growing
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
+fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Strange calls in the jungle--Our first gibbons--Relationship and
+habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the jungle
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan
+tribe--Dress
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The _mafus_
+rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding the border--Life at Ma-li-pa
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+The valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker stalked--Habits
+of peafowls
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping on a
+mountain pass--Gibbons--An exciting hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the
+"hoolock"
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TENG-YUEH: A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr.
+Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+Monkeys at Hui-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move camp to Wa-tien--A fine
+sambur
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of the Expedition--On
+the road to Bhamo--The chair coolies--Burma _vs._ China--In civilization
+again--Farewell to the Orient
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet.
+
+Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yün-nan squirrel
+Edmund Heller
+Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral
+
+A Chinese hunter and a muntjac
+Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion
+
+The Ling-suik monastery
+A priest of Ling-suik
+
+A Chinese mother with her children
+Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet
+
+Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yün-nan Fu
+Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu
+
+The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+The dead of China
+
+The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li-Fu
+The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu
+
+One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+
+A Moso herder
+A Moso woman
+
+The Snow Mountain
+
+A cheek gun used by one of our hunters
+The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain
+
+Hotenfa, one of our Moso hunters, bringing in a goral
+Another Moso hunter with a porcupine
+
+A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain
+
+A serow killed on the Snow Mountain
+The head of a serow
+
+The "white water"
+
+A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel
+The chief of our Lolo hunters
+
+A Lolo village
+Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time
+
+Travelers in the Mekong valley
+Two Tibetans
+
+The gorge of the Yangtze River
+
+A quiet curve of the Mekong River
+
+The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu
+A crested muntjac
+
+The south gate at Yung-chang
+A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's
+
+A Chinese patriarch
+Young China
+
+A Shan village
+A Shan woman spinning
+
+A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting
+One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons
+
+Our camp on the Nam-ting River
+The Shan village at Nam-ka
+
+The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River
+A civet
+
+A Shan girl
+A Shan boy
+
+A suspension bridge
+Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs
+
+A sambur killed at Wa-tien
+The head of a muntjac
+
+A mountain chair
+The waterfall at Teng-Yueh
+
+MAP I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition
+
+MAP II. Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan
+
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere in
+the vast plateau of Central Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains. From
+this region came the successive invasions that poured into Europe from the
+east, to India from the north, and to China from the west; the migration
+route to North America led over the Bering Strait and spread fanwise south
+and southeast to the farthest extremity of South America. The Central Asian
+plateau at the beginning of the Pleistocene was probably less arid than it
+is today and there is reason to believe that this general region was not
+only the distributing center of man but also of many of the forms of
+mammalian life which are now living in other parts of the world. For
+instance, our American moose, the wapiti or elk, Rocky Mountain sheep, the
+so-called mountain goat, and other animals are probably of Central Asian
+origin.
+
+Doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive wanderings
+of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters, one of the most
+important must have been the movements of the game upon which they lived.
+Therefore the study of the early human races is, necessarily, closely
+connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of the Central Asian
+mammalian life and its distribution. No systematic palaeontological,
+archaeological, or zoölogical study of this region on a large scale has
+ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of the inhabited surface
+of the earth about which so little is known.
+
+The American Museum of Natural History hopes in the near future to conduct
+extensive explorations in this part of the world along general scientific
+lines. The country itself and its inhabitants, however, present unusual
+obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the region one of vast
+intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the earth, but the climate is
+too cold in winter to permit of continuous work. The people have a natural
+dislike for foreigners, and the political events of the last half century
+have not tended to decrease their suspicions.
+
+It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for extensive
+research must be carefully prepared. One of the most important steps is the
+sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge of the
+natives and fauna and of the conditions to be encountered. For the first
+reconnoissance, which was intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition left New York in March, 1916.
+
+Its destination was Yün-nan, a province in southwestern China. This is one
+of the least known parts of the Chinese Republic and, because of its
+southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and faunal range
+is very great. It is about equal in size to the state of California and
+topographically might be likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the
+greater part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain waves which
+divide and cross one another in hopeless confusion.
+
+Yün-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and S'suchuan, on the west by
+Burma, on the south by Tonking, and on the east by Kwei-chau Province.
+Faunistically the entire northwestern part of Yün-nan is essentially
+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of 8,000
+feet to 20,000 feet above sea level. In the south and west along the
+borders of Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys, the
+climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as the
+fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in the
+north.
+
+The natives of Yün-nan are exceptionally interesting. There are about
+thirty non-Chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the Shans
+and Lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it is safe to
+say that in no similar area of the world is there such a variety of
+language and dialects as in this region.
+
+Although the main work of the Expedition was to be conducted in Yün-nan, we
+decided to spend a short time in Fukien Province, China, and endeavor to
+obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been seen twice
+by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary and amateur naturalist, who
+has done much hunting in the vicinity of Foochow.
+
+The white members of the first Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition included Mr.
+Edmund Heller, my wife (Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A Chinese
+interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten muleteers,
+completed the personnel.
+
+Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His early work, which was
+done in the western United States and the Galápagos Islands, was followed
+by many years of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America, and Africa.
+He first visited British East Africa with Mr. Carl E. Akeley, next with
+ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and again with Mr. Paul J. Rainey. During
+the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition Mr. Heller devoted most of his time to
+the gathering and preparation of small mammals. He joined our party late in
+July in China.
+
+Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition. She had studied
+photography as an amateur in Germany, France, and Italy, as well as in New
+York, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of photographs in
+natural colors. Such work requires infinite care and patience, but the
+results are well worth the efforts expended.
+
+Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and studied English at the
+Anglo-Chinese College in that city. He lived for some time in Teng-yueh,
+Yün-nan, in the employ of Mr. F.W. Carey, Commissioner of Customs, and not
+only speaks mandarin Chinese but also several native dialects. He acted as
+interpreter, head "boy," and general field manager. My own work was devoted
+mainly to the direction of the Expedition and the hunting of big game.
+
+In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased only such
+equipment in New York as could not be obtained in Shanghai or Hongkong.
+Messrs. Shoverling, Daly & Gales furnished our guns, ammunition, tents, and
+general camp equipment, and gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the
+minor details which often assume alarming importance when an expedition is
+in the field and defects cannot be remedied. All food and commissary
+supplies were purchased in Hongkong (_see_ Chapter IX).
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the announcement of the Expedition was made by the American Museum of
+Natural History it received wide publicity in America and other parts of
+the world. Immediately we began to discover how many strange persons make
+up the great cities of the United States, and we received letters and
+telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take part in the
+Expedition. Men and boys were the principal applicants, but there was no
+lack of women, many of whom came to the Museum for personal interviews.
+
+Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. One was from a butcher
+who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our specimens, or
+defending us from savage natives; another young man offered himself to my
+wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure his twenty years' experience
+as a waiter would fit him for an important position on the Expedition, and
+numerous women, young and old, wished to become "companions" for my wife in
+those "drear wastes."
+
+Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way across
+the continent and in San Francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of
+March 28 on the S.S. _Tenyo Maru_ for Japan.
+
+Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel drew in
+toward the wharf in Yokohama she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives.
+We were standing at the rail when three Japanese approached and, bowing in
+unison, said, "We are report for leading Japanese newspaper. We wish to
+know all thing about Chinese animal." Evidently the speech had been
+rehearsed, for with it their English ended abruptly, and the interview
+proceeded rather lamely, on my part, in Japanese.
+
+Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for a
+person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise. We
+stayed three weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea. But
+before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would like
+briefly to review the political situation in China as a background for our
+early work in the province of Fukien.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+During the time the Expedition was preparing to leave New York, China was
+in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai was president of the Republic, but the hope of his
+heart was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had plotted for the
+throne; he had been emperor for one hundred miserable days; and now he was
+watching, impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet. Yuan was
+the strong man of his day, with more power, brains, and personality than
+any Chinese since Li-Hung Chang. He always had been a factor in his
+political world. His monarchial dream first took definite form as early as
+1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li, the province in which Peking is
+situated.
+
+It was then that he began to modernize and get control of the army which is
+the great basis of political power in China. Properly speaking, there was
+not, and is not now, a Chinese national army. It is rather a collection of
+armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general, and he who secures the
+support of the various commanders controls the destiny of China's four
+hundred millions of people regardless of his official title.
+
+Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of the leading generals, and
+in 1911, when the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues
+began to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and Manchus he
+managed to get himself elected president of the new republic, although he
+did not for a moment believe in the republican form of government. He was
+always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing to declare himself
+an ardent republican so long as such a declaration could be used as a
+stepping stone to the throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.
+
+As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1913 there was a rebellion in
+protest against his official acts but he defeated the rebels, won over more
+of the older generals, and solidified the army for his own interests,
+making himself stronger than ever before.
+
+At this time he might well have made a _coup d'état_ and proclaimed himself
+emperor with hardly a shadow of resistance, but with the hereditary caution
+of the Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. He wanted his
+position to be even more secure and to have it appear that he reluctantly
+accepted the throne as a patriotic duty at the insistent call of the
+people.
+
+Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment were typically
+Chinese but entirely effective, and he was making splendid progress, when
+in May, 1915, Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage
+of the European war and presenting the historical twenty-one demands, to
+most of which China agreed.
+
+This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's agents pushed the work
+of making him emperor more actively than ever, with the result that the
+throne was tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people." To "save
+his face" he declined at first but at the second offer he "reluctantly"
+yielded and on December 12, 1915, became emperor of China.
+
+But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later tidings of unrest in
+Yün-nan reached Peking. General Tsai-ao, a former military governor of the
+province, appeared in Yün-nan Fu, the capital, and, on December 23, sent an
+ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must repudiate the monarchy and execute
+all those who had assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise Yün-nan would
+secede; which it forthwith did on December 25.
+
+Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese who had intimated
+to Yuan that the change from a republican form of government would not meet
+with their approval. The rebellion spread rapidly. On January 21, Kwei-chau
+Province, which adjoins Yün-nan, seceded, and, on March 13, Kwang-si also
+announced its independence.
+
+About this time the Museum authorities were becoming somewhat doubtful as
+to the advisability of proceeding with our Expedition. We had a long talk
+with Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United States, at the
+Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo, while certain that the rebellion would
+be short-lived, strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until
+conditions became more settled. He offered to cable Peking for advice, but
+we, knowing how unwelcome to the government of the harassed Yuan would be a
+party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed area, gratefully
+declined and determined to proceed regardless of conditions. We hoped that
+Yuan would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he had that of 1913,
+but day by day, as we anxiously watched the papers, there came reports of
+other provinces dropping away from his standard.
+
+On the _Tenyo Maru_ we met the Honorable Charles Denby, an ex-American
+Consul-General at Shanghai and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he was
+viceroy of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining a road concession
+near Peking and was then on his way to see Yuan. His anxiety over the
+political situation was not less than ours and together we often paced the
+decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless report told of more
+desertions to the ranks of the rebels.
+
+It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan had lost his nerve. He
+had decided to quit, and one hundred days after he became emperor elect he
+issued a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the republic. But the
+rebellious provinces were not satisfied and demanded that he get out
+altogether.
+
+About this time we reached Peking, literally blown in by a tremendous dust
+storm which seemed an elemental manifestation of the human turmoil within
+the grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins, Naval Attaché of
+the American Legation, was awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat
+with one hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other.
+
+The news we received from him was by no means comforting for in the
+Legation pessimism reigned supreme. The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch, was
+not enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions, but
+nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain the necessary visé for our
+passports.
+
+We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province, where we were to hunt
+tiger until Mr. Heller joined us in July for the expedition into Yün-nan.
+Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese influence in this
+province, which is directly opposite the island of Formosa, was causing
+considerable uneasiness in Peking.
+
+We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C.R. Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese
+College, with whom we were to stay while in Foochow, assuring us that all
+was quiet in the province, and through the influence of Dr. Reinsch, the
+Chinese Foreign Office viséd our passports. The huge red stamp which was
+affixed to them was an amusing example of Chinese "face saving." First came
+the seal of Yuan's impotent dynasty of Hung Hsien, signifying "Brilliant
+Prosperity," and directly upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese
+Republic. One was almost as legible as the other and thus the Foreign
+Office saved its face in whichever direction the shifting cards of
+political destiny should fall.
+
+At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy in Peking, we met Admiral
+von Hintze, the German Minister, who had recently completed an adventurous
+trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to Mexico at the beginning of
+the war but had returned to Berlin incognito through England to ask the
+Kaiser for active sea service. The Emperor was greatly elated over von
+Hintze's performance and offered him the appointment of Minister to China
+if he could reach Peking in the same way that he had traveled to Berlin.
+Von Hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a Scandinavian tramp steamer
+and arrived safely at Shanghai, where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign
+diplomat and proceeded to the capital.
+
+The Americans were in a rather difficult position at this time because of
+the international complications, and social intercourse was extremely
+limited. Dinner guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one was
+very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever one went.
+
+Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who has shared its social
+life. In the midst of one of the most picturesque, most historical, and
+most romantic cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community that
+enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is all of horses, polo, racing,
+shooting, dinners, and dances, with the interesting background of Chinese
+politics, in which things are never dull. There is always a rebellion of
+some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never can tell when a new
+political bomb will be projected from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden
+City.
+
+We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by rail for Shanghai. _En
+route_ we passed through Tsinan-fu where the previous night serious
+fighting had occurred in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the rebels
+against Yuan's troops. On every side there was evidence of Japan's efforts
+against him. In the foreign quarter of Shanghai just behind the residence
+of Mr. Sammons, the American Consul-General, one of Yuan's leading officers
+had been openly murdered, and Japanese were directly concerned in the plot.
+We were told that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in the
+foreign concession because wealthy Chinese who feared the wrath of one
+party or the other were eager to pay almost any rent to obtain the
+protection of that quarter of the city.
+
+A short time later it became known to a few that Yuan was seriously ill. He
+was suffering from Bright's disease with its consequent weakness, loss of
+mental alertness, and lack of concentration. French doctors were called in,
+but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating him with concoctions of their own,
+and on June 6, shortly after three o'clock in the morning, he died.
+
+Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his face before the country,
+and his last words were a reiteration of what he knew no one believed. The
+story of his death is told in the _China Press_ of June 7, 1916:
+
+    According to news from the President's palace the condition of Yuan
+    became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan asked for his old
+    confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came immediately. On the
+    arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak, but entirely conscious.
+
+    With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he had never
+    had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown; he had been deceived
+    by his _entourage_ over the true state of public opinion and thus had
+    sincerely believed the people wished for the restoration of the
+    monarchy. The desire of the South for his resignation he had not wished
+    to follow for fear that general anarchy would break out all over China.
+    Now that he felt death approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words
+    known to the public.
+
+    In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung, situated in the
+    Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly owned by Yang Tu, the
+    prominent monarchist, the formal transfer of the power to Li-Yuan-hung
+    took place this morning at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui, Secretary of
+    State and Premier, as well as all the members of the cabinet, Prince Pu
+    Lun as chairman of the State Council, and other high officials were
+    present.
+
+    The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by Li-Yuan-hung
+    in the main hall and made three bows to the new president, which were
+    returned by the latter. The same ceremony will take place at two
+    o'clock, when all the high military officials will assemble at the
+    President's residence.
+
+    The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the provinces that
+    Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance with the constitution, has
+    become president of the Chinese Republic (Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the
+    seventh instance.
+
+So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself an emperor over four
+hundred millions of people, a plot which could only have been carried out
+in China. He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation
+of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children and his country in
+political chaos.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+Three days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at Pagoda Anchorage at the
+mouth of the Min River, twelve miles from Foochow.
+
+We boarded a launch which threaded its way through a fleet of picturesque
+fishing vessels, each one of which had a round black and white eye painted
+on its crescent-shaped bow. When asked the reason for this decoration a
+Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly for a moment and then
+said: "No have eye. No can see." How simple and how entirely satisfactory!
+
+The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of coolies swarmed like
+flies over it, fighting madly for our luggage. One seized a trunk, the
+other end of which had been appropriated by another man and, in the
+argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen the other by his screams.
+The habit of yelling to enforce command is inherent with the Chinese and
+appears to be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary tone of voice,
+pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems a psychological
+impossibility.
+
+There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival at Foochow, and we
+were two days earlier than we had been expected, so that Mr. C.R. Kellogg,
+of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to stay, was not on the
+jetty to meet us. We were at a loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos
+and confusion until a customs officer took us in charge and, judiciously
+selecting a competent looking woman from among the screaming multitude,
+told her to get two sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. She
+disappeared and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. Dashing about among
+the crowd in front of us, she chose the baggage for such men as met with
+her approval and after the usual amount of argument the loads were taken.
+
+We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently all Foochow following
+us. As far as we could see down the narrow street were the heads and
+shoulders of our porters. We felt as if we were heading an invading army
+as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred pounds of luggage, we
+descended upon the homes of people whom we did not know and who were not
+expecting us. But our sudden arrival did not disturb the Kelloggs and our
+welcome was typical of the warm hospitality one always finds in the Far
+East.
+
+No matter how long one has lived in China one remains in a condition of
+mental suspense unable to decide which is the filthiest city of the
+Republic. The residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to the
+senses no town can compare with theirs, and although Amoy and several other
+places dispute this questionable title, we were inclined to grant it
+unreservedly to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its narrow,
+ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze. They are usually
+roofed over so that by no accident can a ray of purifying sun penetrate
+their dark corners. With no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks
+with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming houses.
+
+In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow alleys are literally
+choked with every form of industrial obstruction. Countless workmen plant
+themselves in the tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and
+women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones. There is a common
+saying that the Chinese do little which is not at some time done on the
+street.
+
+The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,
+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of the city on a hilltop. Their
+houses are built with very high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the
+occupants seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have
+"punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible during the intense
+heat of summer.
+
+A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry Caldwell, with whom we
+were to hunt, asking us to come to his station two hundred miles up the
+river, and we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit while Mr.
+Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking cook.
+
+One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but when he learned that we
+were going "up country," he shook his head with an assumption of great
+filial devotion and said that he did not think his mother would let him go.
+Another was afraid the sun might be too hot. Finally on the eve of our
+departure we engaged a stuttering Chinese who assured us that he was a
+remarkable cook and exceptionally honest.
+
+If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you have something to live for,
+and although we discovered that our cook was a shameless rascal he was
+worth all he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted to utter a
+word we became almost hysterical. He sounded exactly like a worn-out
+phonograph record buzzing on a single note, and when he finally did manage
+to articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was screamingly funny.
+
+One day he came to the _sampan_ proudly displaying a piece of beef and,
+after a series of vocal gymnastics, eventually succeeded in shouting:
+"Missie, this meat no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which meant
+that this particular piece of beef was not from an animal which had died
+from disease.
+
+The first stage of our trip began before daylight. We rode in four-man
+sedan chairs, followed by a long procession of heavily laden coolies with
+our cameras, duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through green
+rice fields between terraced mountains, and we jogged along first on the
+crest of a hill, then in the valley, passing dilapidated temples with the
+paint flaking off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the reeds of
+the winding river. It was a relief to get into the country again after
+passing down the narrow village streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed
+with honeysuckle.
+
+A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the beginning of the
+rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in the morning and is literally
+crowded to overflowing with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over every
+available inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries strongly
+advised us against taking it. The passengers not infrequently are pushed
+off into the water. One of the missionaries witnessed an incident which
+illustrates in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the average
+Chinese.
+
+A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard, and although a
+friend was able to grasp his hand and hold him above the surface, no one
+offered to help him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally
+weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. This is by no means an
+isolated case. Some years ago a foreign steamer was burned on the Yangtze
+River, and the crowds of watching Chinese did little or nothing to rescue
+the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast as they made their way to shore
+many of them were robbed even of their clothing and some were murdered
+outright.
+
+Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious of the entire
+Expedition, for we were fortunate in obtaining the Standard Oil Company's
+launch through the kindness of Mr. Livingston, their agent. It was large
+and roomy, and the trip, which would have been worse than disagreeable on
+the public boat, was most delightful. The Min is one of the most beautiful
+rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains rising a thousand feet
+or more straight up from the water and often terraced to the summits.
+
+Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little gentleman with a
+pigtail wrapped around his head, who said he was a pilot, but as he
+inquired the channel of everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen
+times or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain, we felt that his
+claim was not entirely justified.
+
+The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture. One moment we
+would pass a _sampan_ so loaded with branches that it seemed like a small
+island floating down the stream. Next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed sails
+projecting at impossible angles drifted by, followed by innumerable smaller
+crafts, the monotonous chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water
+to us as they passed.
+
+When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The _sampans_ in which we were to
+spend eight days were drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others.
+Right above us was the straggling town looking very much like the rear view
+of tenement houses at home. Darkness blotted out the filth of our
+surroundings but could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down from
+the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.
+
+Our beds were spread in the _sampans_ which we shared in common with the
+four river men who formed the crew. There was only a mosquito net to screen
+the end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange that this was
+but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots we could look up at the stars
+framed in the half oval of the _sampan's_ roof and listen to the sounds of
+the water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the river men beached
+their boats for the night. It seemed only a few minutes later when we were
+roused by a rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had reached
+the first of the rapids which separated us from Yen-ping, one hundred and
+twenty miles away.
+
+In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan where Mr. Caldwell stood
+on the shore waving his hat to us amidst scores of dirty little children
+and the explosion of countless firecrackers. Wherever we went crackers
+preceded and followed us--for when a Chinese wishes to register extreme
+emotion, either of joy or sorrow, its expression always takes the form of
+firecrackers.
+
+There had been a good deal of persecution of the native Christians in the
+district, and only recently a band of soldiers had strung up the native
+pastor by the thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host that night
+and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man but quite deaf as a result
+of his cruel treatment. He never recovered and died a few weeks later. Mr.
+Caldwell had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries are
+invested by the people themselves with a good deal of authority.
+
+We spent that night in the parish house just behind the little church, a
+bare schoolroom being turned over to us for our use, and it seemed very
+luxurious after we had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but
+the house was in the center of the town and the high walls shut out every
+breath of pure air. The barred windows opened on a street hardly six feet
+wide, and while we were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued
+whispers outside. We switched on a powerful electric flashlight and there
+stood at least forty men, women and children gazing at us with rapt
+attention, but they melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a
+June sun.
+
+That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was intense, the mosquitoes
+worse, and every dog and cat in the village seemed to choose our court yard
+as a dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax was reached
+at four o'clock in the morning, when directly under our windows there came
+a series of ear-splitting squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. The
+neighbors had chosen that particular spot and hour to kill the family pig,
+and the entire process which followed of sousing it in hot water and
+scraping off the hair was accompanied by unceasing chatter. Boiling with
+rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to spend another night in
+the place but to sleep in the _sampans_.
+
+On the whole our river men were nice fellows but they had the love of
+companionship characteristic of all Chinese and the inherent desire to
+huddle together as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way up
+the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on stopping at some
+foul-smelling village, and it was difficult to induce them to spend the
+night away from a town. Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would
+invariably ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where the sun beat
+down like a blast furnace.
+
+The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun and go bareheaded at all
+seasons of the year, shading their eyes with one hand or a partly opened
+fan. A fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to see coolies
+almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy load and with the perspiration
+streaming from their naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves
+meanwhile.
+
+Mr. Caldwell was _en route_ to Yuchi, one of his mission stations far up a
+branch of the Min River, and as there was a vague report of tiger in that
+vicinity we joined him instead of proceeding directly to Yen-ping. The
+tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but our trip was made
+interesting by meeting Miss Mabel Hartford, the only foreign resident of
+the place. She has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one time did not see
+a white person for eight months with the exception of Mr. Caldwell who was
+in the vicinity for three days. It requires four weeks to obtain supplies
+from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are very irregular, but she
+enjoys the isolation and is passionately fond of her work.
+
+She has had an interesting life and one not devoid of danger. In 1895 she
+was wounded and barely escaped death in the Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+massacre in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered by a mob of
+fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians." The Chinese Government was required
+to pay a considerable indemnity to Miss Hartford, which she accepted only
+under protest and characteristically devoted to missionary work in Kucheng
+where the massacre occurred.
+
+Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled and for some months
+there had been a veritable "reign of terror." A large band of brigands was
+established in the hills not far from the city, and we were warned by the
+mandarin not to attempt to go farther up the river. A few months earlier
+several companies of soldiers had been sent from Foochow, and the result of
+turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to make "the remedy worse
+than the disease."
+
+The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants, accusing them of
+being brigands or aiding the bandits, and shooting them without a hearing.
+At one time accurate information concerning the camp of the robbers was
+received and the soldiers set bravely off, but when within a short distance
+of the brigands the commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns were
+fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must always "save his face,"
+however, and when they returned to Yuchi they arrested dozens of people on
+mere suspicion and executed them without the vestige of a trial. Finally
+conditions became so intolerable that no one was safe, and after repeated
+complaints by the missionaries, a new mandarin of a somewhat better type
+was sent to Yuchi.
+
+As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up the river because of
+the bandits, we left for Yen-ping two days after arriving at Yuchi.
+Yen-ping is a wonderfully picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a
+fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and
+loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little use against
+artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less than
+field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover.
+
+The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the very
+summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the four dwelling
+houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's
+residence commands a wonderful view down the river and in the late
+afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and lavender and
+purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.
+
+But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable
+weather. In summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so nearly
+saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except
+over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost as bad in the opposite
+extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but the early fall is said to
+be delightful.
+
+The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces in China, has been
+denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have all been
+planted. This deforestation consequently has driven out the game, and
+except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and gorals, none of
+the large species is left. However, the dense growth of sword grass and the
+thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to
+muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small cats, civets, and other
+Viverines. These animals come to the rice paddys, which fill every valley,
+to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because of
+the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.
+
+We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although we caught a good many
+animals they were almost always stolen together with the traps. We had this
+same difficulty in Yün-nan as well as in Fukien. None of us had ever seen
+natives in any part of the world who were such unmitigated thieves as the
+Chinese of these two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more abundant
+than the larger ones for the natives wage an unceasing war on those about
+the rice paddys and have exterminated nearly all but a few widely
+distributed forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went with Mr. Caldwell and his
+son Oliver to a Taoist temple seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as
+Chi-yuen-kang. The walk to the temple in the early morning was delightful.
+The "bamboo chickens" and francolins were calling all about us and on the
+way we shot enough for our first day's dinner. Both these birds are
+abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means easy to kill them for
+they live in such thick cover that they can only be flushed with
+difficulty.
+
+Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins crowing in the
+trees or on the top of a hill and when a cock had taken possession of such
+a spot the intrusion of another was almost sure to cause trouble which only
+ended when one of them had been driven off.
+
+For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow cut between
+perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed to their very summits with bamboo
+and a tangle of thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a mountain torrent
+foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle, slow moving stream when it
+leaves the cool darkness of the cañon to spread itself over the terraced
+rice fields.
+
+About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle into the hillside.
+One stands just over the water, but the other clings to the rock wall three
+hundred feet above the river, and it was there that we made our camp.
+
+The old priest in charge did not appear especially delighted to see us
+until I slipped a Mexican dollar into his hand--then it was laughable to
+see his change of face. The far end of the balcony was given up to us while
+Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at the feet of a grinning idol in
+the main temple.
+
+We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (_see_ Chapter XVII) and had
+brought with us only a few traps for small mammals. Harry had seen several
+serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along the river, and all
+were reported to have been killed near this ravine. There was a village of
+considerable size at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of
+beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a mountain which towered
+about two thousand five hundred feet above the river.
+
+Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start at daylight but it was
+well toward six o'clock before we got our men together. A Chinaman would
+drive an impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it is well-nigh
+impossible to get him started within an hour of the appointed time, and
+with a half dozen the difficulty is multiplied as many times. Just when you
+think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason for delaying
+longer, the whole crowd will disappear suddenly and you discover that they
+have gone for "chow." Then you know that the end is really in sight, for
+chow usually is the last thing.
+
+We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning before we started on
+the long climb to the top of the mountain. The sun was simply blazing, and
+in fifteen minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When we were half way
+up the dogs disappeared in a small ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword
+grass and suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. They had found a fresh
+trail and were driving our way.
+
+Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting to us to watch
+another higher up. We were hardly in position when his rifle banged,
+followed by such a bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must have
+killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before we reached them Harry
+appeared, smiling all over, and dragging a muntjac (_Muntiacus_) by the
+fore legs. He had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he had been
+watching was not more than ten feet wide and the muntjac flashed across it
+at full speed. Caldwell fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught
+the animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone dead.
+
+This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger than a fox. Its
+antlers are only two or three inches in length and rise from an elongated
+skin-covered pedicel instead of from the base of the skull as in all other
+members of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw is a slender
+tusk, about two inches long, which projects well beyond the lips and makes
+a rather formidable weapon.
+
+We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a "good joss," but instead a
+disappointing day was in store for us. When we had worked our way to the
+very summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over a trail which
+led through a smothering bamboo jungle, we saw dozens of fresh serow
+tracks. The animals were there without a doubt and we were on the _qui
+vive_ with excitement.
+
+We selected positions and the men made a long circuit to drive toward us as
+Caldwell had directed. After half an hour had passed we heard them yelling
+as they closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly parading
+in single file up the bottom of the valley on an open trail and carefully
+avoiding all thickets where a serow could possibly be. As Harry expressed
+it, "all the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the noble
+procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew nothing whatever about
+driving nor were we able to teach them, for they seriously objected to
+leaving the open trails and going into the bush.
+
+We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless and it was impossible to
+"still hunt" the animals at that time of the year. The natives say that in
+September when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower forests the serow
+leave the mountain tops and thick cover to feed upon the fungus, and that
+they may be killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the hunt
+would involve a vast amount of labor with only a moderate chance of
+success. After we had left Fukien, Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and
+female serow for us which are especially interesting as they represent a
+different subspecies (_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochcaetes_) from those
+we killed in Yün-nan.
+
+Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we discovered a wonderful
+bat cave less than a mile from our temple. Its entrance was a low round
+hole half covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular
+gallery; from this three long corridors branched off like fingers from the
+palm of a giant's hand. The cave was literally alive with bats. There must
+have been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a hundred,
+representing seven species and at least four genera. This was especially
+remarkable as it is unusual to find more than two or three species living
+together.
+
+The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each corridor was divided by
+rock partitions into several small rooms in every one of which bats of
+different species were rearing their families. The young in most instances
+were only a few days old but were thickly clustered on the walls and
+ceilings, and each and every one was squeaking at the top of its tiny
+lungs. The place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds, of
+years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.
+
+When we returned the day after our first visit we found that many of the
+young bats had been removed by their parents and in some instances entire
+rooms had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the cave was so
+nauseating that to enable us to go inside it was necessary to wear gauze
+pads of iodoform over our noses.
+
+The bats at this place were killed with bamboo switches but later we always
+used a long gill net which had been especially made in New York. We could
+hang the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was ready, send a
+native into the galleries to stir up the animals. As they flew out they
+became entangled in the net and could be caught or killed before they were
+able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch every specimen in a
+cavern, and moreover, to secure them in perfect condition without broken
+skulls or wings.
+
+If a bat escaped from the net it would never again strike it, for the
+animals are wonderfully accurate in flight and most expert dodgers. Even
+while in a cave, where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom flew
+against us, although we might often be brushed by their wings; and it was a
+most difficult thing to hit them with a bamboo switch. Their ability in
+dodging is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding habits
+for, with the exception of a few species, bats live exclusively upon
+insects and catch them in the air.
+
+It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit in a bat cave
+especially if the light has gone out and she is in utter darkness. Of
+course she has a cap tightly pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if
+she be a naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats with one
+wisp of hair exposed!
+
+All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush her face or neck and
+the air is full of chattering noises like the grinding of hundreds of tiny
+teeth. Sometimes a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares to
+take her hands from her face long enough to disengage the clinging animal
+she is liable to receive a vicious bite from teeth as sharp as needles.
+But, withal, it is good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or
+collecting trays can be filled with beautiful specimens!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+On Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to obtain a new supply of
+specimens. Upon our return, just as we were about to sit down to luncheon,
+four excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    DEAR ROY:
+
+    There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this
+    morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as though there
+    was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been sent for and the chances
+    are that either tonight or tomorrow morning there will be quite a
+    battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble and myself have just made a round of the
+    city, visiting the telegraph office, post office and other places, and
+    while we do not believe that the foreigners will be molested,
+    nevertheless it is impossible to tell just what to expect. It is
+    certain, however, that the Consul will order all of us to Foochow if
+    news of the situation reaches there. Owing to the uncertainty, I think
+    you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be ready for any
+    eventuality.
+
+    After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr. Bankhardt, we
+    all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to come in immediately. I
+    am sending four burden-bearers for it will be out of the question to
+    find any tomorrow, if trouble occurs tonight. The city gates are closed
+    so you will have to climb up the ladder over the wall behind our
+    compound. Best wishes.
+
+    HARRY.
+
+    P.S.--Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers are to arrive
+    tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only chance is to get to
+    Yen-ping today.
+
+    H.C.
+
+The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for Da-Ming, the cook, and
+the burden-bearers were jabbering excitedly at the top of their voices.
+The servants began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile we ate a roast
+chicken faster than good table manners would permit--in fact, we took it in
+our fingers. We were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement and
+talked almost as fast as the Chinese.
+
+In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had been received, we were
+on the way to Yen-ping. It was the hottest part of the day, and we were
+dripping with perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine and
+struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering in a furnace-like heat.
+At the first rest house on the top of the long hill we waited nearly an
+hour for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy loads.
+
+Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past us on her peglike feet
+leaning on the arm of a man. A short distance more and we came to the
+second rest house. We had been there but a few moments when three panting
+women, steadying themselves with long staves and barely able to walk on
+feet not more than four inches long, came up the hill. With them were
+several men bearing household goods in large bundles and huge red boxes.
+
+The exhausted women sank upon the benches and fanned themselves while the
+perspiration ran down their flushed faces. They looked so utterly miserable
+that we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which Mrs. Caldwell had
+sent us the day before. Their gratitude was pitiful, but, of course, they
+gave the larger share to the men.
+
+It was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill path,
+all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly
+bound feet. Probably these women had not walked so far in their entire
+lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and what would happen in the
+city if they took possession had driven them from their homes.
+
+Farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line of
+people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside. Half a
+mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees and their
+goods. Hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every little house
+beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.
+
+At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city and
+half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall of the
+compound, just behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and while
+cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. It seemed that a
+certain element in the city was in coöperation with the representatives of
+the revolutionary organization. These men wished to obtain possession of
+Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started, to gather forces, march
+to Foochow, and force the Governor to declare the independence of the
+province.
+
+The plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of Yuan Shi-kai
+had somewhat delayed its fruition. Saturday, however, it was known
+throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning at half
+past three, a band of one hundred men from Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping
+where they were received by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who
+opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately they began to fire
+up the streets to intimidate the people and in a short time were in a hot
+engagement with the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw away
+their guns and swam across the river. The remaining city troops were from
+the province of Hunan and their sympathies were really with the South in
+the great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels, where they were
+received with open arms. It was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district
+mandarin) had asked for troops from Foochow and that these might be
+expected at any moment; thus when they arrived a real battle could be
+expected and it was very likely that the city would be partly destroyed.
+
+We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and discussed the situation.
+It was the opinion of all that the foreigners were in no immediate danger,
+but nevertheless it was considered wise to be prepared, and we decided upon
+posts for each man if it should become necessary to protect the compound.
+
+Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries with requests to be
+allowed to bring their goods and families inside the walls, but these
+necessarily had to be refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese to
+bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the right of Consular
+protection and, moreover, their compound would have been the first to be
+attacked if looting began.
+
+On Monday morning while we were sitting on the porch of Mr. Caldwell's
+house preparing some bird skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire
+and then a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and we could see
+puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a black powder gun punctuated the
+vicious snapping of the high-power rifles. The firing gradually ceased
+after half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to see what had
+happened, for, as no Northern troops had appeared, the cause of the
+fighting was a mystery.
+
+We went first to the mission hospital which lay across a deep ravine and
+only a few yards from the quarters of the soldiers. At the door of the
+hospital compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble in the
+operating room examining a wounded man who had just been brought in. The
+fellow had been shot in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball that had
+gone entirely through him, emerging about three inches to the right of his
+spine.
+
+From the doctor we got the first real news of the puzzling situation. It
+appeared that all the men who had arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi to join
+the Yen-ping rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their own lives,
+the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had played a clever trick. They
+had pretended to join the rebels but at a given signal had turned upon
+them, killing or capturing almost every one. Although their sympathies were
+really with the South, the Hunan men knew that the rebels in Yen-ping could
+not hold the city against the Northern soldiers from Foochow and, by
+crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to avert a bigger fight.
+
+As we could not help the doctor he suggested that we might be of some
+assistance to the wounded in the city, and with rude crosses of red cloth
+pinned to our white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied by four
+Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In the compound we met a chair in
+which was lying an old man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. Beside
+him were his wife and several boys. The poor woman was crying quietly and,
+between her sobs, was offering the wounded man mustard pickles from a small
+dish in her hand! Poor things, they have so little to eat that they believe
+food will cure all ills!
+
+The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and lifted the filthy rag
+which covered a gaping wound in the man's shoulder, over which had been
+plastered a great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection, but it was
+the only remedy they knew!
+
+We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was preparing to operate on the
+fellow who had been shot in the abdomen. The doctor was working steadily
+and quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native hospital
+staff with his own coolness; the way this young missionary handled his
+cases made us glad that he was an American.
+
+On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us, each carrying four or
+five rifles and slung about with cartridge belts--plunder stripped from the
+men who had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we found two
+brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The nearest one had fallen on his
+face and, as we turned him over, we saw that half his head had been blown
+away; the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on which the flies
+already were settling in swarms.
+
+There was little use in wasting time over these men who long ago had passed
+beyond need of our help, and we went on rapidly down the alley to the main
+thoroughfare. Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the rough stones for
+fifteen minutes, and suddenly came to a man lying at the side of the
+street, his head propped on a wooden block. An umbrella once had partly
+covered him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected in the broiling
+sun. His face and a terrible wound in his head were a solid mass of flies,
+and thousands of insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones
+beside him. At first we thought he was dead but soon saw his abdomen move
+and realized that he was breathing. It did not seem possible that a human
+being could live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told us that
+he had been lying there for thirty hours--he had been shot early the
+previous morning and it was now three o'clock of the next afternoon.
+
+The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his wife in the most utter
+poverty. He had been peering over the city wall when the firing began
+Sunday morning and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay the
+penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not been taken to the
+hospital, and the answer was that his wife was too poor to hire anyone to
+carry him and he had no friends. So there he lay in the burning sun, gazed
+at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand being lifted to help him.
+
+Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed him in the stretcher
+and started up the long hill, followed by the haggard, weeping wife and a
+curious crowd. On every hand were questions: "Why are these men taking him
+away?" "What are they going to do with him?" But several educated natives
+who understood said, "_Ing-ai-gidaiie_" (A work of love). They got right
+there a lesson in Christianity which they will not soon forget. It is
+seldom that Chinese try to help an injured man, for ever present in their
+minds is the possibility that he may die and that they will be responsible
+for his burial expenses.
+
+We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main street with orders
+to return as soon as they had deposited the man in the hospital and, under
+the guidance of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said seven
+or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us first to a brigand who had
+been wounded and left to die beside the gutter. The corpse was a horrible
+sight and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried examination
+and walked to the gate at the end of the street.
+
+A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from the officer that there were
+no wounded in the pile of dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned
+toward the river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to the
+_tao-tai's yamen_ (official residence) where the firing had been heaviest.
+The _yamen_ was crowded with soldiers, and we were informed that the dead
+had all been removed and that there were no wounded--a grim statement which
+told its own story.
+
+The _yamen_ is but a short distance from the hospital so we climbed the
+hill to the compound. The sun was simply blazing and I realized then what
+the wounded men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter. We
+returned to the house and were resting on the upper porch when suddenly,
+far down the river, we saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and
+with field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men winding along the
+shore trail. At the same time two huge boats filled with soldiers came into
+view heading for the water gate of the city. These were undoubtedly the
+Northern troops from Foochow who were expected Monday night.
+
+Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of musketry and a cloud of smoke
+drifted up from the barracks right below us--then a rattling fusillade of
+shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls firing at men below
+and often in our direction. Bullets hummed in the air like angry bees and
+we rushed for cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly as
+it began.
+
+We were at a loss to know what it all meant and why the troops were firing
+upon the Northern soldiers whom they wished to placate. It was still a
+mystery when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a few minutes
+later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that he had just received a note from
+the _tao-tai_. The mandarin's personal servant had brought word that the
+Northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were going to kill him
+and he begged the missionaries for assistance. Bankhardt also told us of
+the latest developments in the situation. It seems that the city soldiers
+supposed the Northern troops to be brigands and had fired upon them and
+killed several before they discovered their mistake. A very delicate
+situation had thus been precipitated, for the Northern commander believed
+that it was treachery and intended to attack the barracks in the morning
+and kill every man whom he found with a rifle, as well as all the city
+officials.
+
+The story of the way in which the missionaries acted as peacemakers, saved
+the _tao-tai_, and prevented the slaughter which surely would have taken
+place in the morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished
+only after hours of the talk and "face saving" so dear to the heart of the
+Oriental. Suffice it to say that through the exercise of great tact and a
+thorough understanding of the Chinese character they were able to settle
+the matter without bloodshed.
+
+The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called trial, marched off
+to the west gate, beheaded amid great enthusiasm, and the incident was
+closed. In the afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of us an
+official letter from the commander of the Northern troops thanking us for
+the part we had played in averting trouble and bringing the matter to a
+peaceful end.
+
+An interesting sidelight on the affair was received a few days later. A
+young man, a Christian, who was born in the same town from which a number
+of the brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night after the fight
+and found seven of the robbers concealed in his bedroom. He was terrified
+because if they were discovered he and all his family would be killed for
+aiding the bandits. He told them they must leave at once, but they pleaded
+with him to let them stay for they knew there were soldiers at every corner
+and that it would be impossible to get away.
+
+While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded at the door. He pushed
+the brigands into the courtyard, and opened to three soldiers. They said:
+"We understand you have brigands in your house." He was trembling with
+fear, but answered, "Come in and see for yourself, if you think so."
+
+The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner and, as they knew him
+to be a good man, did not search the house, but went away. The poor fellow
+was frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being watched it was
+impossible for the brigands to leave during the day.
+
+At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads, and dressed like
+coolies, and were able to get to the ladder down the city wall just below
+the mission compound where they could escape into the hills.
+
+The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in the afternoon, a
+breathless Chinese appeared at the house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt
+saying that his Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been
+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded in an hour. We
+hurried to the police office where they were confined and found that not
+only the two men but three others were in custody.
+
+The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the management of one of
+his relatives and, while Bankhardt's teacher and the other man were sitting
+at a table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom owed the
+restaurant keeper a small amount of money. When asked to pay, the soldier
+turned upon him and shouted: "You have been assisting the brigands. I saw
+some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon the soldiers
+arrested everyone in the shop.
+
+The police officials were quite ready to release the teacher and the other
+man upon our statements, but they would not allow the cook to go. His hands
+were kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by the neck. The
+soldier who arrested him was his sole accuser, but of course, others would
+appear to uphold him in his charge if it were necessary.
+
+The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries, but it required
+several hours of work and threats of complaint to the government at Foochow
+to prevent the man from being summarily executed.
+
+We were not able to get any mail from Foochow during the rebellion because
+the constant stream of Northern soldiers on their way up the river had
+paralyzed the entire country to such an extent that all the river men had
+fled.
+
+The soldiers were firing for target practice upon every boat they saw on
+the river and dozens of men had been killed and then robbed. The Northern
+commander told us frankly that this could not be prevented, and when we
+announced that we were going to start will all the missionaries down the
+river on the following day, he was very much disturbed. He insisted that we
+have American flags displayed on our boats to prevent being fired upon by
+the soldiers.
+
+Although it had taken eight days to work our way laboriously through the
+rapids and up the river from Foochow to Yen-Ping, we covered the same
+distance down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast with Mr.
+Kellogg at his house the morning after we left Yen-Ping. In two days our
+equipment was repacked and ready for the trip to Futsing to hunt the blue
+tiger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"
+
+For many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping he had been stationed
+at the city of Futsing, about thirty miles from Foochow. Much of his work
+consisted of itinerant trips during which he visited the various mission
+stations under his charge. He almost invariably went on foot from place to
+place and carried with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so keen
+a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest.
+
+The country was infested with man-eating tigers, and very often the
+villagers implored him to rid their neighborhood of some one of the yellow
+raiders which had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. During ten
+years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing region. He often said that
+his gun had been just as effective in carrying Christianity to the natives
+as had his evangelistic work. Although Mr. Caldwell has been especially
+fortunate and has killed his tigers without ever really hunting them,
+nevertheless it is a most uncertain sport as we were destined to learn. The
+tiger is the "Great Invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere, here today
+and gone tomorrow. A sportsman in China may get his shot the first day out
+or he may hunt for weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they are
+all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that makes the game all the
+more fascinating.
+
+The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes mountains of
+considerable height, many of which are planted with rice and support a
+surprising number of Chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages.
+While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger and the mountain
+slopes themselves are usually more or less denuded of forest, yet the deep
+and narrow ravines, choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an
+impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during the day without
+fear of being disturbed. It is possible for a man to make his way through
+these lairs only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been opened
+by the tigers themselves.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead a goat with one or two
+kids to an open place where they could be fastened just outside the edge of
+the lair, and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The bleating of the
+goats would usually bring the tiger into the open where there would be an
+opportunity for a shot in the late afternoon.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was with a shotgun at the
+village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers had not arrived with the basket
+containing his rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he
+suggested to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant companion, that
+they make a preliminary inspection of the lair even though they carried
+only shotguns loaded with lead slugs about the size of buckshot.
+
+They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the lair and the tiger
+responded to its bleating almost immediately. Caldwell did not see the
+animal until it came into the open about fifty yards away and remained in
+plain view for almost half an hour. The tiger seemed to suspect danger and
+crouched on the terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward a
+short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He had approached along a
+small trail, but before he could reach the goat it was necessary to cross
+an open space a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened
+himself like a huge striped serpent. His head was extended so that the
+throat and chin were touching the ground, and there was absolutely no
+motion of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the beast slid
+along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at the instant the cat gained the
+nearest cover it made three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the
+terrace upon which the goat was tied.
+
+"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and slowly pushed his great
+black-barred face over the edge of the grass not fifteen feet away.
+
+"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped into the air with the
+blood spurting over the grass, and fell into a heap, but gathered himself
+and slid down over the terraces. As he went I fired a second load of slugs
+into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the hill parallel with us,
+and stood looking back at me, his face streaming with blood.
+
+"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other shells, but before I could
+reload the gun he walked unsteadily into the lair and lay down. It was
+already too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail showed where
+he had gone upward into the grass. Later, in the same afternoon, he was
+found dead by some Chinese more than three miles away."
+
+During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers Mr. Caldwell has
+learned much about their habits and peculiarities, and some of his
+observations are given in the following pages.
+
+"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted by his greatest
+enemy--man. Bold and daring as he may be when circumstances are in his
+favor, he will hurriedly abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a
+shepherd boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will always weigh
+conditions before making an attack. If things do not exactly suit him
+nothing will tempt him to charge into the open upon what may appear to be
+an isolated and defenseless goat.
+
+"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate this point. I led a
+goat into a ravine where a tiger which had been working havoc among the
+herds of the farmers was said to live. This animal only a few days previous
+to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three of them, but on
+this occasion the beast must have suspected danger and was exceedingly
+cautious. He advanced under cover along a trail until within one hundred
+feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey of the surroundings.
+Peering into the valley, he saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards
+or more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a time, the great
+cat turned and bounded away into the bushes.
+
+"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity to attack a cow
+which a farmer was using in plowing his field. The man had unhitched his
+cow and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day meal, when the
+tiger suddenly rushed from cover and killed the animal only a few yards
+behind the peasant. This shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able to
+strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem to favor an attack. I
+have known tigers to rush at a dog or hog standing inside a Chinese house
+where there was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost every
+instance the victim was killed, although it was not always carried away.
+
+"There is probably no creature in the wilds which shows such a combination
+of daring strategy and slinking cowardice as the tiger. Often courage fails
+him after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash off into
+the nearest wood.
+
+"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a mountain-side when a
+large tiger was routed from his bed. The beast made a rushing attack on the
+man standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing him by the leg
+dragged him into the ravine below. Luckily the man succeeded in grasping a
+small tree whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim lying
+upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and fear.
+
+"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills near Futsing when a tiger
+which had been sleeping in the high grass was disturbed. The enraged beast
+turned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly and striking
+another a ripping blow with his paw which sent him lifeless to the terrace
+below. The beast did not attempt to drag either of its victims into the
+bush or to attack the other persons near by.
+
+"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are amazing. I had
+occasion to spend the night a short time ago in a place where a tiger had
+performed some remarkable feats. Just at dusk one of these marauders
+visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old calf in a
+pen which had been excavated in the side of a hill and adjoined a house.
+There was no possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door opening
+from the main part of the dwelling or to descend from above. The tiger
+jumped from the roof upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and
+the inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see the animal
+throw the calf out bodily and leap after it himself. I measured the
+embankment and found that the exact height was twelve and a half feet.
+
+"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked a hog, just back of the
+village and carried it into the hills. The villagers pursued the beast and
+overtook it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed weighed more
+than two hundred pounds, was found, it had no marks or bruises upon it
+other than the deep fang wounds in the neck. This is another instance where
+courage failed a tiger after he had made off with his kill to a safe
+distance. The Chinese declare that when carrying such a load a tiger never
+attempts to drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races off at
+top speed.
+
+"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in years I shot in May,
+1910. Two days previous to my hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a
+sixteen-year-old boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to make
+an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast. Obtaining a mother goat
+with two small kids, I led them into a ravine near where the boy had been
+killed. The goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair, and the
+kids were concealed in the tall grass well in toward the place where the
+tiger would probably be. I selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind
+a bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one may be stalked by the very
+beast which one is hunting adds to the excitement and keeps one's nerves on
+edge. I expected that the tiger would approach stealthily as long as he
+could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack, so far as my
+observation goes, is to creep up under cover as far as possible before
+rushing into the open. In any case the tiger would be within twenty yards
+of me before it could be seen.
+
+"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert and waiting, behind
+the little blind of ferns and grass. There was nothing to break the silence
+other than the incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping
+call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope of a shot when suddenly
+the huge head of the man-eater emerged from the bush, exactly where I had
+expected he would appear and within fifteen feet of the kids. The back,
+neck, and head of the beast were in almost the same plane as he moved
+noiselessly forward.
+
+"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the gun in my hand, and
+at the crack of the rifle the huge brute settled forward with hardly a
+quiver not ten feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring. A
+second shot was not necessary but was fired as a matter of precaution as
+the tiger had fallen behind rank grass, and the bullet passed through the
+shoulder blade lodging in the spine. The beast measured more than nine feet
+and weighed almost four hundred pounds.
+
+"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into the ravine, each eager
+not so much to see their slain tormentor as to gather up the blood. But
+little attention was paid to the tiger until every available drop was
+sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men and children even
+pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I learned that the blood of a tiger is
+used for two purposes. A bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the neck
+of a child as a preventive against either measles or smallpox, and tiger
+flesh is eaten for the same purpose. It is also said that if a handkerchief
+stained with tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the animal
+will slink away cowed and terrified.
+
+"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the most valuable part of a
+tiger. Almost always before a hunt is made, or a trap is built, the
+villagers burn incense before the temple god, and an agreement is made to
+the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin of the beast taken
+becomes the property of the gods. Thus it happens that in many of the
+temples handsome tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied
+by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the land. When a hunt is
+successful, the flesh and bones are considered of greatest value, and it
+often happens that a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with
+that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully paid for
+tiger meat. The bones are boiled for a number of days until a gelatine-like
+product results, and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious
+medicine.
+
+"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger in the tangle of its
+lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded for the risk when one begins to
+sum up one's observations. The most interesting result of investigating an
+oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's food. That a tiger always
+devours its prey upon the spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is
+an erroneous idea. This is often true when the kill is too heavy to be
+carried for a long distance, but it is by no means universally so. Not long
+ago the remains of a young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's
+lair a few miles from Futsing city. No child had been reported missing in
+the immediate neighborhood and everything indicated that the boy had been
+brought alive to this spot from a considerable distance. The sides of the
+grave were besmeared with the blood of the unfortunate victim, indicating
+that the tiger had tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as
+it remains alive.
+
+"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or places under
+overhanging trees, which are covered with bones, and are evidently spots to
+which the animal brings its prey to be devoured. On such a terrace one will
+find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine, pangolin, and
+other animals both domestic and wild. A fresh kill shows that with its
+rasp-like tongue the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before
+devouring it and the hair will be found in a circle around what remains of
+the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair in order to gather up the quills of
+the porcupine and the bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for
+medicinal purposes.
+
+"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon reptiles and frogs
+which they find among the rice fields. On the night of April 22, 1914, a
+party of frog catchers were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the
+load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The animal made no
+attempt to drag the man away and it would appear that it was attracted by
+the croaking of the frogs."
+
+"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some trail or path in, or
+adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the tiger measures its full length upon a
+tree, standing in a convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips
+deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting to the sportsman
+as it not only indicates the presence of a tiger in the immediate vicinity
+but serves to give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. The trails
+leading into a lair often are marked in a different way. In doing this the
+animal rakes away the grass with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but
+claw prints never appear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+After one has traveled in a Chinese _sampan_ for several days the prospect
+of a river journey is not very alluring but we had a most agreeable
+surprise when we sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt
+the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the luxury of a private
+yacht, for our boat contained a large central cabin with a table and chairs
+and two staterooms and was manned by a captain and crew of six men--all for
+$1.50 per day!
+
+In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long time before we spread
+our beds on the roof of the boat and went to sleep under the stars. We left
+the boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for the six-mile walk to
+Lung-tao. To my great surprise the coolies were considerably distressed at
+the lightness of our loads. In this region they are paid by weight and some
+of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. As an example, one of our
+men came into camp swinging a 125-pound trunk on each end of his pole,
+laughing and chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying 250
+pounds for six miles under a broiling sun.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at Lung-tao and we found his
+house to be one of several built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of
+gum and banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean for a Chinese
+dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance away. At first we were
+somewhat doubtful about sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we
+decided that any risk was preferable to spending another hour in the
+stifling heat of the house.
+
+It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious of the white tents that
+it would not attack us, but nevertheless during the first nights we were
+rather wakeful and more than once at some strange night sound seized our
+rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.
+
+Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred yards from our camp
+site, in 1911, a tiger had rushed into the house of one of the peasants and
+attempted to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play under the
+family table. All was quiet in the house when suddenly the animal dashed
+through the open door. The Chinese declare that the gods protected the
+infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the leg of the table
+against which the baby's head was resting, bolted through the door dragging
+the table into the courtyard.
+
+This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which we had come to hunt and
+which had on two occasions been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The first time he
+heard of this strange beast was in the spring of 1910. The animal was
+reported as having been seen at various places within an area of a few
+miles almost simultaneously and so mysterious were its movements that the
+Chinese declared it was a spirit of the devil. After several unsuccessful
+hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at close range but as he was armed
+with only a shotgun it would have been useless to shoot.
+
+His second view of the beast was a few weeks later and in the same place. I
+will give the story in his own words:
+
+"I selected a spot upon a hill-top and cleared away the grass and ferns
+with a jack-knife for a place to tie the goat. I concealed myself in the
+bushes ten feet away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened and
+the tiger approached from the rear.
+
+"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily along a little trail
+just across a shallow ravine. I supposed, of course, that he was trying to
+locate the goat which was bleating loudly, but to my horror I saw that he
+was creeping upon two boys who had entered the ravine to cut grass. The
+huge brute moved along lizard-fashion for a few yards and then cautiously
+lifted his head above the grass. He was within easy springing distance when
+I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized that if I wounded the animal
+the boys would certainly meet a horrible death.
+
+"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so instead of firing I
+stepped from the bushes, yelling and waving my arms. The huge cat, crouched
+for a spring, drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then slowly
+slipped away into the grass. The boys were saved but I had lost the
+opportunity I had sought for over a year.
+
+"However, I had again seen the animal about which so many strange tales had
+been told. The markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground
+color is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light gray-blue on
+the underparts. The stripes are well defined and like those of the ordinary
+yellow tiger."
+
+Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written me repeatedly urging me to
+stop at Futsing on the way to Yün-nan to try with him for the blue tiger
+which was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical as to its
+being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was a most interesting animal
+and would certainly be well worth getting.
+
+I believed then, and my opinion has since been strengthened, that it is a
+partially melanistic phase of the ordinary yellow tiger. Black leopards are
+common in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a single individual of
+the blue tiger has been reported the evidence hardly warrants the
+assumption that it represents a distinct species.
+
+We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute ranged in the vicinity of
+two or three villages about seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently
+near Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing a dog or
+goat in one village and by the time we had hurried across the mountains
+appearing in another spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified
+natives who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations. He was in
+truth the "Great Invisible" and it seemed impossible that we should not get
+him sooner or later, but we never did.
+
+Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer bad luck, and it was
+only by exercising almost superhuman restraint that we prevented ourselves
+from doing bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our hunt. Every
+evening for a week we had faithfully taken a goat into the "Long Ravine,"
+for the blue tiger had been seen several times near this lair. On the
+eighth afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as usual. We had
+tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two kids were but a few feet away.
+
+The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless heat, silent save
+for the echoes of the bleating goats. Crouched behind the screen of
+branches, for three long hours we sat in the patchwork shade,--motionless,
+dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and watched the shadows
+steal slowly down the narrow ravine.
+
+It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut out of the mountain side
+with two strokes of a mighty ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny
+vines and sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only entrance
+was by the tiger tunnels which drove their twisting way through the
+murderous growth far in toward its gloomy heart.
+
+The shadows had passed over us and just reached a lone palm tree on the
+opposite hillside. By that I knew it was six o'clock and in half an hour
+another day of disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the left and just
+below us there came the faintest crunching sound as a loose stone shifted
+under a heavy weight; then a rustling in the grass. Instantly the captive
+goat gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at the rope which
+held it to the tree.
+
+At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear "Get ready, he's coming." I
+was half kneeling with my heavy .405 Winchester pushed forward and the
+hammer up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck muscles ached with the
+strain but I thanked Heaven that my hands were steady.
+
+Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his little 22 caliber high
+power Savage nestling against his cheek. Our eyes met for an instant and I
+knew in that glance that the blue tiger would never make another charge,
+for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten minutes we waited and my heart
+lost a beat when twenty feet away the grass began to move again--but
+rapidly and _up the ravine_.
+
+I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look which changed to one of
+disgust as a chorus of yells sounded across the ravine and three Chinese
+wood cutters appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking a short cut
+home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and they had succeeded only too
+well, for the blue tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from
+whence he had come.
+
+He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him! I felt so badly that I
+could not even swear and it wasn't the fact that Harry was a missionary
+which kept me from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once, for his
+disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had been hunting this
+same tiger off and on for six years.
+
+It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and we pushed our way
+through the sword grass to the entrance of the tunnel down which the tiger
+had come. There in the soft earth were the great footprints where he had
+crouched at the entrance to take a cautious survey before charging into the
+open.
+
+As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said: "Roy, let's go into the
+lair. There is just one chance in a thousand that we may get a shot." Now I
+must admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that little excursion,
+but in we went, crawling on our hands and knees up the narrow passage.
+Every few feet we passed side branches from the main tunnel in any one of
+which the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and could have killed
+us as we passed. It was a foolhardy thing to do and I am free to admit that
+I was scared. It was not long before Harry twisted about and said: "Roy, I
+haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out." And out we came faster
+than we went in.
+
+This was only one of the times when the "Great Invisible" was almost in our
+hands. A few days later a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice
+bank early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he ran a mile and a
+half to our camp only to find that we had left half an hour before for
+another village where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the
+morning.
+
+Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at daybreak just as the
+members of the family were getting up, stole a dog from the "heaven's
+well," dragged it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We were in camp
+only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the carcass on a narrow
+ledge in the sword grass high up on the mountain side. The spot was an
+impossible one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which had been
+carried with us from New York.
+
+It seemed out of the question for any animal to return to the carcass of
+the dog without getting caught and yet the tiger did it. With his hind
+quarters on the upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck
+across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired to a tree and pulled
+it away. It was evident that he was quite unconscious of the trap for his
+fore feet had actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two inches
+from the pan which would have sprung it.
+
+One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao, a village seven miles
+beyond Lung-tao, where the blue tiger had been seen that day. The natives
+assured us that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly clothed with
+pines and sword grass just above the village and even though it was late
+when we arrived Harry thought it wise to set the trap that night.
+
+It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying the trap, two
+lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a wretched little dog for bait. We had
+been engaged for about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and
+Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when suddenly a low rumbling
+growl came from the grass not twenty feet away. We jumped to our feet just
+as it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The tiger had arrived a
+few moments too early and we were in the rather uncomfortable position of
+having to return to the village by way of a narrow trail through the
+jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric lamp cutting a brilliant
+path in the darkness we walked slowly toward the edge of the sword grass
+hoping to see the flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off
+beyond the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where we could
+not follow. Apparently he was frightened by the lantern, for we did not
+hear him again.
+
+After nearly a month of disappointments such as these Mr. Heller joined us
+at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg. Caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to
+the Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where he had once spent a
+summer with his family and had killed several tigers. This was within the
+blue tiger's range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a better
+general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with Heller to look after the
+small mammals we could begin to make our time count for something if we did
+not get the tiger.
+
+Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of temples, built into a
+hillside at the end of a long narrow valley which swells out like a great
+bowl between bamboo clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. On his
+former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the head priest and we were
+allowed to establish ourselves upon the broad porch of the third and
+highest building. It was an ideal place for a collecting camp and would
+have been delightful except for the terrible heat which was rendered doubly
+disagreeable by the almost continual rain.
+
+The priests who shuffled about the temples were a hard lot. Most of them
+were fugitives from justice and certainly looked the part, for a more
+disreputable, diseased and generally undesirable body of men I have never
+seen.
+
+Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple life interesting. We
+slept on the porch and each morning, about half an hour before daylight,
+the measured strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just below us.
+_Boom--boom--boom--boom_ it went, then rapidly _bang, bang, bang_. It was a
+religious alarm clock to rouse the world.
+
+A little later when the upturned gables and twisted dolphins on the roof
+had begun to take definite shape in the gray light of the new day, the gong
+boomed out again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms shuffled
+the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before the early service. The
+droning chorus of hoarse voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant,
+harmonized strangely with the romantic surroundings of the temple and
+become our daily _matin_ and evensong.
+
+At the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito nets and dressed to
+be ready for the bats which fluttered into the building to hide themselves
+beneath the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully come we scattered to
+the four winds of heaven to inspect traps, hunt barking deer, or collect
+birds, but gathered again at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our
+spoil. Caldwell and I always spent the afternoon at the blue tiger's lair
+but the animal had suddenly shifted his operations back to Lung-tao and did
+not appear at Ling-suik while we were there.
+
+Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of help to other naturalists
+who contemplate a visit to this province. We satisfied ourselves that
+summer collecting is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the
+vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained for the
+efforts expended. Continual tramping over the mountains in the blazing sun
+necessarily must have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even
+a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has become thoroughly acclimated, is not
+immune.
+
+Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty pounds in weight during the
+time we hunted the blue tiger and each of us had serious trouble from
+abscesses. I have never worked in a more trying climate--even that of
+Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected in 1909-10, was much
+less debilitating than Fukien in the summer. The average temperature was
+about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so high that one felt
+as though one were wrapped in a wet blanket and even during a six weeks'
+rainless period the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds.
+
+In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting then would be vastly
+easier than in summer, not only on account of climatic conditions, but
+because much of the vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for
+"still hunting."
+
+Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because of the dense
+population. The mud dykes and the rice fields usually are covered with
+tracks of civets, mongooses, and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but
+if a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly is stolen.
+Moreover, the small mammals are neither abundant nor varied in number of
+species, and the larger forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow
+are exceedingly difficult to kill.
+
+While our work in the province was done during an unfavorable season and in
+only two localities, yet enough was seen of the general conditions to make
+it certain that a thorough zoölogical study of the region would require
+considerable time and hard work and that the results, so far as a large
+collection of mammals is concerned, would not be highly satisfactory. Work
+in the western part of the province among the Bohea Hills undoubtedly would
+be more profitable, but even there it would be hardly worth while for an
+expedition with limited time and money.
+
+Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology of Fukien
+already has received considerable attention through the collections of
+Swinhoe, La Touche, Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably not
+a great number of species remain to be described.
+
+Much work could still be done upon the herpetology of the region, however,
+and I believe that this branch of zoölogy would be well worth investigation
+for reptiles and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives would
+rather assist than retard one's efforts.
+
+The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than in any other of the
+Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow dialect (which is one of the most
+difficult to learn) is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the
+city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow" perfectly, could not
+understand a word of the "southern mandarin" which is the language of that
+region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives from Amoy have settled,
+the dialect is unintelligible to one who knows only "Foochow."
+
+Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport is entirely by
+coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred pounds. The men are paid by
+distance or weight; therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained
+there is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one to two hours
+are consumed before the party can start.
+
+But the worst of it is that one can never be certain when one's entire
+outfit will arrive at its new destination. Some men walk much faster than
+others, some will delay a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if
+the day be hot, with the result that the last load will arrive perhaps five
+or six hours after the first one.
+
+As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the only alternative is
+to be carried in a mountain chair, which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like
+affair and only to be found along the main highways. On the whole,
+transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and expensive that for a
+large expedition it forms a grave obstacle to successful work, if time and
+funds be limited.
+
+On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually good. We employed a very
+fair cook who received monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about three and
+one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from five to seven dollars
+(Mexican). As none of the servants knew English they could be obtained at
+much lower wages, but English-speaking cooks usually receive from fifteen
+to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.
+
+It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger but we had hunted him
+unsuccessfully for five weeks and there was other and more important work
+awaiting us in Yün-nan. It required thirty porters to transport our baggage
+from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei, twenty-one miles away, where two
+houseboats were to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were lying
+off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the flood tide to take us to Foochow. We made
+our beds on the deck house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the
+boat tied to the wharf at the Custom House on the Bund, and ourselves in
+full view of all Foochow had it been awake at that hour.
+
+The week of packing and repacking that followed was made easy for us by
+Claude Kellogg, who acted as our ministering angel. I think there must be a
+special Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and directs them
+to such men as Kellogg, for without divine aid they could never be found.
+When we last saw him, he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving
+his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the S.S. _Haitan_ for
+Hongkong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping interested us greatly,
+even when we first came to China, but we could not appreciate then as we
+did later the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions.
+
+How much the missionaries are able to accomplish from a religious
+standpoint is a question which we do not wish to discuss, but no one who
+has ever lived among them can deny that the opening of schools and the
+diffusing of western knowledge are potent factors in the development of the
+people. The Chinese were not slow even in the beginning to see the
+advantages of a foreign education for their boys and now, along the coast
+at least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their daughters as
+well. The Woman's College, which was opened recently in Foochow, is one of
+the finest buildings of the Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced
+girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments, it is difficult
+to realize that outside such schools they are still slaves in mind and body
+to those iron rules of Confucius which have molded the entire structure of
+Chinese society for over 2400 years.
+
+The position of women in China today, and the rules which govern the
+household of every orthodox Chinese, are the direct heritage of
+Confucianism. The following translation by Professor J. Legge from the
+_Narratives of the Confucian School_, chapter 26, is illuminating:
+
+    Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and is supreme
+    over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions of man and
+    helps to carry out his principles. On this account she can determine
+    nothing of herself and is subject to the rule of the three obediences.
+
+    "(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder brother;
+
+    "(2) When married, she must obey her husband;
+
+    "(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.
+
+    "She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions or orders
+    must issue from the harem. Women's business is simply the preparation
+    and supplying of drink and food. Beyond the threshold of her apartments
+    she shall not be known for evil or for good. She may not cross the
+    boundaries of a state to attend a funeral. She may take no steps on her
+    own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation."
+
+    The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:
+
+    "(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;
+
+    "(2) Not giving birth to a son;
+
+    "(3) Dissolute conduct;
+
+    "(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates at his
+    harem);
+
+    "(5) Talkativeness, and
+
+    "(6) Thieving."
+
+A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her mother-in-law, and as she is
+often reared by her husband's family, or else married to him as a mere
+child, and is under the complete control of his mother for a considerable
+period of her existence, her life in many instances is one of intolerable
+misery. There is generally little or no consideration for a girl under the
+best of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male child; her
+condition then improves but she approaches happiness only when she in turn
+occupies the enviable position of mother-in-law.
+
+It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness and vacuity than
+that of the average Chinese woman. Owing to her bound feet and resultant
+helplessness, if she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the
+narrow confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her entire life she may
+not go a mile from the house to which she was brought a bride, except for
+the periodical visits to her father's home.
+
+It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in China and it is not
+surprising that, ignored and despised for centuries, the Chinese woman
+shows no ability to improve the squalor of her surroundings. She passes her
+life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken furniture and a mud
+floor, together with pigs, chickens and babies enjoying a limited sphere of
+action under the tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard
+without. Her work is actually never done and a Chinese bride, bright and
+attractive at twenty, will be old and faded at thirty.
+
+But without doubt the crowning evil which attends woman's condition in
+China is foot binding, and nothing can be offered in extenuation of this
+abominable custom. It is said to have originated one thousand years before
+the Christian era and has persisted until the present day in spite of the
+efforts directed against it. The Empress Dowager issued edicts strongly
+advising its discontinuation, the "Natural Foot Society," which was formed
+about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate public opinion, and the
+missionaries refuse to admit girls so mutilated to their schools; but
+nevertheless the reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities.
+"Precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands for their
+daughters are responsible for the continuation of the evil, and it is
+estimated that there are still about seventy-four millions of girls and
+women who are crippled in this way.
+
+The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and seven. The toes are bent
+under the sole of the foot and after two or three years the heel and instep
+are so forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft; gradually
+also the lower limbs shrink away until only the bones remain.
+
+The suffering of the children is intense. We often passed through streets
+full of laughing boys and tiny girls where others, a few years older, were
+sitting on the doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and
+crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are constructed a
+considerable distance from the family dwelling where the girls must sleep
+during their first crippled years in order that their moans may not disturb
+the other members of the family. The child's only relief is to hang her
+feet over the edge of the bed in order to stop the circulation and induce
+numbness, or to seek oblivion from opium.
+
+If the custom were a fad which affected only the wealthy classes it would
+be reprehensible enough, but it curses rich and poor alike, and almost
+every day we saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves by means
+of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads or laboring in the fields.
+
+Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly making itself
+felt to a certain extent in the coast provinces, in Yün-nan the horrible
+practice continues unabated. During the year in which we traveled through a
+large part of the province, wherever there were Chinese we saw bound feet.
+And the fact that virtually _every_ girl over eight years old was mutilated
+in this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have not penetrated
+to this remote part of the Republic.
+
+I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation because of its
+senselessness and brutality, and China can never hope to take her place
+among civilized nations until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and
+liberated her women from their infamous subjection.
+
+There has been much criticism of foreign education because the girls who
+have had its advantages absorb western ideas so completely that they
+dislike to return to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a Chinese
+household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of China are ever to be
+emancipated it must come through their own education as well as that of the
+men.
+
+One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay marriage, and in
+some instances the early betrothal with its attendant miseries. The evil
+which results from this custom can hardly be overestimated. It happens not
+infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy, the respective
+families being in like circumstances at the time. The opportunity perhaps
+is offered to the girl to attend school and she may even go through
+college, but an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents' home,
+forces her to submit to the engagement made in babyhood and perhaps ruins
+her life through marriage with a man of no higher social status or
+intelligence than a coolie.
+
+Among the few girls imbued with western civilization a spirit of revolt is
+slowly growing, and while it is impossible for them to break down the
+barriers of ages, yet in many instances they waive aside what would seem an
+unsurmountable precedent and insist upon having some voice in the choosing
+of their husbands.
+
+While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign wedding of a
+girl who had been brought up in the Woman's School and who was qualified to
+be a "Bible Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was whispered that she
+had actually met her betrothed on several occasions, but on their wedding
+day no trace of recognition was visible, and the marriage was performed
+with all the punctilious Chinese observances compatible with a Christian
+ceremony.
+
+Precedent required of this little bride, although she might have been
+radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly was, to appear tearful and
+shrinking and as she was escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might
+have thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not becoming to the
+Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning, so she had chosen pink for
+her wedding gown and had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled
+hair.
+
+After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded downstairs to the
+joyous strain of the wedding march, but with nothing joyous in their
+demeanor--in fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception and
+endured for over an hour the stares and loud criticism of the guests. He
+assumed during the ordeal a look of bored indifference while the little
+bride sat with her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken.
+But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle in her shining black
+eyes that made me realize that perhaps it wasn't all quite so frightful as
+she would have us believe. I often wonder what sort of a life she is
+leading in her far away Chinese courtyard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+VOYAGING TO YÜN-NAN
+
+We had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our trip to Yün-nan. Hongkong
+is one of the best cities in the Orient in which to purchase supplies of
+almost any kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best
+English goods can be had for prices very little in excess of those in
+London itself.
+
+The system which we used in our commissary was that of the unit food box
+which has been adopted by most large expeditions. The boxes were packed to
+weigh seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary staple supplies
+for three persons for one week; thus only one box needed to be opened at a
+time, and, moreover, if the party separated for a few days a single box
+could be taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance
+that sufficient food would be available.
+
+Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar, coffee, milk,
+bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned meat, vegetables, or fruit
+because we were certain to be able to obtain a plentiful supply of such
+food in the country through which we were expecting to travel.
+
+Our tents were brought from New York and were made of light Egyptian cotton
+thoroughly waterproof, but we also purchased in Hongkong a large army tent
+for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and specimens. We
+used sleeping bags and folding cots, tables and chairs, for when an
+expedition expects to remain in the field for a long time it is absolutely
+necessary to be as comfortable as possible and to live well; otherwise one
+cannot work at one's highest efficiency.
+
+For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits with flannel shirts and
+high leather shoes for mountain climbing, and we had light rubber
+automobile shirts and rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto shirt
+is a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens about the neck
+and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can be so spread about as to cover
+all exposed parts of the body; it is especially useful and necessary, and
+hip rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy season.
+
+Our traps for catching small mammals were brought from New York. We had two
+sizes of wooden "Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes of
+Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as civets and
+polecats. We also carried a half dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had
+used this size in Africa and found that they were large enough even to hold
+lions.
+
+Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I used a 6-1/2 mm.
+Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All of these guns were eminently
+satisfactory, but the choice of a rifle is a very personal matter and every
+sportsman has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat
+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we were armed was
+absolutely essential for many of our shots were at long range and we
+frequently killed gorals at three hundred yards or over.
+
+The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks, a Graphic 4 × 5 tripod
+camera, and Graflex 4 × 5 for rapid work. We have found after considerable
+field experience that the 4 × 5 is the most convenient size to handle, for
+the plate is large enough and can be obtained more readily than any other
+in different parts of the world. The same applies to the 3A Kodak
+"post-card" size film, for there are few places where foreign goods are
+carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.
+
+All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin boxes before we
+left America, and thus the material was in perfect condition when the cans
+were opened. We used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic
+work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to handle than
+films, nevertheless the results obtained are very superior. A collapsible
+rubber dark room about seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an
+indispensable part of the camera equipment. This tent was made for us by
+the Abercrombie & Fitch Company, of New York, and could be hung from the
+limb of a tree or the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five
+minutes.
+
+The motion pictures were taken with a Universal camera, and like all other
+negatives were developed in the field by means of a special apparatus which
+had been designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural
+History. This work required a much larger space than that of the portable
+dark room and we consequently had a tent made of red cloth which could be
+tied inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.
+
+Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and in wooden boxes with
+sliding tops. The latter arrangement is especially desirable in Yün-nan,
+for the loads can be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus
+saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.
+
+It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies together, but the
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong pushed the making and packing of our
+boxes in a remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of their
+departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a Chinaman is to get more
+Chinamen," and they put a small army at work upon our material, which was
+ready for shipment in just a week.
+
+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. Gary, 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 lotos 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 3 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. Chemein Dupontés, 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. Dupontés was especially helpful.
+
+Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad from Hanoi to Yün-nan
+Fu had caved in and for almost a month trains had not been running. It was
+now in operation, however, but all luggage had to be transferred by hand at
+the broken tunnel and consequently must not exceed eighty-five pounds in
+weight. This meant repacking our entire equipment and three days of hard
+work. M. Dupontés arranged to have our 4000 pounds of baggage put in a
+special third class carriage with our "boys" in attendance and in this way
+saved the expedition a considerable amount of money. He personally went
+with us to the station to arrange for our comfort with the _chef de gare_,
+telegraphed ahead at every station upon the railroad, and gave us an open
+letter to all officials; in fact there was nothing which he left undone.
+
+The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement for it was constructed
+in great haste through a difficult mountainous range. Yün-nan is an
+exceedingly rich province and the French were quick to see the advantages
+of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports. The British were already
+making surveys to construct a railroad from Bhamo on the headwaters of the
+Irawadi River across Yün-nan to connect with the Yangtze, and the French
+were anxious to have their road in operation some time before the rival
+line could be completed.
+
+Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall, or perhaps to both,
+the tunnels and bridges frequently cave in or are washed away and the
+railroad is chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in which
+it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve great credit for their
+enterprise in extending their line to Yün-nan Fu over the mountains where
+there is a tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. While it was
+being built through the fever-stricken jungles of Tonking the coolies died
+like flies, and it was necessary to suspend all work during the summer
+months.
+
+The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the traveling is by no
+means uncomfortable, but the hotels in which one stops at night are
+wretched. One of our friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience
+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad. He asked for a
+bath and discovered that a tub of hot water had been prepared. He wished a
+cold bath, and seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of
+the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when the hotel proprietor
+suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming, "Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, you are in the
+tank of drinking water."
+
+When we arrived at Yün-nan Fu we found a surprisingly cosmopolitan
+community housed within its grim old walls; some were consuls, some
+missionaries, some salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese
+employ, and others represented business firms in Hongkong, but all received
+us with open handed hospitality characteristic of the East.
+
+We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening clothes would not again
+be used, but they were requisitioned every night for we were guests at
+dinners given by almost everyone of the foreign community. Mr. Howard Page,
+a representative of the Standard Oil Company, proved a most valuable
+friend, and through him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other
+arrangements for the transportation of our baggage. M. Henry Wilden, the
+French Consul, an ardent sportsman and a charming gentleman, took an active
+interest in our affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the Chinese
+Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, he later transported our trunks
+to Hongkong with his personal baggage and assisted us in every possible
+way.
+
+We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and were ushered into a
+large room where a rather imposing lunch had already been spread. The
+Commissioner, a fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of French but
+none of English, received us in the most cordial way and immediately opened
+several bottles of champagne in our honor. He asked why our passports had
+not been viséd in Peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying that at
+the time we were in the capital Yün-nan was an independent province and
+consequently the Peking Government had not the temerity to put their stamp
+upon our passports.
+
+Inasmuch as Yün-nan was infested with brigands we had expected some
+opposition to our plans for traveling in the interior, but none was
+forthcoming, and with the exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for
+our trip to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse, we left
+the Foreign Office with all the desired permits.
+
+The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested in our zoölogical
+study of Yün-nan, offered to assist us in every way we could suggest, and
+telegraphed to every mandarin in the north and west of the province,
+instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate our work in
+every way. None of the opposition which we had been led to expect
+developed, and it is difficult to see how we could have been more cordially
+received.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+On August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to Ta-li Fu, and three days
+later we ourselves left Yün-nan Fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after
+an interminable wait for our caravan. Through the kindness of Mr. Page, a
+house boat was put at our disposal and we sailed across the upper end of
+the beautiful lake which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the
+caravan twenty-five _li_ [Footnote: A _li_ in this province equals
+one-third of an English mile.] from Yün-nan Fu.
+
+On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers, each with ten or a
+dozen birds sitting quietly upon the boat with outspread wings drying their
+feathers. Every bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented from
+swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into the water.
+
+After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the long train of mules and
+horses winding up the hill toward us. There were seventeen altogether, and
+in the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately with both hands to
+a diminutive mule, his long legs dangling and a look of utter wretchedness
+upon his face. Just before the caravan reached us it began to rain, and the
+cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow oilskins which we had purchased
+for him in Yün-nan Fu. These, together with a huge yellow hat, completed a
+picture which made us roar with laughter; Heller gave the caption for it
+when he shouted, "Here comes the 'Yellow Peril.'"
+
+We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller vainly tried to get his
+girth tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding over the animal's tail
+he exclaimed, "Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying to ride?" But it
+was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and found that we did not
+crush the little brutes.
+
+A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with a few odds and ends on
+top made a pack of at least one hundred and sixty pounds. This is heavy
+even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility,
+but it is the usual weight, and the businesslike way in which they moved
+off showed that they were not overloaded.
+
+The Yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. The load is
+strapped with a rawhide to a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over
+a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place by its own
+weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it can be easily
+removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. It has the great
+disadvantage, however, of giving the horses serious back sores which
+receive but scanty attention from the _mafus_ (muleteers).
+
+When we were fairly started upon our long ride to Ta-li Fu the time slipped
+by in a succession of delightful days. Since this was the main caravan
+route the _mafus_ had regular stages beyond which they would not go. If we
+did not stop for luncheon the march could be ended early in the afternoon
+and we could settle ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved
+a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle. A few pages
+from my wife's "Journal" of September fifteenth describes our camp at
+Lu-ho-we and our life on the road to Ta-li Fu.
+
+    We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on a hilltop
+    in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at our feet. The sun
+    is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and throwing bars of golden
+    light through the twisted branches of a bent old pine, over the stone
+    well, and into the dim recesses behind the altar where a benevolent
+    idol grins down upon us.
+
+    We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting to rest
+    in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children are shouting and
+    laughing but all is quiet here save for the drip of water in the well,
+    and the chatter of a magpie on the pine tree. Today we made the stage
+    in one long march and now we can rest and browse among our books or
+    wander with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths.
+
+    The sun is hot at midday, although the mornings and evenings are cold,
+    and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of yellow pine, and talk for
+    an hour before we go to sleep upon the porch where we can see the moon
+    come up and the stars shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns
+    in the sky.
+
+    It is seven days since we left Yün-nan Fu and each night we have come
+    to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible charm about them,
+    lying asleep, as it were, among the trees of their courtyards, with
+    stately, pillared porches, and picturesque gables upturned to the sky.
+    They seem so very, very old and filled with such great calm and peace.
+
+    Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride
+    through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged women,
+    filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the dilapidated
+    entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close the huge gates
+    and are in another world.
+
+    We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn. As
+    we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted against
+    the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and the
+    contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans.
+
+    Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we have
+    fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the remotest
+    corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal is
+    awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean white cloth. While we
+    are eating, the beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a
+    running fire of exhortations to the _mafus_ who cause us endless
+    trouble.
+
+    They are a hard lot, these _mafus_. Force seems to be the only thing
+    they understand and kindness produces no results. If the march is long
+    and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to get them started
+    within three hours without the aid of threats. Once after a long halt
+    when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to wait by the roadside for
+    hours before the caravan arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they
+    had begun to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage
+    until long after dark.
+
+    In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses we
+    ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling line of
+    mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones of the road.
+    It is delightful in the early morning for the air is fresh and brisk
+    like that of October at home, but later in the day when the sun is
+    higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade
+    where we can rest until the caravan arrives.
+
+    The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which says: "A road
+    is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this applies most
+    excellently to those of Yün-nan. The main caravan highways are paved
+    with huge stones to make them passable during the rainy season, but
+    after a few years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the
+    earth is washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible
+    angles. The result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch of imagination
+    can be called a road. Where the stones are still in place they have
+    been worn to such glasslike smoothness by the thousands of passing
+    mules that it is well-nigh impossible to walk upon them. As a result a
+    caravan avoids the paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes
+    dozens of deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.
+
+    We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire province
+    is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges which we crossed.
+    It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep mountain-sides, but once on
+    the ridges where the country is spread out below us like a great, green
+    relief map, there is a wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with
+    a joyous sense of freedom.
+
+    Yün-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the peaks about us
+    are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like mists still float about
+    the mountain tops when we climb into them, and we are suddenly
+    enveloped in a wet gray blanket which sends us shivering into the coats
+    tied to our saddles.
+
+For centuries this road has been one of the main trade arteries through the
+province, and with the total lack of conservation ideas so characteristic
+of the Chinese, every available bit of natural forest has been cut away. As
+a result the mountains are desert wastes of sandstone alternating with
+grass-covered hills sometimes clothed with groves of pines or spruces.
+These trees have all been planted, and ere they have reached a height of
+fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent demand for wood which is
+ever present with the Chinese.
+
+The ignorance of the need of forest conservation is an illuminating
+commentary on Chinese education. Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of Ta-li
+Fu, told us that one day he was riding over this same road with a Chinese
+gentleman, a deep scholar, who was considered one of the best educated men
+of the province. Pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil and
+deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked that all this could
+have been prevented, and that instead of a rocky waste there might have
+been a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow.
+
+The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts which every western
+schoolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was
+ignorant because they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox Chinese for
+"everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the past
+utterly neglectful of the present.
+
+Every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this, together
+with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for the almost
+total lack of animal life. Night after night we set traps about our temple
+camps only to find them untouched in the morning. There were no mammals
+with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus
+erythraeus_ sub sp.) and now and then a tree shrew (_Tupaia belangeri
+chinensis_).
+
+
+The latter is an interesting species. Although it is an Insectivore, and a
+relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs, it has
+squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is
+totally unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike tails of the
+ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed long bushy tails and in fact
+look and act so much like squirrels that it is difficult to convince the
+white residents of Yün-nan, who are accustomed to see them run about the
+hedges and walls of their courtyards that the two are quite unrelated.
+
+The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one of the most remarkable
+instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated animals with
+similar habits. A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that they
+represent a distinct group which is connected with the monkeys (lemurs).
+
+Although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. We were
+about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the winter
+swarm into Yün-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants are
+difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed in the game birds,
+for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road and
+virtually none were to be found.
+
+The main caravan roads of Yün-nan held little of interest for us as
+naturalists, but as students of native customs they were fascinating, for
+the life of the province passed before us in panoramic completeness.
+Chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels of utter and
+abandoned filth and although those of Yün-nan are no exception to the rule,
+they are considerably better than the coast cities.
+
+Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion with the human
+inmates of the houses, the pigs especially being treated as we favor dogs
+at home. On the door steps children play with the swine, patting and
+pounding them, and one of my friends said that he had actually seen a
+mother bring her baby to be nursed by a sow with her family of piglets.
+
+The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed to be industrious.
+Wherever the deforestation had left sufficient soil on the lower hillsides
+patches of corn took the place of the former poppy fields for opium. In
+1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting the growing of opium,
+and gave guarantees to the British that it would be entirely stamped out
+during the next ten years. Strangely enough these promises have been
+faithfully kept, and in Yün-nan the hillsides, which were once white with
+poppy blossoms, are now yellow with corn. In all our 2000 miles of riding
+over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way spots we found only
+one instance where opium was being cultivated.
+
+The mandarin of each district accompanied by a guard of soldiers makes
+periodical excursions during the seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts
+down the plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China deserves
+the greatest credit for so successfully dealing with a question which
+affects such a large part of her four hundred millions of people and which
+presents such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance.
+
+Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown freely and much is
+smuggled into Yün-nan. Therefore its use has by no means been abandoned,
+especially in the south of the province, and in some towns it is smoked
+openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just before we reached Yün-nan
+Fu there was an _exposé_ of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating
+side light on the corruption of some Chinese officials.
+
+Opium can be purchased in Yün-nan Fu for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce,
+while in Shanghai it is worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the Military
+Governor), the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother and three
+members of Parliament had collected six hundred pounds of opium which they
+undertook to transfer to Shanghai.
+
+Their request that no examination of their baggage be made by the French
+during their passage through Tonking was granted, and a similar favor was
+procured for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were safely landed, but
+a few hours later, through the opium combine, foreign detectives learned of
+the smuggling and the boxes were seized.
+
+The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the opium, as did the three
+Parliament members, and Governor Tang was not interrogated as that would be
+quite contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however, he will not
+receive reappointment when his official term expires.
+
+As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire road, we were amazed at
+the prevalence of goitre. At a conservative estimate two out of every five
+persons were suffering from the disease, some having two, or even three,
+globules of uneven size hanging from their throats. In one village six out
+of seven adults were affected, but apparently children under twelve or
+fourteen years are free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex.
+Probably the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking water, for
+it is most prevalent in the limestone regions and seems to be somewhat
+localized.
+
+Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them, "mountain schooners," in
+each of which a fat Chinaman sprawled while two or four sweating coolies
+bore him up hill. The chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo poles
+and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which is piled a heap of
+bedding. Overhead a light bamboo frame supports a piece of yellow oilcloth,
+which completely shuts in the occupant, except from the front and rear.
+
+The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even to ride, and if one is
+about to make an official visit nothing less than a four-man chair is
+required. Haste is just as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical
+exertion, and is utterly incomprehensible to the Chinese. Major Davies says
+that while he was in Tonking before the railroad to Yün-nan Fu had been
+constructed, M. Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indo-China, who was
+a very energetic man, rode to Yün-nan Fu in an extraordinarily short time.
+While the Europeans greatly admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must
+be in some difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of the
+Viceroy of Yün-nan could extricate him.
+
+In Yün-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding for the inns supply
+nothing but food, and consequently when a Chinaman rides from one city to
+another he piles a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on
+top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. The horses are
+trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and I know of no more
+ridiculous sight than a Chinaman bouncing along a road on the summit of a
+veritable mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers flying in
+every direction. He is assisted in keeping his balance by broad brass
+stirrups in which he usually hooks his heels and guides his horse by means
+of a rawhide bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make a
+comforting jingle whenever he moves.
+
+On the sixth day out when approaching the city of Chu-hsuing Fu we took a
+short cut through the fields leaving the caravan to follow the main road.
+The trail brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a bridge
+made from two narrow planks, with a wide median fissure. We led our horses
+across without trouble and Heller started to follow. He had reached the
+center of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped to one side,
+hung suspended on his belly for a moment, and toppled off into the water.
+
+The performance had all happened behind Heller's back and when he turned
+about in time to see his horse diving into the river, he stood looking down
+at him with a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust, while the
+animal climbed out and began to graze as quietly as though nothing had
+happened.
+
+Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss Cordelia Morgan, a
+niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia. We found her to be a most charming and
+determined young woman who had established a mission station in the city
+under considerable difficulties. The mandarin and other officials by no
+means wished to have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down
+among them and become a responsibility which might cause them endless
+trouble, and although she had rented a house before she arrived, the owner
+refused to allow her to move in.
+
+She could get no assistance from the mandarin and was forced to live for
+two months in a dirty Chinese inn, swarming with vermin, until they
+realized that she was determined not to be driven away. She eventually
+obtained a house and while she considers herself comfortable, I doubt if
+others would care to share her life unless they had an equal amount of
+determination and enthusiasm.
+
+At that time she had not placed her work under the charge of a mission
+board and was carrying it on independently. Until our arrival she had seen
+but one white person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon Chinese
+food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.
+
+We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the next morning as our
+caravan wound down the long hill past her house she stood at the window to
+wave good-by. She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if we
+could have seen her face we would have found tears upon it, for the evening
+with another woman of her kind had brought to her a breath of the old life
+which she had resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to her
+self-appointed exile.
+
+On our ninth day from Yün-nan Fu we had a welcome bit of excitement. We
+were climbing a long mountain trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high
+and were near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to the caravan,
+jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required fifteen minutes of questioning
+before we finally learned that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than
+a mile ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads.
+
+He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them and that they had
+killed two _mafus_; almost immediately a second gesticulating Chinaman
+appeared and gave the number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as
+five. Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt quite sure
+that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently learned that forty
+was the correct number and that no one had been killed.
+
+Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but we got out our
+rifles and made for a village at the top of the pass. There were not more
+than a half dozen mud houses and in the narrow street between them perfect
+bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to wait for us, and men,
+horses, loads, and chairs were packed and jammed together so tightly that
+it seemed impossible ever to extricate them. Our arrival added to the
+confusion, but leaving the _mafus_ to scream and chatter among themselves,
+we scouted ahead to learn the true condition of affairs.
+
+Almost within sight we found the caravan which had been robbed. Paper and
+cloth were strewn about, loads overturned, and loose mules wandered over
+the hillside. The frightened _mafus_ were straggling back and told us that
+about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the caravan, shooting and
+brandishing long knives. Instantly the _mafus_ had run for their lives
+leaving the brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. The goods chiefly
+belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang, and included some five
+thousand dollars worth of jade and gold dust, all of which was taken.
+
+Yün-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China, is infested with
+brigands who make traveling very unsafe. There are, of course, organized
+bands of robbers at all times, but these have been greatly augmented since
+the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who have taken to
+brigandage as the easiest means to avoid starvation.
+
+The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with the situation and
+makes only half-hearted attempts to punish even the most flagrant
+robberies, so that unguarded caravans carrying valuable material which
+arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves very lucky.
+
+So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel great apprehension
+for it was generally known that we carried but little money and our
+equipment, except for guns, could not readily be disposed of. Throughout
+the entire expedition we paid our _mafus_ and servants a part of their
+wages in advance when they were engaged, and arranged to have money sent by
+the mandarins or the British American Tobacco Co., to some large town which
+would be reached after several months. There the balance on salaries was
+paid and we carried with us only enough money for our daily needs.
+
+Before we left Yün-nan Fu we were assured by the Foreign Office that we
+would be furnished with a guard of soldiers--an honor few foreigners
+escape! The first day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These
+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered their official
+message to the _yamen_ and intrusted us to the care of others for our next
+day's journey.
+
+Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage of 1872, but their
+cartridges were seldom of the same caliber as the rifles and in most cases
+the ubiquitous umbrella was their only weapon. Just what good they would be
+in a real attack it is difficult to imagine, except to divert attention by
+breaking the speed limits in running away.
+
+Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped them but they
+always turned up in an hour or two. They were not so much a nuisance as an
+expense, for custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (Mexican) a day
+both going and returning. They are of some use in lending an official
+aspect to an expedition and in requisitioning anything which may be needed;
+also they act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed a claim
+can be entered against the government, whereas if the escort is refused the
+traveler has no redress.
+
+It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier way in which these
+men treat other caravans or the peasants along the road. Waving their arms
+and shouting oaths they shoo horses, mules or chairs out of the way
+regardless of the confusion into which the approaching caravan may be
+thrown. They must also be closely watched for they are none too honest and
+are prone to rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever
+they wish without the formality of payment.
+
+We were especially careful to respect the property on which we camped and
+to be just in all our dealings with the natives, but it was sometimes
+difficult to prevent the _mafus_ or soldiers from tearing down fences for
+firewood or committing similar depredations. Wherever such acts were
+discovered we made suitable payment and punished the offenders by deducting
+a part of their wages. Foreigners cannot respect too carefully the rights
+of the peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception which will be
+accorded to all others who follow in their footsteps.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+On Friday, September 23, we were at Chou Chou and camped in a picturesque
+little temple on the outskirts of the town. As the last stage was only six
+hours we spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the caravan
+and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early _tiffin_.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan, a large commercial
+town at the lower end of the lake. Its population largely consists of
+merchants and it is by all means the most important business place of
+interior Yün-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence and official
+city.
+
+At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner, Mr. Lui, to whom Mr.
+Bode, the salt inspector at Yün-nan Fu, had very kindly telegraphed money
+for my account, and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went on to Ta-li
+Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was so slippery that it was
+well-nigh impossible for either horse or man to move over it faster than a
+walk.
+
+This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern Yün-nan, the
+thermometer registering 85°+ in the shade, which is the usual mid-summer
+temperature, but the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it was
+cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the winter it is never very
+cold and its delightful summer should make Northern Yün-nan a wonderful
+health resort for the residents of fever-stricken Burma and Tonking.
+
+We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our right hand and on the
+other the Ts'ang Shan mountains which rise to a height of fourteen thousand
+feet. As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined against the
+foothills the slender shafts of three ancient pagodas. They were erected to
+the _feng-shui_, the spirits of the "earth, wind, and water," and for
+fifteen hundred years have stood guard over the stone graves which, in
+countless thousands, are spread along the foot of the mountains like a vast
+gray blanket. In the late afternoon sunlight the walls of the city seemed
+to recede before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and unreal even
+when we passed through its gloomy arch and clattered up the stone-paved
+street.
+
+We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H.G. Evans, agent of the British
+American Tobacco Company, to whose care our first caravan had been
+consigned, and he very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we
+were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr. Evans' assistance to
+the Expedition, for he acted as its banker throughout our stay in Yün-nan,
+cashing checks and transferring money for us whenever we needed funds.
+
+The British American Tobacco Company and the Standard Oil Company of New
+York are veritable "oases in the desert" for travelers because their
+agencies are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia and their
+employees are always ready to extend the cordial hospitality of the East to
+wandering foreigners.
+
+Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include the Reverend
+William J. Hanna, his wife and two other ladies, all of the China Inland
+Mission. Mr. Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along
+educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful little chapel, a
+large school, and a dispensary in connection with his house, where he and
+his wife are occupied every morning treating the minor ills of the natives,
+Christian and heathen alike.
+
+Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at the time of the
+Mohammedan war, when the Chinese captured the city through the treachery of
+its commander and turned the streets to rivers of blood. The Mohammedans
+were almost exterminated, and the ruined stone walls testify to the
+completeness of the Chinese devastation.
+
+The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt. He
+called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately asked if
+we had any shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun but no shells,
+and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to hint broadly at
+every opportunity.
+
+The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what they
+can make in "squeeze" from the natives of their district for reimbursement
+and a profit on their investment. In almost every case which is brought to
+them for adjustment the decision is withheld until the magistrate has
+learned which of the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a
+settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant, accepting this as the
+established custom, pays the bribe without a murmur if it is not too
+exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were
+dispensed in any other way.
+
+My personal relations with the various mandarins whom I was constantly
+required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and I was
+treated with great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were in China that
+there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant and
+official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the law,
+undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the
+republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a lesson in etiquette.
+The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary to conform to
+their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse,
+the fact that Western customs differ from their own.
+
+At the end of the reception room in every _yamen_ is a raised platform on
+which the visitor sits at the _left hand_ of the mandarin; it would be
+exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. Tea
+is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted until the
+official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to the lips with both
+hands. Usually when the magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the
+interview is ended. When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor to the
+doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually bows and protests
+asking him not to come so far.
+
+Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time
+investigating the shops. One important find was the panda (_Aelurus
+fulgens_). The panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but looks
+rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the "fire fox" because of
+its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were supposed to be exceedingly rare and we
+could hardly believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made from
+their skins hanging in the fur shops.
+
+Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, _Petaruista yunnanensis_, were
+also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was almost as great
+a surprise as the finding of the pandas. This is often true in the case of
+supposedly rare species. A few specimens may be obtained from the extreme
+limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for
+years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the
+proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant.
+
+We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (_Felis temmicki_) which, with
+the snow leopard (_Felis uncia_), it was said came from Tibet. Civets,
+bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and
+pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops. The scales of the
+pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of certain
+diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of
+deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows.
+
+Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in China by
+foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops. If a Chinaman discovers
+a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold mine
+to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed with an acid, and a
+phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain value as a tonic. When a
+considerable amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added its efficacy
+assumes double proportions.
+
+Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan from the southern
+part of the province along the Tonking border, but the good ones are
+quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).
+Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.
+
+Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century and, among other
+things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province. We
+were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and more
+heavily built than those of Yün-nan Fu and appear to be better in every
+way. A good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five dollars
+(Mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because
+they are considered better pack animals.
+
+On the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of Yün-nan we
+hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them outright, and
+subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course. Saddle ponies,
+which are used only for short trips about the city, cannot endure continual
+traveling over the execrable roads of the interior where often it is
+impossible to feed them properly. If an entire caravan were purchased the
+leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble with the _mafus_ to
+insure even ordinary care of the animals, an opportunity would be given for
+endless "squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other reasons too
+numerous to mention why in this province the plan is impracticable.
+
+However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to the limit. They are
+trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind another
+horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat or kick the
+beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the horse in
+front. On the first day out Heller, who was on a particularly bad animal,
+when trying to pass one of us began to cavort about like a circus rider,
+prancing from side to side and backward but never going forward. We shouted
+that we would wait for him to go on but he replied helplessly, "I can't,
+this horse isn't under my management," and we found very soon that our
+animals were not under our management either!
+
+In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the caravan with Wu and Heller:
+Wu stopped to buy a basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move
+ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a circle, ours followed,
+and in a few moments we were packed together so tightly that it was
+impossible even to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the huge delight of
+the villagers until rescued by a _mafu_. As soon as he led Wu's horse
+forward the others proceeded as quietly as lambs.
+
+We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal while traveling, and
+fifteen or twenty cents when in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in
+different parts of the province, and in the west and south, along the Burma
+border fifty cents is the usual price. When a caravan is engaged the
+necessary _mafus_ are included and they buy food for themselves and beans
+and hay for the animals.
+
+Ever since leaving Yün-nan Fu the cook we engaged at Paik-hoi had been a
+source of combined irritation and amusement. He was a lanky, effeminate
+gentleman who never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically and
+mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life. After five months in the
+field he appeared to be as helpless when the caravan camped for the night
+as when we first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until someone
+directed him what to do. But he was a good cook, when he wished to exert
+himself, and had the great asset of knowing a considerable amount of
+English. While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr. Evans overheard him relating his
+experiences on the road to several of the other servants. "Of course," said
+the cook, "it is a fine way to see the country, but the riding! My
+goodness, that's awful! After the third day I didn't know whether to go on
+or turn back--I was so sore I couldn't sit down even on a chair to say
+nothing of a horse!"
+
+He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see the country" that way
+for the day after we left Ta-li Fu _en route_ to the Tibetan frontier he
+became violently ill. Although we could find nothing the matter with him he
+made such a good case for himself that we believed he really was quite sick
+and treated him accordingly. The following morning, however, he sullenly
+refused to proceed, and we realized that his illness was of the mind rather
+than the body. As he had accepted two months' salary in advance and had
+already sent it to his wife in Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a
+certain amount of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its
+object and illness did not trouble him thereafter.
+
+The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition. Good meals
+and varied food must be provided if the personnel is to work at its highest
+efficiency and cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. In
+Yün-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no means easy to find and
+when our Paik-hoi gentleman finally left us upon our return to Ta-li Fu we
+were fortunate in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to take his place
+through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+We left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu and with a new
+caravan of twenty-five animals traveled northward for six days to Li-chiang
+Fu. By taking a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the pine
+forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was a total absence of
+animal life. The woods were beautiful, parklike stretches which in a
+country like California would be full of game, but here were silent and
+deserted. During the fourth and fifth days we were still in the forests,
+but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000 feet high and descended abruptly
+into a long marshy plain where at the far end were the gray outlines of
+Li-chiang dimly visible against the mountains.
+
+Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our camp, leaving Heller and
+my wife to follow. A few pages from her journal tell of their entry into
+the city.
+
+    We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the outskirts of
+    the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither Roy nor Wu was in
+    sight but we expected that the _mafus_ would ask where they had gone
+    and follow, for of course we could not speak a word of the language.
+    Already there was quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our
+    sudden appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement.
+    One old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and uttered
+    what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "Mon Dieu" of disagreeable
+    surprise.
+
+    I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to appreciate
+    our friendliness and in return merely stared with open mouths and eyes.
+    We halted and immediately the street was blocked by crowds of men,
+    women, and children who poured out of the houses, shops, and
+    cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention. When the caravan arrived we
+    moved on again expecting that the _mafus_ had learned where Roy had
+    gone, but they seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow
+    winding streets. Even though we did not find a camping place we
+    afforded the natives intense delight.
+
+    I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade at home, but
+    the most remarkable attraction there could not have equaled our
+    unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second excursion through the
+    town we passed down a cross-street, and suddenly from a courtyard at
+    the right we heard feminine voices speaking English.
+
+    "It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair, it's a
+    girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably
+    foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They were Mrs. A. Kok,
+    wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary, and two assistants, who
+    rushed into the street as soon as they had determined my sex and
+    literally "fell upon my neck." They had not seen a white woman since
+    their arrival there four years ago and it seemed to them that I had
+    suddenly dropped from the sky.
+
+    While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the camp. They had
+    chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled courtyard on the summit
+    of a hill overlooking the city. It was wonderfully clean and when our
+    beds, tables, and chairs were spread on the broad stone porch it seemed
+    like a real home.
+
+    The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller setting traps,
+    and I working at my photography. We let it be known that we would pay
+    well for specimens, and there was an almost uninterrupted procession of
+    men and boys carrying long sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats,
+    toads, and snakes. They would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm.
+    Our fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame
+    things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds, and I
+    even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two, for mothers
+    stood about with little brown kiddies on their backs as though they
+    really would like to offer them to us but hardly dared.
+
+    The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap, and hidden
+    under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe that his religious
+    vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and so he would
+    beckon Roy into the darkness of the temple with a most mysterious air,
+    and would extract all sorts of things from his sleeves just like a
+    sleight-of-hand performer. He was a rich man when we left!
+
+    The people are mostly tribesmen--Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans, and many
+    others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in front and with a long
+    plait in back. They wash their hair once--on their wedding day--and
+    then it is wrapped up in turbans for the rest of their lives. The
+    Tibetan women dress their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but I don't
+    believe there is any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves
+    either.
+
+Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never had a better one. On
+the morning after our arrival Heller found mammals in half his traps, and
+in the afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which brought us
+fifty mammals of eleven species. This was a wonderful relief after the many
+days of travel through country devoid of animal life.
+
+Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow voles, Asiatic
+white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels, and tree shrews. The small
+mammals were exceedingly abundant and easy to catch, but after the first
+day we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole our traps. We
+usually marked them with a bit of cotton, and the boys would follow an
+entire line down a hedge, taking every one. Sometimes they even brought
+specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught in our stolen traps!
+
+The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the grass where we found
+the "runways" or paths which mice, rats and voles often make. These animals
+begin to move about just after dark, and we usually would inspect our traps
+with a lantern about nine o'clock in the evening. This not only gave the
+trap a double chance to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens,
+for such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and almost every
+night, if the specimens were not taken out early in the evening, several
+would be partly eaten.
+
+Small mammals are often of much greater interest and importance
+scientifically than large ones, for, especially among the Insectivores,
+there are many primitive forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and
+throw light on the evolutionary history of other living groups.
+
+Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance for the Tibetans bring
+down vast quantities of skins for sale and trade. Lambs, goats, foxes,
+cats, civets, pandas, and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are
+dozens of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.
+
+This city is a most interesting place especially on market day, for its
+inhabitants represent many different tribes with but comparatively few
+Chinese. By far the greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who are
+semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally an independent
+race who ruled a considerable part of northern Yün-nan, and Li-chiang was
+their ancient capital. To the effeminate and "highly civilized" Chinese
+they are "barbarians," but we found them to be simple, honest and wholly
+delightful people. Many of those whom we met later had never seen a white
+woman, and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast to that
+of the Chinese who consider themselves so immeasurably their superior.
+
+The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle, and this is the one place
+in the Orient except in large cities along the coast, where we could obtain
+fresh milk and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered tea and _tsamba_
+(parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but they also grow quantities
+of delicious vegetables and fruit. Buttered tea is prepared by churning
+fresh butter into hot tea until the two have become well mixed. It is then
+thickened with finely ground _tsamba_ until a ball is formed which is eaten
+with the fingers. The combination is distinctly good when the ingredients
+are fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less said of it the
+better.
+
+The natives of this region are largely agriculturists and raise great
+quantities of squash, turnips, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn,
+peas, beans, oranges, pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling we filled
+our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or chestnuts and could
+replenish our stock at almost any village along the road.
+
+Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually about eight cents
+(Mexican) a dozen, and we could always purchase a chicken for an empty tin
+can, or two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest desideratum
+and when offers of money failed to induce a native to pose for the camera a
+bottle nearly always would decide matters in our favor.
+
+In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting only twelve miles
+north of the city on the Snow Mountain range, the highest peak of which
+rises 18,000 feet above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr. Kok's
+house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules to take us to the hunting
+grounds. Mr. Kok assisted us in numberless ways while we were in the
+vicinity of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took charge of
+all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned us money when it was
+difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu and helped us to engage servants and
+caravans.
+
+It had rained almost continually for five days and a dense gray curtain of
+fog hung far down in the valley, but on the morning of October 11 we awoke
+to find ourselves in another world. We were in a vast amphitheater of
+encircling mountains, white almost to their bases, rising ridge on ridge,
+like the foamy billows of a mighty ocean. At the north, silhouetted against
+the vivid blue of a cloudless sky, towered the great Snow Mountain, its
+jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning sun had kissed their
+summits. We rode toward it across a level rock-strewn plain and watched the
+fleecy clouds form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves
+in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. It was an inspiration, that
+beautiful mountain, lying so white and still in its cradle of dark green
+trees. Each hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its grandeur,
+and we were glad to be of the chosen few to look upon its sacred beauty.
+
+In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple which nestled into a
+grove of spruce trees on the outskirts of a straggling village. To the
+north the Snow Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and south a
+grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle undulations to a range of
+hills which jutted into the valley like a great recumbent dragon.
+
+A short time after our camp was established we had a visit from an Austrian
+botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti, who had been in the village for two
+weeks. He had come to Yün-nan for the Vienna Museum before the war,
+expecting to remain a year, but already had been there three. Surrounded as
+he was by Tibet, Burma, and Tonking, his only possible exit was by way of
+the four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had little money and for
+two years had been living on Chinese food. He dined with us in the evening,
+and his enjoyment of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other canned
+goods was almost pathetic.
+
+A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti left for Yün-nan Fu and
+eventually reached Shanghai which, however, became a closed port to him
+upon China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped that his
+collections, which must be of great scientific value and importance, have
+arrived at a place of safety long ere this book issues from the press.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+We hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain village. They were
+picturesque fellows, supposedly dressed in skins, but their garments were
+so ragged and patched that it was difficult to determine the original
+material of which they were made.
+
+One of them was armed with a most extraordinary gun which, it was said,
+came from Tibet. Its barrel was more than six feet long, and the stock was
+curved like a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in the side
+of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was fastened a forked spring.
+At his waist the man carried a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of
+which was placed in the crotched spring. When about to shoot the native
+placed the butt of the weapon against his cheek, pressed the spring so that
+the burning rope's end touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun.
+
+The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned arrows. They were
+remarkably good shots and at a distance of one hundred feet could place an
+arrow in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found later that
+crossbows are in common use throughout the more remote parts of Yün-nan and
+were only another evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the
+Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth century
+equipment, were anachronisms.
+
+The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game even with such primitive
+weapons for they depend largely upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to
+bay against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. The dogs are a
+mongrel breed which appears to be largely hound, and some are really
+excellent hunters. White is the usual color but a few are mixed black and
+brown, or fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos, owned a good pack and we all
+came to love its big red leader. This fine dog could be depended upon to
+dig out game if there was any in the mountains, but his life with us was
+short for he was killed by our first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable and
+the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for the loss of a faithful friend.
+
+Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we saw while passing through
+Chinese villages were nauseating in their unsightliness, for at least
+thirty per cent of them were more or less diseased. Barely able to walk,
+they would stagger across the street or lie in the gutter in indescribable
+filth. One longed to put them out of their misery with a bullet but,
+although they seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner
+appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.
+
+The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly good condition and there
+seemed to be comparatively little disease among them. Our hunters treated
+their hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves, although
+loyal to their masters, manifested but little affection. In Korea dogs are
+eaten by the natives, but none of the tribes with which we came in contact
+in Yün-nan used them for food.
+
+On our first day in the temple Heller went up the Snow Mountain for a
+reconnoissance and the party secured a fine porcupine. It is quite a
+different animal from the American tree porcupines and represents a genus
+(_Hystrix_) which is found in Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. This
+species lives in burrows and, when hunting big game, we were often greatly
+annoyed to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of these
+animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing about the burrow yelping
+excitedly instead of having a goral at bay as we had expected.
+
+Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills are more than twelve
+inches long and very sharp. A porcupine will keep an entire pack of dogs at
+bay and is almost sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies of
+some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short time. The Mosos eat the
+flesh which is white and fine.
+
+Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang the traps yielded four
+shrews and one mouse which were new to our collection. The natives brought
+in three bats which we had not previously seen and began a thriving
+business in toads and frogs with now and then a snake.
+
+The temple was an excellent place for small mammals but it was evident that
+we would have to move high up on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and
+other big game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while Heller prepared a
+number of bat skins we started out on horseback to hunt a camp site.
+
+It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly from a cloudless sky
+and just a touch of autumn snap in the air. We crossed the sloping
+rock-strewn plain to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which
+led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main peaks. An hour of
+steady climbing brought us to the summit of the ridge where we struck into
+the woods toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The trail led us along
+the brink of a steep escarpment from which we could look over the valley
+and away into the blue distance toward Li-chiang. Three thousand feet below
+us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering pine trees, and
+the herds of sheep and cattle massed themselves into moving patches on the
+smooth brown plain.
+
+We pushed our way through the spruce forest with the glistening snow bed as
+a beacon and suddenly emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the
+ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place to camp," we both
+exclaimed. "If we can only find water, let's come tomorrow."
+
+The hunters had assured us that there were no streams on this end of the
+mountain but we hoped to find a snow bank which would supply our camp for a
+few days at least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the grandeur of
+the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling very small and helpless amid
+surroundings where nature had so magnificently expressed herself.
+
+At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry creek bed which led upward
+through the dense spruce forest. "Where water has been, water may be
+again," we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way among the trees
+and over fallen logs to a fairly open hill slope where we attempted to
+ride, but our animals were nearly done. After climbing a few feet they
+stood with heaving sides and trembling legs, the breath rasping through
+distended nostrils. We felt the altitude almost as badly as the horses for
+the meadow itself was twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and
+the air was very thin.
+
+There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable snow bank when it was
+slowly borne in upon us that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound
+of water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined. Above and to
+the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet in height, and as we toiled
+upward and emerged beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver
+ribbon streaming down its face. It came from a melting snow crater and we
+could follow its course with our eyes to where it swung downward along a
+rock wall not far from the upper end of the meadow. It was so hidden by the
+trees that had we not climbed above timber line, it never would have been
+discovered.
+
+This solved the question of our camp and we looked about us happily. On the
+way through the forest we had noticed small mammal runways under almost
+every log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy slope was cut
+by an intricate network of tiny tunnels. These were plainly the work of a
+meadow vole (_Microtus_) and at this altitude it certainly would prove to
+be a species new to our collection.
+
+The sun had already dropped behind the mountain and the meadow was in
+shadow when we reached it again on our homeward way. By five o'clock we
+were in the temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations for an
+early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the morning three of the mules
+had strayed, and we did not arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the
+afternoon.
+
+Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce forest a few hundred yards
+from the snow stream. As soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy
+slope above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of traps in the vole
+runways and under logs and stumps in the forest.
+
+The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a short distance away and
+slept in their ragged clothes without a blanket or shelter of any kind. It
+was delightfully warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was out, but as
+soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and the nights were freezing cold;
+yet the natives did not seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our
+offer of a canvas tent fly.
+
+We never will forget that first night on the Snow Mountain. As we sat at
+dinner about the campfire we could see the somber mass of the forest losing
+itself in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of the mighty peaks
+standing guard about our mountain home. We slept, breathing the strong,
+sweet perfume of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering
+alone through the forest opening the treasure boxes of the Wild.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+We were awakened before daylight by Wu's long drawn call to the hunters,
+"_L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o_." The steady drum of rain on our
+tent shot a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened my eyes, but
+before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags and dressed it lessened to a
+gentle patter and soon ceased altogether. It left a cold, gray morning with
+dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but, nevertheless, I
+decided to go out with the hunters to try for goral.
+
+Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a high rock shoulder
+sparsely covered with scrub spruce while I went up the opposite slope
+accompanied by the other two. We had not been away from camp half an hour
+when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately we heard them coming
+around the summit of the ridge in our direction. The hunters made frantic
+signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the thin air with my heart
+pounding like a trip hammer I could not go faster than a walk.
+
+We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly the dogs appeared on the
+side of the cliff near the summit. Just in front of them was a bounding
+gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs and animals but ten
+minutes later a blessed gust of wind drifted the fog away and the goral was
+indistinctly visible with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. The big
+red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for a nip at the animal's
+throat but was kept at bay by its vicious lunges and sharp horns.
+
+It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud was drifting in again
+and I dropped down for a shot. The hunters were running up the slope,
+frantically waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot at that
+distance. I could just see the gray form through the sights and the first
+two shots spattered the loose rock about a foot low. For the third I got a
+dead rest over a stone and as the crash of the little Mannlicher echoed up
+the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air whirling over and over onto
+the rocks below.
+
+The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill and down into the
+stream bed, and when I arrived the goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the
+water. The animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through its
+lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed on the rocks, its
+horns were uninjured and the beautiful gray coat was in perfect condition.
+It so happened that this ram was the largest which we killed on the entire
+trip.
+
+When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp we met Yvette and Heller
+on their way to visit the traps just below snow line, and she returned with
+me to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies which I knew would
+be performed. One of the natives cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon
+it and at the first cut chanted a prayer. Then laying several leaves one
+upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart, wrapped it carefully in
+the leaves and placed it in a nearby tree as an offering to the God of the
+Hunt.
+
+I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters perform similar ceremonies
+at the death of an animal, and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate
+the God of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting in Korea in 1912, and
+also in other parts of China, if luck had been against us for a few days
+the hunters would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some animal to
+sacrifice for "good joss."
+
+After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood we again climbed the
+cliff at the end of the meadow. When we were nearly 2,000 feet above camp
+the clouds shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped itself
+about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for it to drift away.
+
+After an hour the fog began to thin and the men sent the hounds toward a
+talus slope at the base of the highest peak. Almost immediately the big red
+dog picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with the pack
+yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly as possible over such hard
+going but before we reached the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp
+pinnacle and disappeared far below us. Expecting that the goral would swing
+about the base of the peak the hunters sent me back across the talus to
+watch for a shot, but the animal ran down the valley and into a heavily
+wooded ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance above
+camp.
+
+I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich haul from the traps. As
+we supposed, the runways which Yvette and I had discovered above timber
+line were made by a meadow vole (_Microtus_) and in the forest almost every
+trap had caught a white-footed mouse (_Apodemus_). He also had several new
+shrews and we caught eight different species of these important little
+animals at this one camp.
+
+Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came to me one day in
+great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese dictionary. He had looked up the
+word "shrew" and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"
+
+The following day Heller went out with the hunters and saw two gorals but
+did not get a shot. In the meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and prepared
+the small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side, Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with ropes and an alpine snow ax. He was
+about to attempt to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended
+but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet from the summit. He
+dined at our camp and as all of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we
+spent a very pleasant evening. During his three years in Yün-nan he had
+explored and mapped many sections of the province which had not been
+visited previously by foreigners and from him we obtained much valuable
+information.
+
+On the third morning we were up before daylight and I left with the hunters
+in the gray dawn. We climbed steadily for an hour after leaving camp and,
+when well up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak through
+a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets, emerging upon a steep
+grassy meadow; this abutted on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and
+below ran into a thick evergreen forest.
+
+As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog, trotted off by himself
+toward the rock wall above us, and in a few moments we heard his sharp
+yelps near the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing out in a long
+line up the hillside.
+
+We had nearly crossed the open slope and were standing on the edge of a
+deep gully when the dogs gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure
+they were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom of the gorge and
+began the sharp ascent on the other side. It was almost straight up and
+before we had gone a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my
+legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of the dogs sounding
+closer and closer kept us going.
+
+When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill I was absolutely done. I
+lay flat on my back for a few minutes and got to my knees just as the goral
+appeared on the opposite cliff. The sight of the magnificent animal
+bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet seemed hardly to touch down
+the face of a sheer wall, will remain in my memory as long as I live. He
+seemed the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks and crags,
+vibrant with the breath of the clouds. Selecting a spot which he must touch
+in the next flying leap, I waited until his body darkened the sights and
+then pulled the trigger.
+
+The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to his feet, and with a
+tremendous leap landed on a projecting shelf of rock four yards below.
+Instantly I fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass not two
+feet from the edge of the precipice which fell away in a dizzy drop of six
+hundred feet.
+
+The dogs were on him long before we had worked our way down the cañon and
+up to the shelf where he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as the
+first one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they were very tired
+from their two days of hunting, so I decided to return to camp with the
+men. On the way a second goral was started but it swung about the summit of
+the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction, giving one of the
+hunters a shot with his crossbow, which he missed.
+
+It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear and blue but the clouds
+still lay thickly over the meadow and the camp was invisible. The billowy
+masses clung to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we could
+look far across the valley into the blue distance where the snow-covered
+summits of range after range of magnificent mountains lay shining in the
+sun like beaten silver. There was a strange fascination about those
+mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that for twelve long months I
+was free to roam where I willed and explore their hidden mysteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns. Their hair was thick and
+soft, pale olive-buff tipped with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon
+bones" were buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. Their color
+made them practically invisible against the rocks and when I killed the
+second goral my only distinct impression as he dashed down the face of the
+precipice, was of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body which
+I could hardly see.
+
+This invisibility, combined with the fact that the Snow Mountain gorals
+lived on almost inaccessible cliffs thickly covered with scrub spruce
+forest, made "still hunting" impossible. In fact, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,
+who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains fairly thoroughly in his
+search for plants, had never seen a goral, and did not know that such an
+animal existed there.
+
+Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although he saw several
+gorals, he was not successful in getting one until we had been in camp
+almost a week. His was a young male not more than a year old with horns
+about an inch long. It was a valuable addition to our collection for I was
+anxious to obtain specimens of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat
+group" in the Museum and we lacked only a female.
+
+The preparation of the group required the greatest care and study. First,
+we selected a proper spot to reproduce in the Museum, and Yvette took a
+series of natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting the
+background. Next she made detail photographs of the surroundings. Then we
+collected portions of the rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss
+and leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. In a large group,
+perhaps several thousand leaves will be required, but the field naturalist
+need select typical specimens of only five or six different sizes from each
+of which a plaster mold can be made at the Museum and the leaves reproduced
+in wax.
+
+After two days of rain during which I had a hard and unsuccessful hunt for
+serows we decided to return to the temple at the foot of the mountain which
+was nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We had already been
+in our camp on the meadow for nine days and, besides the gorals, had
+gathered a large and valuable collection of small mammals. The shrews were
+especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series of meadow
+voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained a new weasel and a single
+specimen of a tiny rock-cony or little chief hare, an Asiatic genus
+(_Ochotona_) which is also found in the western part of North America on
+the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Although we set dozens of traps
+among the rocks we did not get another on the entire expedition nor did we
+see indications of their presence in other localities.
+
+The almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great
+surprise. Except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that
+foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though food
+was abundant.
+
+On the day before we went to the temple I had a magnificent hunt. We left
+camp at daylight in a heavy fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow
+trail. We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the upper edge of a
+little meadow and expected the animal to break cover any moment, but it
+turned down the mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce
+woods.
+
+We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were well above the clouds,
+which lay in a thick white blanket over the camp, and headed for the cañon
+where I had shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go lower down into the
+forests but I prevailed upon him to stay along the open slopes and, while
+we were resting, the big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and
+to the right of us. It was in the exact spot where my second goral had been
+started and we were on the _qui vive_ when the rest of the pack dashed up
+the mountain-side to join their leader.
+
+In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard them swinging about in
+our direction. Just then the clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank
+below us, began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the cañon. On
+and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps of the dogs. I was trembling
+with impatience and swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the
+gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the ravine, until we were
+enveloped so completely that I could hardly see the length of my gun
+barrel. A moment later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff not a
+hundred yards away.
+
+With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each hoof beat and the
+stones which his flying feet sent rattling into the gorge. Then the dogs
+came past, and we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing
+fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The goral was lost, and as
+though the Fates were laughing at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind
+sucked the cloud out of the cañon as swiftly as it had come, and above us
+shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.
+
+Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I had loaned him my
+three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .303 Savage) and he was as excited as a
+child with a new toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered the
+safety catches in a short time even though he had never before seen a
+breach-loading gun.
+
+There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain for the dogs might
+bring the goral to bay on one of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes
+we stood on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest. One of
+the hunters picked his way down the rock wall while Hotenfa and I circled
+the top of the spur.
+
+We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter shouted that a goral was
+running in our direction. Hotenfa reached the edge of the ridge before me,
+and I saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which disappeared
+into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt only a few feet behind the
+animal although it must have been well beyond a hundred yards and almost
+straight below us.
+
+Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other hunter brought us again
+to the edge of the cliff just in time to see a second goral dash into the
+forest a good three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the gorge.
+
+Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and Hotenfa made signs
+which said as plainly as words, "I told you so. The gorals are not on the
+peaks but down in the forest. We ought to have come here first."
+
+There were not many moments for regret, however, for this was "our busy
+day." Suddenly a burst of frantic yelps from the red dog turned us off to
+the left and we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which we had just
+left. One of the other hunters was standing there and his crossbow twanged
+as the goral passed only a few yards from him, but the wicked little
+poisoned dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches above the animal's
+back.
+
+The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the second hunter who was
+too surprised to shoot and only yelled that it was coming toward us on the
+cliff below. Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat himself,
+and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting shelf which overhung the
+gorge.
+
+We reached the rim at the same moment and saw a huge ram standing on a
+narrow ledge a hundred yards below. I fired instantly and the noble animal,
+with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched himself into space
+falling six hundred feet to the rocks beneath us.
+
+As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to go insane. Yelling with joy,
+he threw his arms about my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me
+on the back until I thought he would throw us both off the cliff. I was
+utterly dumfounded but seized his three-barrel gun to unload it for in his
+excitement there was imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or
+me.
+
+Then I realized what it was all about. We had both fired simultaneously and
+neither had heard the other's shot. By mistake Hotenfa had discharged a
+load of buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the goral but his
+joy was so great that I would not for anything have disillusioned him.
+
+It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place where the goral had
+fallen. The dogs were already there lying quietly beside the animal when we
+arrived. My bullet had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and
+ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself against the breast bone;
+the jacket had split, one piece tearing into the heart, so that the ram was
+probably dead before it struck the rocks.
+
+I photographed the goral where it lay and after it had been eviscerated,
+and the hunters had performed their ceremonies to the God of the Hunt, I
+sent one of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked toward the bottom
+of the cañon in the hope of finding the other animals.
+
+It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me in his vivid sign
+language that the gorals were likely to be asleep on the sunny side of the
+ravine; therefore we worked up the opposite slope.
+
+It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours we plodded steadily
+upward, clinging by feet and hands to bushes and rocks, and were almost
+exhausted when we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds of
+the way to the summit.
+
+We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin, toiled on again. I
+had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa was still sitting down, when I saw
+him wave his arm excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped down to
+his side just as he fired at a big female goral which was sound asleep in
+an open patch of grass on the mountain-side.
+
+Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the knee but without the
+slightest sign of injury she dashed down the cliff. I fired as she ran,
+striking her squarely in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the
+bushes a hundred feet below.
+
+How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the summit of the ridge I never
+can understand, for with a light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all I
+could do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely done when we
+finally threw ourselves on the grass at the edge of the meadow which we had
+left in the morning. Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the goral,
+but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for my bullet had smashed the
+heart to a pulp.
+
+On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead tired, disappeared alone
+into the heavy forest below us. Suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up
+the hill in our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens and ran to an
+opening in the forest where we thought the animal must pass.
+
+Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared higher up at the
+heels of a crested muntjac (_Elaphodus_), which was bounding along at full
+speed, its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish back. I had
+one chance for a shot at about one hundred and fifty yards as the pair
+crossed a little opening in the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot
+for, had I missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been killed.
+
+I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is an exceedingly rare
+species, but a few days later a shepherd brought in another which had been
+wounded by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the plains to die.
+
+When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out to meet us, falling over
+logs and bushes in her eagerness to see what we were carrying. No dinner
+which I have ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak that
+night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping bag, dead tired in body
+but with a happy heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+On October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain and camped in the
+temple which we had formerly occupied. This was directly below the forests
+inhabited by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively
+toward obtaining a representative series of these animals.
+
+Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the palm of my right hand
+almost immediately, and had it not been for the devoted care of my wife I
+should not have left China alive. Through terrible nights of delirium when
+the poison was threatening to spread over my entire body, she nursed me
+with an utter disregard of her own health and slept only during a few
+restless hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I could do no work
+but at last was able to bend my "trigger finger" and resume hunting
+although I did not entirely recover the use of my hand for several months.
+
+However, the work of the expedition by no means ceased because of my
+illness. Mr. Heller continued to collect small mammals with great energy
+and the day after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new native
+hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit from the independent tribe of
+S'suchuan and they proved to be excellent men.
+
+The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our third day in the
+temple. Heller went out with the hunters but in a few hours returned alone.
+A short time after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail of a
+huge serow and followed it for three miles through the spruce forest. They
+finally brought the animal to bay against a cliff and a furious fight
+ensued. One dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust in the
+side, and the big red leader was thrown over a cliff to the rocks below.
+More of the hounds undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters
+arrived and shot the animal.
+
+The men brought the serow in late at night but our joy was considerably
+dampened by the loss of the red dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms and
+laid him gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal died
+during the night. His master cried like a child and I am sure that he felt
+more real sorrow than he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for
+wives are much easier to get in China than good hunting dogs.
+
+The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from fighting, and had lost one
+horn by falling over a cliff when he was killed. He was brownish black,
+with rusty red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was nine and
+three-quarters inches in length and five and three-quarters inches in
+circumference at the base and the effectiveness with which he had used his
+horns against the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means only for
+ornaments. In the next chapter the habits and relationships of the gorals
+and serows will be considered more fully.
+
+On the morning following the capture of the first serow the last rain of
+the season began and continued for nine days almost without ceasing. The
+weather made hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so thickly
+over the woods that one could not see a hundred feet and Heller found that
+many of his small traps were sprung by the raindrops. The Lolos had
+disappeared, and we believed that they had returned to their village, but
+they had been hunting in spite of the weather and on the fifth day arrived
+with a fine male serow in perfect condition. It showed a most interesting
+color variation for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with hardly a
+tinge of reddish.
+
+November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless sky and during the
+remainder of the winter we had as perfect weather as one could wish.
+Yvette's constant nursing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion
+of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread of the poison in my hand and
+my nights were no longer haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but
+I was as helpless as a babe. I could do nothing but sit with steaming
+cloths wrapped about my arm and rail at the fate which kept me useless in
+the temple.
+
+The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just above our camp but the
+animal fell into a rock fissure more than a hundred feet deep and was
+recovered only after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging ladder from
+tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the serow bodily up the cliff; as it
+weighed nearly three hundred pounds this was by no means an easy
+undertaking.
+
+Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led by a slender young chief
+with patrician features who ruled his village like an autocrat with
+absolute power of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people who at one
+time probably occupied much of the region south of the Yangtze River but
+were pushed south and west by the Chinese and, except in one instance, now
+exist only in scattered units in the provinces of Kwei-chau and Yün-nan.
+
+In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which is absolutely closed to
+the Chinese on pain of death and over which they exercise no control.
+Several expeditions have been launched against the Lolos but all have ended
+in disaster.
+
+Only a few weeks before we arrived in Yün-nan a number of Chinese soldiers
+butchered nearly a hundred Lolos whom they had encountered outside the
+independent territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned several villages
+almost under the walls of a fortified city in which were five hundred
+soldiers, massacred all the men and boys, and carried off the women as
+slaves.
+
+The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with comparatively fair
+complexions, and often with straight features, suggesting a mixture of
+Mongolian with some more straight-featured race. Their appearance marks
+them as closely connected by race with the eastern Tibetans, the latter
+being, if anything, rather the bigger men of the two." [Footnote: "Yün-nan,
+the Link between India and the Yangtze," by Major H.R. Davies, 1909, p.
+389.] They are great wanderers and over a very large part of Yün-nan form
+the bulk of the hill population, being the most numerous of all the
+non-Chinese tribes in the province.
+
+
+Like almost every race which has been conquered by the Chinese or has come
+into continual contact with them for a few generations, the Lolos of
+Yün-nan, where they are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the
+Chinese. We found, as did Major Davies, that in some instances they were
+giving up their language and beginning to talk Chinese even among
+themselves. The women already had begun to tie up their feet in the Chinese
+fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.
+
+Those whom we employed were living entirely by hunting and, although we
+found them amiable enough, they were exceedingly independent. They
+preferred to hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased chance
+for game our high-power rifles gave them, and eventually left us while I
+was away on a short trip, even though we still owed them considerable
+money.
+
+The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of Yün-nan. Major Davies
+has considered this question in his valuable book to which I have already
+referred, and I cannot do better than quote his remarks here.
+
+    The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western
+    China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in
+    that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the
+    world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are
+    to be heard in the country which lies between Assam and the eastern
+    border of Yün-nan and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of
+    this region.
+
+    The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical
+    characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges and the
+    deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the differences in
+    customs and language, and the innumerable tribal distinctions, which
+    are so perplexing to the enquirer into Indo-Chinese ethnology.
+
+    A tribe has entered Yün-nan from their original Himalayan or Tibetan
+    home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land they have
+    settled on not equal to their wants. The natural result has been the
+    emigration of part of the colony. The emigrants, having surmounted
+    pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts,
+    have found a new place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to
+    undertake such a journey again to revisit their old home.
+
+    Being without a written character in which to preserve their
+    traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside world,
+    and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support themselves, the
+    recollection of their connection with their original ancestors has died
+    out. It is not then surprising that they should now consider themselves
+    a totally distinct race from the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and
+    the practice of slave raiding so common among the wilder members of the
+    Indo-Chinese family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In
+    fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for
+    hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the
+    languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to each
+    other the marked general resemblance which is still to be found.
+
+    The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good means
+    of communication have also naturally militated against the formation of
+    any large kingdoms with effective control over the mountainous
+    districts. Directly we get to a flat country with good roads and
+    navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions disappear, and the
+    whole of the inhabitants are welded into a homogeneous people under a
+    settled government, speaking one language.
+
+    Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the same
+    everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will find one language
+    spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same length in
+    the hilly country to the east or to the west of the Irrawaddy valley
+    would bring him into contact with twenty mutually unintelligible
+    tongues.
+
+    The same state of things applies to Siam and Tong-king--one nation
+    speaking one language in the flat country and a Tower of Babel in the
+    hills (_loc. cit._, pp. 332-333).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Gorals and serows belong to the subfamily _Rupicaprinae_ which is an early
+mountain-living offshoot of the _Bovidae_; it also includes the chamois,
+takin, and the so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America. The animals are
+commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in order to express the
+intermediate position which they apparently hold between the goats and
+antelopes. They are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine antelopes from
+the scientific name of the chamois (_Rupicapra_).
+
+The horns of all members of the group are finely ridged, subcylindrical and
+are present in both sexes, being almost as long in the female as in the
+male. Although no one would suspect that the gorals are more closely
+related to the takins than to the serows, which they resemble
+superficially, such seems to be the case, but the cranial differences
+between the two genera are to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of
+the small Japanese serow (_Capricornulus crispus_). This species is most
+interesting because of its intermediate position. In size it is larger than
+a goral but smaller than a serow; its long coat and its horns resemble
+those of a goral but it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. It is
+found in Japan, Manchuria and southern Siberia.
+
+The principal external difference between the gorals and serows, besides
+that of size, is in the fact that the serows have a short tail and a well
+developed face gland, which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice,
+while the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.
+
+In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are similar to some
+of the antelopes but in their clumsy build, heavy limbs and stout
+hoofs as well as in habits they resemble goats. The serow has a long,
+melancholy-looking face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese in
+Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey" but in Yün-nan it is
+called "wild cow."
+
+The specific relationships of the serows are by no means satisfactorily
+determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent of the London Zoölogical Society's
+Gardens, has recently devoted considerable study to the serows of British
+India and considers them all to be races of the single species _Capricornis
+sumatrensis_. With this opinion I am inclined to agree, although I have not
+yet had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject in the
+light of our new material.
+
+These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration, and fall into
+three groups all of which partake more or less of the characters of each
+other. Chinese serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in
+Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern Burma and Malayan
+forms.
+
+The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain can probably be referred
+to _Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, those of Fukien obtained by
+Mr. Caldwell represent the white-maned serow _Capricornis sumatrensis
+argyrochaetes_ and one which I shot in May, 1917, near Teng-yueh, not far
+from the Burma frontier, is apparently an undescribed form.
+
+Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable individual
+variation exists in the color of the legs of these animals; this character
+was considered to be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree,
+but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed to be.
+
+Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain have the lower legs rusty
+red, while in two others these parts are buff colored. The animals, all
+males of nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain, and
+virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no important differences
+and there is no reason to believe that they represent anything but an
+extreme individual variation.
+
+The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping are even more
+surprising. The old female is coal black, but the young male is distinctly
+brownish-black with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along the
+mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a ridge. The horns of the
+female are nearly parallel for half their extent and approach each other at
+the tips; their surfaces are remarkably smooth. The horns of the young male
+diverge like a V from the skull and are very heavily ridged. The latter
+character is undoubtedly due to youth.
+
+These serows are an excellent example of the necessity for collecting a
+large number of specimens from the same locality. Only by this means is it
+possible to learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual
+variation and what are its really important characters. In the case of the
+gorals, our Expedition obtained at Hui-yao such a splendid series of all
+ages that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent study. Serows
+are entirely Asian and found in China, Japan, India, Sumatra and the Malay
+Peninsula.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly at altitudes of from 9,000
+to 13,000 feet in dense spruce forests, among the cliffs. The animals
+seemed to be fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were
+constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive use.
+Apparently serows seldom come out into the open, but feed on leaves and
+grass while in the thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill
+them without the aid of dogs or beaters.
+
+Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or four miles, and
+eventually lose them or it may turn at bay and fight the pack after only a
+short chase; a large serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds
+if in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back. The animal can use
+its strong curved horns with deadly effect for it is remarkably agile for a
+beast of its size.
+
+In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high mountain clothed with a
+dense jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was in quite different country from that
+which the animals inhabit in Yün-nan for although the cover was exceedingly
+thick it was without such high cliffs and there were extensive grassy
+meadows. We did not see any serows in Fukien because of the ignorance of
+our beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks. The natives said
+that in late September the animals could often be found in the forests of
+the lower mountain slopes when they came to browse upon the new grown
+mushrooms.
+
+Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin of a splendid female
+serow and a short time later obtained a young male. The latter was seen
+swimming across the river just below the city wall and was caught alive by
+the natives. The female weighed three hundred and ten pounds and the male
+two hundred and ninety pounds.
+
+Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather dangerous pets
+unless tamed when very young. We are reproducing a photograph taken and
+kindly loaned by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the Berlin
+Zoölogical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zoölogical Park at Calcutta and
+one from Darjeeling is owned by the London Zoölogical Society.
+
+Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the chamois. The species
+which we killed on the Snow Mountain can probably be referred to
+_Naemorhedus griseus_, but I have not yet had an opportunity to study our
+specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals have blackish brown
+tails which from the roots to the end of the hairs measure about 10 inches
+in length. The horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal
+half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The male horns are
+strongly recurved and are thick and round at the base but narrow rapidly to
+the tips; the female horns are straighter and more slender. The longest
+horns in the series which we received measured six inches in length and
+three and three-quarters inches in circumference at the base. Like the
+serows, gorals are confined to Asia and are found in northern India, Burma,
+and China, and northwards through Korea and southern Manchuria.
+
+We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain for in this particular
+region they could be killed in no other way. There was so much cover, even
+at altitudes of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so
+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still hunting" and never see a
+goral. They are vicious fighters, and often back up to a cliff where they
+can keep the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds while hunting
+alone, brought a goral to bay and was found dead next day by the hunters
+with its side ripped open.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly but at Hui-yao, not far
+from the Burma frontier, where we hunted another species in the spring,
+they were almost universally in herds of from six to seven or eight. It was
+at the latter place that we had our best opportunity to observe gorals and
+learn something of their habits. We were camping on the banks of a branch
+of the Shwelie River, which had cut a narrow gorge for itself; on one side
+this was seven or eight hundred feet deep. A herd of about fifty gorals had
+been living for many years on one of the mountain sides not far from the
+village, and although they were seen constantly the natives had no weapons
+with which to kill them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to
+shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred to four hundred
+yards.
+
+We could scan every inch of the hillside through our field glasses and
+watch the gorals as they moved about quite unconscious of our presence. At
+this place they were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low
+bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where the slopes had been
+partly burned over. We found them browsing from daylight until about nine
+o'clock, and from four in the afternoon until dark. They would move slowly
+among the bushes, picking off the new leaves, and usually about the middle
+of the morning would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon the
+rocks, and go to sleep.
+
+Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides, as do many hoofed
+animals, but doubled their forelegs under them, stretched their necks and
+hind legs straight out, and rested on their bellies. It was a most
+uncomfortable looking attitude, and the first time I saw an animal resting
+thus I thought it had been wounded, but both Mr. Heller and myself saw them
+repeatedly at other times, and realized that this was their natural
+position when asleep.
+
+When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or goats, they would run a
+short distance and stop to look back. This was usually their undoing, for
+they offered excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the sky.
+They were very difficult to see when lying down among the rocks, but our
+native hunters, who had most extraordinary eyesight, often would discover
+them when it was almost impossible for me to find them even with the field
+glasses. We never could be sure that there were no gorals on a
+mountainside, for they were adepts at hiding, and made use of a bunch of
+grass or the smallest crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it
+so completely that they seemed to have vanished from the earth.
+
+Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where it seemed impossible
+for any animal to move. I have seen a goral run down the face of a cliff
+which appeared to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared not
+venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock it would bounce off as
+though made of rubber, and leap eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which
+did not seem large enough to support a rabbit.
+
+The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is largely due to the
+animal's foot structure. Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn has investigated
+this matter in the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost equally
+well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote them here:
+
+    The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme front. Behind
+    this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which gives the horny hoof
+    a chance to get its hold. Both the main digits and the dewclaws
+    terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded and expanded soles, which are
+    of great service in securing a firm footing on the shelving rocks and
+    narrow ledges on which the animal travels with such ease. This sole,
+    Smith states, softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is
+    leaving the ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place.
+    The rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by no
+    means useless; they project back below the horny part of the hoof, and
+    Mr. Smith has actually observed the young captive goats supporting
+    themselves solely on their dewclaws on the edge of a roof. It is
+    probable that they are similarly used on the rocks and precipices,
+    since on a very narrow ledge they would serve favorably to alter the
+    center of gravity by enabling the limb to be extended somewhat farther
+    forward. [Footnote: "Mountain Goat Hunting with the Camera," by Henry
+    Fairfield Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth _Annual Report of the New
+    York Zoölogical Society_, 1906, pp. 13-14.]
+
+There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes at Hui-yao which the
+gorals must have used continually, judging by the way in which these were
+worn. We also found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on projecting
+ledges to indicate that these were definite resorts for numbers of the
+animals. Many which we saw were young or of varying ages running with the
+herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they had mastered the
+art of self-concealment even when hardly a year old. Although at Hui-yao
+almost all were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to be
+especially averse to water, and several times I watched wounded animals
+swim across the stream.
+
+Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little brutes inspire the
+sportsman with admiration, besides leading him over peaks which try his
+nerve to the utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my life the
+wonderful hunts in Yün-nan, far above the clouds, at the edge of the snow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+October had slipped into November when we left the temple and shifted camp
+to the other side of the Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It was a
+brilliant day and the ride up the valley could not have been more
+beautiful. Crossing the _gangheisa_ or "dry sea," a great grassy plain
+which was evidently a dry lake basin, we followed the trail into the forest
+and down the side of a deep cañon to a mountain stream where the waters
+spread themselves in a thin, green veil over a bed of white stones.
+
+We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the stream at the edge of
+the spruce forest. Above us towered the highest peak of the mountain, with
+a glacier nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered slopes
+extending in a glorious shining crescent about our camp. The moon was full,
+and each night as we sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned
+crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to purest silver at the
+touch of the white moonlight. We have had many camps in many lands but none
+more beautiful than the one at the "White Water."
+
+The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone in a cloudless blue sky
+and in the morning the ground was frozen hard and covered with snowlike
+frost, but the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that we could be
+happy at the "White Water" forever, but it did not prove to be as good a
+hunting ground as that on the other side of the mountain. The Lolos killed
+a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in a young goral a short
+time later, but big game was by no means abundant. At the "White Water" we
+obtained our first Lady Amherst's pheasant (_Thaumalea amherstiae_) one of
+the most remarkable species of a family containing the most beautiful birds
+of the world. The rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are made
+more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff about the neck. The first
+birds brought alive to England were two males which had been presented to
+the Countess Amherst after whom the species was named. We found this
+pheasant inhabiting thick forests where it is by no means easy to discover
+or shoot. It is fairly abundant in Yün-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan but
+its habits are not well known. Although the camp yielded several small
+mammals new to our collection, we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a
+new caravan for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller remained in
+camp.
+
+The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter than by way of the
+Snow Mountain village and at three o'clock in the afternoon our beloved
+"Temple of the Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city. As
+we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque gathering on the porch and
+heard the sound of many voices laughing and talking. The beautiful
+garden-like courtyard was filled with women and children of every age and
+description, and all the doors from one side of the temple had been
+removed, leaving a large open space where huge caldrons were boiling and
+steaming.
+
+We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the young priest was
+delighted to see us and insisted that we wait until Wu arrived. We were
+glad that we did not seek other quarters for we were to witness an
+interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of Chinese life. It
+seemed that about five years before a gentleman of Li-chiang had "shuffled
+off this mortal coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his mortal coil"
+certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited a few hundred dollars
+several years later and the village "astrologer" informed them that
+according to the _feng-shui_, or omnipotent spirits of the earth, wind, and
+water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's grave was ill-chosen and
+that if they ever hoped to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up,
+give the customary feast in his honor and have another burial site chosen.
+
+Every village has a "wise man" who is always called upon to select the
+resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to two
+thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's
+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether or not the spot
+will prove a propitious one and if the family later sell any property,
+receive a legacy, or are known to have obtained money in other ways, the
+astrologer usually finds that the _feng-shui_ do not favor the original
+place and he will exact another fee for choosing a second grave.
+
+The dead are never buried until the astrologer has named an auspicious day
+as well as an appropriate site, with the result that unburied coffins are
+to be seen in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in the
+back yards of many houses.
+
+Any interference by foreigners with this custom is liable to bring about
+dire results as in the case of the rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A number of
+French residents objected to a temple near by being used to store a score
+or more of bodies until a convenient time for burial and the result was the
+death of many people in the fighting which ensued. Mr. Tyler Dennet cites
+an amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling of the problem by a
+native mandarin in Yen-ping where we visited Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was the presence
+    of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate had a census taken of the
+    coffins above ground in the city and found that they actually numbered
+    sixteen thousand. The city itself is estimated to have only about
+    twenty thousand inhabitants.
+
+    It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily move in
+    such a way as to bring the whole city down about his head. But the
+    Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps the cleverest people on
+    earth. He finally devised a way out. A proclamation was issued levying
+    a tax of fifty cents on every unburied coffin. The Chinese may be
+    superstitious, but they are even more thrifty. For a few weeks Yen-ping
+    devoted itself to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little
+    city, one of the most isolated in China, can truly be said to be on the
+    road to health. [Footnote: "Doctoring China," by Tyler Dennet, _Asia_,
+    February, 1918, p. 114.]
+
+There are very few such progressive cities in China, however, and a
+missionary told us that recently a young child and his grandfather were
+buried on the same day although their deaths had been nearly fifty years
+apart. The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but it is the
+great ambition of every Chinese to have his resting place as near as
+possible to those of his ancestors. That is one of the reasons why they are
+so loath to emigrate.
+
+We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under the load of a heavy
+coffin, transporting a body sometimes a month's journey or more to bury it
+at the dead man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be fastened to the
+coffin for, according to the Yün-nan superstition, the spirit of the man
+enters the bird and is conveyed by it to his home.
+
+There is a strange absence of the fear of death among the Chinese. One
+often sees large planks of wood stored in a corner of a house and one is
+told that these are destined to become the coffins of the man's father or
+mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying the most robust
+health. Indeed, among the poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most
+fitting gift for a son to present to his father.
+
+We established our camp on the porch of the temple at Li-chiang and from
+its vantage point could watch the festivities going on about us. The
+feasting continued until after dark and at daylight the kettles were again
+steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.
+
+By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour later there came a partial
+stillness which was broken by a sudden burst of music (?) from Chinese
+violins and pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests standing about
+an improvised altar. The foot of the coffin was just visible in the midst
+of the paper decorations and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes of
+tempting food. These were meant as an offering to the spirit of the
+departed one, but we knew this would not prevent the sorrowing relatives
+from eating the food with much relish later on.
+
+In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting a figure clothed
+in white with a hood drawn over her face. She was bent nearly to the ground
+and muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her veil as she
+prostrated herself in front of the altar. For more than an hour this chief
+mourner, the wife of the deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure
+shaking with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. This same lady,
+however, moved about later among her guests an amiable hostess, with
+beaming countenance, the gayest of the gay. But every morning while the
+festivities lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate herself
+before the coffin and display heartrending grief in the presence of the
+unmoved spectators in order to satisfy the demands of "custom."
+
+Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities with the Chinese, and such
+a display of feigned emotion is required on certain prescribed occasions.
+As one missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all face and no
+heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night while passing down a deserted
+street in a Chinese village he was startled to hear the most piercing
+shrieks issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone was being murdered,
+he rushed through the courtyard only to find that a girl who was to be
+married the following day, according to Chinese custom, was displaying the
+most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her family, even though
+she probably was enchanted with the idea.
+
+On the third day of the celebration in the temple at Li-chiang the feasting
+ended in a burst of splendor. From one o'clock until far past sundown the
+friends and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any person could
+receive an invitation by bringing a small present, even if it were only a
+bowl of rice or a few hundred cash (ten or fifteen cents).
+
+All during the morning girls and women flocked up the hill with trays of
+gifts. There were many Mosos and other tribesmen among them as well as
+Chinese. The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the sides and
+hanging in long narrow plaits down their backs. They wore white leather
+capes (at least that was the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver
+and coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay with glowing red
+cheeks and laughing eyes they were decidedly attractive. The guests were
+seated in groups of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. Small boys
+acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of vegetables and huge straw
+platters heaped high with rice. As soon as each guest had stuffed himself
+to satisfaction he relinquished his place to someone else and the food was
+passed again. We were frequently pressed to eat with them and in the
+evening when the last guest had departed the "chief mourner" brought us
+some delicious fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that they had fed
+three hundred people during the day and we could well believe it. The next
+morning the coffin was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of
+anguished wails and we were left once more to the peace and quiet of our
+beautiful temple courtyard.
+
+Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for generations to come to
+provide a suitable funeral for one of its members, because to bury the dead
+without the proper display would not only be to "lose face" but subject
+them to the possible persecution of the angered spirits. This is only one
+of the pernicious results of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that
+most of the evils in China's social order today can be traced, directly or
+indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.
+
+A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants to worship at his grave
+and appease his spirit. The more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who
+walk in his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. As a
+missionary humorously says "the only law of God that ever has been obeyed
+in China is to be fruitful and multiply." Craving for progeny has brought
+into existence thousands upon thousands of human beings who exist on the
+very brink of starvation. Nowhere in the civilized world is there a more
+sordid and desperate struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty.
+But fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind breeding. The
+apparent atrophy of the entire race is due to ancestor worship which binds
+it with chains of iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these
+bonds are severed can China expect to take her place among the progressive
+nations of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+In mid-November we left the White Water with a caravan of twenty-six mules
+and horses. Following the road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze, we crossed
+the "Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several tremendous
+wooded ridges, each higher than the last, to the summit of the divide.
+
+The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine and spruce forest. Some
+of the trees were at least one hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped
+with beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from branch to branch and
+hung suspended in delicate streamers yards in length. The forest was choked
+with underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and the hundreds of
+fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss, made ideal conditions for small
+mammal collecting. However, as all the species would probably be similar to
+those we had obtained on the Snow Mountain, we did not feel that it was
+worth while stopping to trap.
+
+At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a beautiful hill in a pine
+forest which was absolutely devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was
+thinly overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso hunter, who
+acted as our guide, assured us that the river was only three miles away, it
+proved to be more than fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half
+past one the next afternoon.
+
+We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in China is, by the
+inaccuracy of the natives, and especially of the Chinese. Their ideas of
+distance are most extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it is to a
+certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen _li_ to go, but thirty
+_li_ when you come back." After a short experience one learns how to
+interpret such an answer, for it means that when going the road is down
+hill and that the return uphill will require double the time.
+
+Caravans are supposed to travel ten _li_ an hour, although they seldom do
+more than eight, and all calculations of distance are based upon time so
+far as the _mafus_ are concerned. If the day's march is eight hours you
+invariably will be informed that the distance is eighty _li_, although in
+reality it may not be half as great.
+
+In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith gives many illuminating
+observations on the inaccuracy of the Chinese. In regard to distance he
+says:
+
+    It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the distance
+    is given in "miles" (_li_), whether the "miles" are "large" or not!
+    That there is _some_ basis for estimates of distances we do not deny,
+    but what we do deny is that these estimates or measurements are either
+    accurate or uniform.
+
+    It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment one
+    leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become "long." If 120 _li_
+    constitute a fair day's journey on the main road, then on country roads
+    it will take fully as long to go 100 _li_, and in the mountains the
+    whole day will be spent in getting over 80 _li_ (p. 51).
+
+    In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of his oxen
+    gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains that he has
+    omitted to estimate the bones! A servant who was asked his height
+    mentioned a measure which was ridiculously inadequate to cover his
+    length, and upon being questioned admitted that he had left out of
+    account all above his shoulders! He had once been a soldier, where the
+    height of the men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of
+    burdens. And since a Chinese soldier is to all practical purposes
+    complete without his head, this was omitted.
+
+    Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who affirmed that
+    he lived "ninety _li_ from the city," but upon cross-examination he
+    consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning both to the city and
+    back, the real distance being as he admitted, only "forty-five _li_ one
+    way!" (p. 49) ...
+
+    The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads to much
+    vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few tens," or perhaps
+    "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate enumeration is one of the
+    rarest of experiences in China.... An acquaintance told the writer that
+    two men had spent "200 strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition,
+    adding a moment later, "It was 173 strings, but that is the same as
+    200--is it not?" (p. 54).
+
+    A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that he himself
+    "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious from his
+    narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city. Upon inquiry, he
+    admitted that he did not _now_ live in the village, and further
+    investigation revealed the fact that the removal took place nineteen
+    generations ago! "But do you not almost consider yourself a resident of
+    the city now?" he was asked. "Yes," he replied simply, "we do live
+    there now, but the old root is in that village."
+
+    ...The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a line of
+    assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed, and they
+    can ill comprehend the mania which seems to possess the Occidental to
+    ascertain everything with unerring exactness. The Chinese does not know
+    how many families there are in his native village, and he does not wish
+    to know. What any human being can want to know this number for is to
+    him an insoluble riddle. It is "a few hundred," "several hundreds," or
+    "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was and never
+    will be. (p. 55.)
+
+After breaking camp on the day following our departure from the "White
+Water" we rode along a broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in
+the late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one of the most
+impressive sights which China has to offer. At the left, and a thousand
+feet below, the mighty Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge
+almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been carved out of the
+solid rock, sharp and clean, with a giant's knife. A few miles to the right
+the mountains widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the river.
+Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys which stretch upward
+between the hills, is under cultivation, giving support for three villages,
+the largest of which is Taku.
+
+The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for miles where the
+river can be crossed. The south bank is so precipitous that the trail from
+the plain twists and turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow
+sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river is a vertical wall of
+rock which slopes back a little at the lower end to form a steep hillside
+covered with short grass. The landing place is a mass of jagged rocks
+fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the face of the
+cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by any loaded animal; therefore
+all the packs must be unstrapped and laboriously carted up the slope on the
+backs of the _mafus_.
+
+At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the boat, which carried only
+two animals and their packs, for the first trip across the river. It was
+difficult to get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved and
+actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the ferrymen first drew the
+craft along the rocks by a long rope, then climbed up the face of what
+appeared to be an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close
+beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the dory was worked well up
+stream and when pushed into the swift current was rowed diagonally to the
+other side.
+
+After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen decided to stop work
+although there was yet more than an hour of daylight and they could not be
+persuaded to cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an
+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do but camp where we were
+even though the greater part of our baggage was on the other side, with
+only the _mafus_ to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.
+
+About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a sandy cornfield on a
+level shelf just above the water, and pitched our tents. A slight wind was
+blowing and before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds, sand in
+our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller went down the river with a bag
+of traps while we set forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of
+goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of the day, we crawled
+into our sandy beds.
+
+At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported that the loads were safe
+but that one of the boatmen had gone to the village and no one knew when he
+would return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as breakfast was over
+and spent an aggravating hour trying by alternate threats and cajoling to
+persuade the remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. But it was
+useless, for the louder I swore the more frightened he became and he
+finally retired into a rock cave from which the _mafus_ had to drag him out
+bodily and drive him into the boat.
+
+The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten o'clock and we felt like
+beating them both, but Wu impressed upon us the necessity for patience if
+we ever expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed our wrath;
+nevertheless, we decided not to leave until the loads and mules were on the
+other side, and we ate a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand.
+
+Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty small mammals (one of which
+was a new rat) that our traps had yielded. We took a good many photographs
+and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of the _mafus_ to get
+the mules aboard. Some of them went in quietly enough but others absolutely
+refused to step into the boat. One of the _mafus_ would pull, another push,
+a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its feet singly over the
+side. With the accompaniment of yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the
+performance was picturesque to say the least.
+
+By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken across the racing green
+water and we had some time before dark in which to investigate the caverns
+with which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. They were of two
+kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves. The latter consist of a long
+central shaft, just high enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens
+into a circular room. Along the sides of the corridor shallow nests have
+been scooped out to serve as beds and all the cooking is done not far from
+the door. The caves, although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living
+quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling as the ordinary
+native house. The mines are straight shafts dug into the cliffs where the
+rock is quarried and crushed by hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+We left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail through an open pine and
+spruce forest along the rim of the Yangtze gorge where the view was
+magnificent. Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand Cañon for
+the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and then immediately begins to
+describe it. Thus it was with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of
+this titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in delicate tints of
+blue and purple; in others, the sides fell away in sheer drops of hundreds
+of feet to the green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand five
+hundred miles away.
+
+The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all day and we were left far
+behind, for at each turn a view more beautiful than the last opened out
+before us, and until every color plate and negative in the holders had been
+exposed we worked steadily with the camera.
+
+We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped region which Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti had skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and
+probably rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost bare
+mountain-sides we passed through a parklike spruce forest and reached
+Habala, a long thin village of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides
+of a narrow valley.
+
+Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after ridge of dense spruce
+forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned peak and cut by deep ravines, the
+gloomy depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky cliffs--a
+veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our camping place was a grassy lawn
+as flat and smooth as the putting green of a golf course. Just below the
+tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably to itself and a
+huge dead tree was lying crushed and broken for the camp fire.
+
+The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in half an hour and, after
+setting a line of traps, we wandered slowly back through the darkness
+guided by the brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow glow
+over our little table spread for dinner.
+
+We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and after dinner four or
+five picturesque Mosos appeared. They said that there were many serow,
+goral, muntjac and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and we
+could well believe it, for there was never a more "likely looking" spot.
+Although the men did not claim to be professional hunters, nevertheless
+they said that they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and other
+animals.
+
+They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about two hours late, which was
+doing fairly well for natives. It was a brilliant day just warm enough for
+comfort in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However it did not
+take many hours to demonstrate that the men knew almost nothing about
+hunting and that their dogs were useless. Because of the dense cover "still
+hunting" was out of the question and, after a hard climb, we returned to
+camp to spend the remainder of the afternoon developing photographs and
+preparing small mammals.
+
+Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver mole as well as a
+number of mice, rats, and meadow voles of species identical with those
+taken on the Snow Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze
+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution of even the
+smallest forms and that the region in which we were now working would not
+produce a different fauna. This was an important discovery from the
+standpoint of our distribution records but was also somewhat disappointing.
+
+The photographic work already had yielded excellent results. The Paget
+color plates were especially beautiful and the fact that everything was
+developed in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality of each
+negative.
+
+For this work the portable dark room was invaluable. It could be quickly
+erected and suspended from a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and
+offered an absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates. The
+moving-picture film required special treatment because of its size and we
+usually fastened in the servants' tent the red lining which had been made
+for this purpose in New York. Even then the space was so cramped that we
+were dead tired at the end of a few hours' work.
+
+One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and sees moving-picture film
+which has been obtained in such remote parts of the world does not realize
+the difficulties in its preparation. The water for developing almost
+invariably was dirty and in order to insure even a moderately clear film it
+always had to be strained. For washing the negative pailful after pailful
+had to be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the film exposed
+for hours to the carelessness or curiosity of the natives. In our cramped
+quarters perhaps a corner of the tent would be pushed open admitting a
+stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to work, leaving us
+in complete darkness to finish the developing "by guess and by gosh," or
+any number of other accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we could not
+develop more than three hundred feet in an afternoon and we never breathed
+freely until it finally was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.
+
+We left Habala, on November 23, for a village called Phete where the
+natives had assured us we would find good hunters with dogs. For almost the
+entire distance the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and there the
+view of the great chasm was even more magnificent than that we had left.
+While its sides are not fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer
+than those of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado, nevertheless its grandeur is
+hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring. If Yün-nan is ever made accessible
+by railroads this gorge should become a Mecca for tourists, for it is
+without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights in the world.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three clusters of houses on a
+tableland which juts into a chasm cut by a tributary of the great river.
+One of them was Phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in half
+an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously around the hillside,
+down to the stream and up again that it was an hour and a half before we
+found a camping place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the nearest
+houses.
+
+Next day we could not go to the village to find hunters until mid-forenoon
+because the natives of this region are very late risers and often have not
+yet opened their doors at ten o'clock. This is quite contrary to the custom
+in many other parts of China where the inhabitants are about their work in
+the first light of dawn.
+
+The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and every available inch
+of level ground is under cultivation with corn and a few rice paddys near
+the creek; the latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected to
+find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly picturesque but
+never have we met people of such utter and hopeless stupidity as its
+inhabitants. They were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a smile
+and salutation, but their brains seemed not to have kept pace with their
+bodies and when asked the simplest question they would only stare stupidly
+without the slightest glimmering of intelligence.
+
+It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more people to glean that
+there were no hunters in the village where they had lived all their lives,
+but Wu, our interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who told us of a
+hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the answer was "Not very
+far."
+
+"Well, is it ten _li_?"
+
+"I don't know how many _li_."
+
+"Have you ever been there?"
+
+"Yes; it is only a few steps."
+
+"How long will it take to get there?"
+
+"About the time of one meal."
+
+We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience with native ideas of
+distance, and we ate our tiffin before starting out on the "few steps." A
+steep trail led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding we
+reached the hunter's village of three large houses on a flat strip of
+cleared ground in the midst of a dense forest.
+
+The people looked much like those of Phete but were rather anemic
+specimens, and five out of eight had enormous goiters. They were
+exceedingly shy at first, watching us with side glances and through cracks
+in the wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons they had ever
+seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness was due to too close
+intermarriage, for these families had little intercourse with the people in
+Phete who were only "a few steps" away.
+
+As we were leaving they began to eat their supper in the courtyard. The
+principal dish consisted of mixed cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and
+green vegetables. All the women were busy husking corn which was hung to
+dry on great racks about the house. These racks we had noticed in every
+village since leaving Li-chiang and they seemed to be in universal use in
+the north.
+
+The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased one for $4.40 (Mexican)
+but there was considerable difficulty in paying for it since these people
+had never seen Chinese money even though living in China itself. For
+currency they used chunks of silver the size of a walnut and worth about
+one dollar (Mexican). The Chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the
+genuineness of our money and we purchased a few eggs and a little very
+delicious wild honey besides the sheep. These people as well as those of
+Phete spoke the Li-chiang dialect but with such variation that even our
+_mafus_ could understand them only with the greatest difficulty.
+
+When we returned to camp we found that the coolie who had been engaged to
+carry the motion-picture camera and tripod had left without the formality
+of saying "good-by" or asking for the money which was due him. We had had
+considerable trouble with the camera coolies since leaving Li-chiang. The
+first one carried the camera to the Taku ferry with many groans, and there
+engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place, for he thought the load too
+heavy. It only weighed fifty pounds, and in the Fukien Province where men
+seldom carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much as one hundred
+and fifty, it would have been considered as only half a burden. In Yün-nan,
+however, animals do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at even
+an ordinary load.
+
+We left Phete in the early morning and camped about five hundred feet above
+the hunter's cabin in a beautiful little meadow. It was surrounded with
+splendid pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a knoll in the
+center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen little streams over the edge of a
+deep ravine where a mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo
+jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered inches deep with green moss,
+and altogether it was an ideal spot for small mammals. Our traps, however,
+yielded no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens every
+night.
+
+There were a few families of Lolos about two miles away and these were
+engaged as hunters. They told us that serow and muntjac were abundant and
+that wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several miles to the
+northward. Although the men had a large pack of good dogs they were such
+unsatisfactory hunters that we gave up in disgust after three days. They
+never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the morning when the sun
+had so dried the leaves that the scent was lost and the dogs could not
+follow a trail even if one were found. Moreover, the camp was a very
+uncomfortable one, due to the wind which roared through the trees night and
+day.
+
+We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us at the Taku ferry to see
+if he could get together a pack of dogs. He brought three hounds with him
+which he praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that they did not
+justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were glad to have Hotenfa back, for he
+was one of the most intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives
+whom we met in all Yün-nan. He was an uncouth savage when he first came to
+us, but in a very short time he had learned our camp ways and was as good a
+servant as any we had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+Since the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved so worthless and the traps
+had yielded no small mammals new to our collection, we decided to cross the
+mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into Tibet.
+
+The head _mafu_ explored the trail and reported that it was impassable but,
+after an examination of some of the worst barriers, we decided that they
+could be cleared away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven
+in the morning.
+
+Before long we found that the _mafus_ were right. The trail was a mass of
+tangled underbrush and fallen logs and led straight up a precipitous
+mountain through a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary to
+stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier or cut a passage
+through the bamboo thickets, and had it not been for the adjustable pack
+saddles we never could have taken the caravan over the trail.
+
+Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals dragged themselves to
+the summit of the mountain, for it was not a pass. In a few hours we had
+come from autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and covered with
+snow. We were at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet and far above all
+timber except the rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low gray
+mass along the ridges. It was difficult to make the slightest exertion in
+the thin air and a bitterly cold wind swept across the peaks so that it was
+impossible to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats.
+
+The servants and _mafus_ suffered considerably but it was too late to go on
+and there was no alternative but to spend the night on the mountain. As
+soon as the tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the fire,
+but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller went in the opposite
+direction. We expected to catch some new mammals during the night, for
+there were great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. The ground was
+frozen so solidly that it was necessary to cut into the little _Microtus_
+tunnels with a hatchet in order to set the traps and we were almost frozen
+before the work was completed. The next morning we had caught twenty
+specimens of a new white-bellied meadow vole and a remarkable shrew with a
+long curved proboscis.
+
+Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it was bitterly cold even in
+our sleeping bags and the men had sat up about the fire in order to keep
+from freezing. There was little difficulty in getting the caravan started
+in the gray light of early dawn and after descending abruptly four thousand
+feet on a precipitous trail to a Lolo village strung out along a beautiful
+little valley we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn.
+
+The natives here had never before seen a white person and in a few moments
+our tents were surrounded by a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. The
+chief of the village presented us with an enormous rooster and we made him
+happy by returning two tins of cigarettes. The Lolo women, the first we had
+seen, were especially surprising because of their graceful figures and
+handsome faces. Their flat turbans, short jackets, and long skirts with
+huge flounces gave them a rather old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony
+with the metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they all wore.
+
+The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque group in their
+gray and brown felt capes which they gather about the neck by a draw string
+and, to the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing. We collected
+all the men for their photographs, and although they had not the slightest
+idea what we were about they stood quietly after Hotenfa had assured them
+that the strange-looking instrument would not go off. But most interesting
+of all was their astonishment when half an hour later they saw the negative
+and were able to identify themselves upon it.
+
+The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race. They are exceedingly
+independent, and although along the frontier of their own territory in
+S'suchuan they wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly
+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless he is under the
+protection of a chief who acts as a sponsor and passes him along to others.
+Mr. Brooke, an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was not properly
+"chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the French expedition lived among them
+safely for some time and gives them unstinted praise.
+
+Whenever we met tribesmen in Yün-nan who had not seen white persons they
+behaved much like all other natives. They were, of course, always greatly
+astonished to see our caravan descend upon them and were invariably
+fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact everything about us, but were
+generally shy and decidedly less offensive in their curiosity than the
+Chinese of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by no means
+unknown. As a matter of fact we have found that our white skins, light
+eyes, and hair are a never failing source of interest and envy to almost
+all Orientals.
+
+Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially among the women, and
+as she wore knickerbockers and a flannel shirt there were times when the
+determination of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion. Her
+long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and when the women had
+decided the question of gender satisfactorily they often made timid, and
+most amusing, advances. One woman said she greatly admired her fair
+complexion and asked how many baths she took to keep her skin so white.
+Another wondered whether it was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost
+everyone wished to feel her clothes and shoes. She always could command
+more attention than anyone else by her camera operations, and a group would
+stand in speechless amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable
+dark room when she was developing photographs or loading plates.
+
+We made arrangements to go with a number of the Lolos to a spot fifteen
+miles away on the Chung-tien road to hunt wapiti (probably _Cervus
+macneilli_) which the natives call _maloo_. Our American wapiti, or elk, is
+a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and is probably a relative
+of the wapiti which is found in Central Asia, China, Manchuria and Korea.
+
+At present these deer are abundant in but few places. Throughout the
+Orient, and especially in China, the growing horns when they are soft, or
+in the "velvet," are considered of great medicinal value and, during the
+summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly by the natives. In
+Yün-nan, when we were there, a pair of horns were worth $100 (Mexican).
+
+Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with occasional flurries of
+haillike snow, but we did not heed the cold, for the trail led over two
+high ridges and along the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the white
+summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically above the
+surrounding peaks and, in the gray light, the colors were beautiful beyond
+description. To the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes
+interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid wapiti country.
+
+Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the Chung-tien road just
+within the edge of a stately, moss-draped forest. That night we celebrated
+with harmless bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded as
+they filled with steam and echoed among the trees like pistol shots. Marco
+Polo speaks of the same phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region
+over six hundred and thirty years ago.
+
+About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps with a lantern and
+besides several mice (_Apodemus_) found two rare shrews and a new mole
+(_Blarina_). I went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except an
+old wapiti track and a little sign. All during the following day a dense
+fog hung close to the ground so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the
+night of December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began bright and clear
+but clouded about ten o'clock and became so bitterly cold that the Lolos
+would not hunt. They really suffered considerably and that night they all
+left us to return to their homes. We were greatly disappointed, for we had
+brilliant prospects of good wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs
+and in an unknown country there was little possibility of successful still
+hunting.
+
+The _mafus_ were very much worried and refused to go further north. They
+were certain that we would not be able to cross the high passes which lay
+between us and the Mekong valley far to the westward and complained
+unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food for their animals.
+It was necessary to visit the Mekong River, for even though it might not be
+a good big game region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the
+fauna and important data on the distribution of small mammals. Therefore we
+decided to leave for the long ride as soon as the weather permitted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The road near which we were camped was one of the great trade routes into
+Tibet and over it caravans were continually passing laden with tea or pork.
+Many of them had traveled the entire length of Yün-nan to S'su-mao on the
+Tonking frontier where a special kind of tea is grown, and were hurrying
+northward to cross the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to the
+"Forbidden Land."
+
+The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to spend the night near our
+camp. As the horses came up, one by one the loads were lifted off, the
+animals turned loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and _tsamba_
+[Footnote: _Tsamba_ is parched oats or barley, ground finely.] each man
+stretched out upon the ground without shelter of any kind and heedless of
+the freezing cold. It is truly the life of primitive man and has bred a
+hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander over the boundless
+steppes and demanding from the outside world only to be let alone.
+
+They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in their swinging walk
+there is a care-free independence and an atmosphere of the bleak Tibetan
+steppes which are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a study for an
+artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat like a Russian blouse
+thrown carelessly off one shoulder and tied about the waist, blue or red
+trousers, and high boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. A
+long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of glass or stones, is
+half concealed beneath his coat, and he is seldom without a gun or a
+murderous looking spear.
+
+In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket, he carries a
+remarkable assortment of things; a pipe, tobacco, tea, _tsamba_, cooking
+pots, a snuff box and, hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him
+from bullets or sickness.
+
+The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique and great strength, and
+are frequently more than six feet in height. They have brick-red
+complexions and some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine way.
+Their straight features suggest a strong mixture of other than Mongolian
+stock and they are the direct antithesis of the Chinese in every
+particular. Their strength and virility and the dashing swing of their walk
+are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving, effeminate Chinaman
+whom one sees being carried along the road sprawled in a mountain chair.
+
+Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the Tibetans were the most
+difficult. It was almost impossible to bribe them with money or tin cans to
+stand for a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera set up
+beside the trail they would make long detours to avoid passing in front of
+it.
+
+What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by stealth and concealed
+ourselves behind bushes with the camera focused on a certain spot upon the
+road. The instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run like a frightened
+deer and in some mysterious way they seemed to have passed the word along
+that our camp was a spot to be avoided. Sometimes a bottle was too great a
+temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly like a bird with
+wings half spread, only to dash away as though the devil were after him,
+when he saw my head disappear beneath the focusing hood.
+
+Wu and a _mafu_ who could speak a little Tibetan finally captured one
+picturesque looking fellow. He carefully tucked the tin cans, given for
+advance payment, inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery allowed
+me to place him where I wished. But the instant the motion picture camera
+swung in his direction he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. Wu tried to
+hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved it wildly about his head and
+took to his heels, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was well-nigh
+frightened to death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in the
+road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails flapping like a sail
+in the wind.
+
+One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture camera unawares. There
+were several women in the party and, as soon as the men realized that there
+was no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping her between him and
+the camera. They were taking no chances with their precious selves, for the
+women could be replaced easily enough if necessary.
+
+The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has the greatest possible
+suspicion and dislike for strangers. The Chinese he loathes and despises,
+and foreigners he knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and
+punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial peace. He is
+confirmed in his attitude by the Church which throughout Tibet has the
+monopoly of all the gold in the country. And the Church utterly declines to
+believe that any foreigner can come so far for any end less foolish than
+the discovery of gold and the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.
+
+Major Davies, who saw much of the Yün-nan Tibetans, has remarked that it is
+curious how little impression the civilization and customs of the Chinese
+have produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal
+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power of absorbing other races,
+but with the Tibetans exactly the reverse takes place. The Chinese become
+Tibetanized and the children of a Chinaman married to a Tibetan woman are
+usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.
+
+Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan from being absorbed is the
+cold, inhospitable nature of his country. There is little to tempt the
+Chinese to emigrate into Tibet and consequently they never are there in
+sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around them. A similar cause
+has preserved some of the low-lying Shan states from absorption, the heat
+in this case being the reason that the Chinese do not settle there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+During the night of December 4, there was a heavy fall of snow and in the
+morning we awoke to find ourselves in fairyland. We were living in a great
+white palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs. The long,
+delicate strands of gray moss which draped themselves from tree to tree and
+branch to branch were each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a
+filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.
+
+It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace, for every vista
+through the forest seemed more lovely than the one before, but we knew that
+another fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from the Mekong
+valley. The _mafus_ even refused to try the direct route across the
+mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted on going southward to the Shih-ku ferry
+and up the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.
+
+It was a long trip and we looked forward with no pleasure to eight days of
+hard riding. The difficulty in obtaining hunters since leaving the Snow
+Mountain had made our big game collecting negligible although we had
+traveled through some excellent country. The Mekong valley might not be
+better but it was an unknown quantity and, whether or not it yielded
+specimens, the results from a survey of the mammal distribution would be
+none the less important, and we felt that it must be done; otherwise we
+should have turned our backs on the north and returned to Ta-li Fu.
+
+As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan after caravan of
+Tibetans with heavily loaded horses, all bound for that land of mystery
+beyond the snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of the
+red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for a color photograph, but
+usually they only shook their heads stubbornly and hurried past with
+averted faces. We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were walking
+together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow and by giving each of them a
+glass jam tumbler they halted a moment. As soon as the photograph had been
+taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us to produce one and was
+thoroughly disgusted when we showed him that it was impossible.
+
+Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river gorge at the upper end of
+which Chung-tien is located and left the forests when we emerged on the
+main road. From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a magnificent
+view down the cañon to the snow-capped mountains, which were beautiful
+beyond description in their changing colors of purple and gold.
+
+Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several hundred horses each
+bearing two whole pigs bent double and tied to the saddles. The animals had
+been denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would be distributed
+among the villages somewhere in the interior of Tibet.
+
+On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned peaks as sharp and
+regular as the teeth of a saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it
+spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into the Yangtze. Here
+the mighty river, flowing proudly southward from its home in the wind-blown
+steppes of the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago found the great Snow
+Mountain range barring its path. Thrust aside, it doubled back upon itself
+along the barrier's base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the
+wall of rock. Far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's side
+again, broke through, and swung south gathering strength and volume from
+hundreds of tributaries as it rushed onward to the sea.
+
+For two days we rode along the river bank and crossed at the Shih-ku ferry.
+There was none of the difficulty here which we had experienced at Taku, for
+the river is wide and the current slow. It required only two hours to
+transport our entire caravan while at the other ferry we had waited a day
+and a half. Strangely enough, although there are dozens of villages along
+the Yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no sign of fishing.
+Moreover, we passed but three boats and five or six rafts and it was
+evident that this great waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its
+mouth influences the trade of China so profoundly, is here used but little
+by the natives.
+
+On the ride down the river we had good sport with the huge cranes (probably
+_Grus nigricollis_) which, in small flocks, were feeding along the river
+fields. The birds stood about five feet high and we could see their great
+black and white bodies and black necks farther than a man was visible. It
+was fairly easy to stalk them to within a hundred yards, but even at that
+distance they offered a rather small target, for they were so largely
+wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were never within shotgun range and indeed
+it would be difficult to kill the birds with anything smaller than BB or
+buckshot unless they were very near.
+
+Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage rifle. He stole upon
+five which were feeding in a meadow and fired while two were "lined up."
+One of the huge birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments and lay
+still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and started off at full speed
+across the fields. Two _mafus_ left the caravan, yelling with excitement,
+and ran for nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. Then they
+were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long beak which is a really
+formidable weapon. As food the cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed
+with chestnut dressing and roasted. Each one provided two meals for three
+of us with enough left over for hash and our appetites were by no means
+birdlike.
+
+Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are not often successful,
+for the birds are very watchful and will not allow a man within a hundred
+yards. Such a distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well be a
+hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we were able to shoot as many
+as were needed for food.
+
+The birds almost invariably followed the river when flying and fed in the
+rice, barley, and corn fields not far from the water. It was an inspiring
+sight to see a flock of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground
+and then launch themselves into the air, their black and white wings
+flashing in the sunlight. They formed into orderly ranks like a company of
+soldiers or strung out in a long thin line across the sky.
+
+When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable feeding grounds they
+would sometimes whirl and circle above the fields, ascending higher and
+higher in great spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices
+coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of happy children.
+
+When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January, cranes were very abundant in
+the fields about the lake. They had arrived in late October and would
+depart in early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often saw the birds on
+sand banks along the Yangtze, but they were usually resting or quietly
+walking about and were not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley,
+corn, or other grain.
+
+This species was discovered by the great traveler and naturalist,
+Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found it in the Koko-nor region of
+Tibet, and it was later recorded by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Tsang in
+the Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Yün-nan have not been
+preserved in museums and the bird was not known to occur in this portion of
+China.
+
+Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a good many mallard ducks
+(_Anas boscas_) and ruddy sheldrakes (_Casarca casarca_); the latter are
+universally known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in Burma and
+Yün-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name is derived from the bird's
+beautiful buff and rufous color which is somewhat like that of the robes
+worn by the Brahmin priests. In America the name "sheldrake" is applied
+erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and much confusion has thus
+arisen, for the two are quite unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct
+groups. The mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks quite unlike
+those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are entirely dissimilar.
+
+The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not bad eating. We usually
+found them feeding in fields not far from the river or in flooded rice
+dykes, and very often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water.
+They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is peculiarly
+fascinating to me and, like the honk of the Canada goose, awakens memories
+of sodden, wind-blown marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot
+through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.
+
+Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes, and we had good
+shooting along the river and in ponds and rice fields. We also saw a few
+teal but they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were scarce. We shot a
+few along the road and near some of our camps, but we found no place in
+Yün-nan where one could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of
+a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea where in a walk over
+the hillsides a dozen or more pheasants can be flushed within an hour.
+
+After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze we turned westward
+toward Wei-hsi and camped on a beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered
+stream. It was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke about the
+fire we all turned in.
+
+Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam of angry exclamations
+and Chinese curses roused the whole camp. In a few moments Wu came to our
+tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered, "Damn fool soldiers come
+try to take our horses; say if _mafu_ no give them horses they untie loads.
+Shall I tell _mafu_ break their heads?" We did not entirely understand the
+situation but it seemed quite proper to give the _mafus_ permission to do
+the head-breaking, and they went at it with a will. After a volley of
+blows, there was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the soldiers
+retired considerably the worse for wear.
+
+When the battle was over, Wu explained matters more fully. It appeared
+that a large detachment of soldiers had recently passed up this road to
+A-tun-tzu and four or five had remained behind to attend to the transport
+of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity for "graft" the soldiers were
+stopping every caravan which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless
+the _mafus_ gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity. Our _mafus_,
+with the protection which foreigners gave them, had paid off a few old
+scores with interest. That they had neglected no part of the reckoning was
+quite evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to apologize for
+their "mistake." One of them had a black and swollen eye and the other was
+nursing a deep cut on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did
+not venture into camp until they had been assured that we would not again
+loose our terrible _mafus_ upon them.
+
+Such extortions are every day occurrences in many parts of China and it is
+little wonder that the military is cordially hated and feared by the
+peasants. The soldiers, taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the
+villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress. If a complaint
+is made a dozen soldiers stand ready to swear that the offense was
+justified or was never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he
+escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment. It is a disgrace
+to China that such conditions are allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped
+that ere many years have passed the country will awake to a proper
+recognition of the rights of the individual. Until she does there never can
+be a national spirit of patriotism in China and without patriotism the
+Republic can be one in name only.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+On December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a twelve thousand foot pass
+in a beautiful snow-covered meadow, from which we could see the glistening
+peaks of the vast mountain range which forms the Mekong-Salween divide. In
+the afternoon we reached Wei-hsi and camped in a grove of splendid pine
+trees on a hill overlooking the city. The place was rather disappointing
+after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and it was difficult to buy rice even
+though the entire valley was devoted to paddy fields, but we did get
+quantities of delicious persimmons.
+
+Wu told us that seven different languages were spoken in the city, and we
+could well believe it, for we recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and
+Tibetans. This region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso tribe
+which appears not to extend across the Mekong River.
+
+The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and proved to be one of the
+most courteous officials whom we met in Yün-nan. We were sorry to learn
+that he was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our visit.
+Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on salt and fifteen hundred
+rebelled, attacked the city, and captured it after a sharp fight. It was
+reported that they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and children,
+and boiled him alive in oil.
+
+Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every way we could obtain
+no information concerning either hunting grounds or routes of travel. The
+flying squirrels which we had hoped to find near the city were reported to
+come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong in Burma, and Wei-hsi was
+merely a center of distribution for the skins. Moreover, the natives said
+it would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of the year, for
+the mountain passes were so heavily covered with snow that neither men nor
+caravans could cross them.
+
+It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong River in order to
+determine whether there would be a change in fauna, and on Major Davies'
+map a small road was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of a day and a
+half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen and snow-covered,
+brought us in sight of the green waters of the Mekong which has carved a
+gorge for itself in an almost straight line from the bleak Tibetan plateaus
+through Yün-nan and Indo-China to the sea.
+
+Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a deep valley, near a
+small village. Wu said that the natives were Lutzus and I was inclined to
+believe he was right, although Major Davies indicates this region to be
+inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in physical appearance
+and dress were quite distinct from the Lisos whom we met later.
+
+They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the chief, accompanied by
+four venerable men, brought a present of rice. I gave him two tins of
+cigarettes and the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles.
+
+The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and quite unlike those of
+the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The women wore a long coat or jacket of blue
+cloth, trousers, and a very full pleated skirt. The men were dressed in
+plum colored coats and trousers.
+
+The natives said that monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_) were often seen when
+the corn was ripe and that even yet they might be found in the forest
+across the river. Heller spent a day hunting them, but found none and we
+obtained only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny mouse (_Micromys_)
+but the remainder of the fauna was essentially the same as that of the
+Yangtze valley and the intervening country.
+
+For three days we traveled down the Mekong River. Although the natives said
+that the trail was good, we discovered when it was too late that it was too
+narrow and difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as ours. It
+was necessary to continually remove the loads in order to lift them around
+sharp corners or over rocks, and the _mafus_ sometimes had to cut away
+great sections of the bank. Usually only six or seven miles could be
+traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work, and we were glad
+when we could leave the river.
+
+The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred yards wide in this
+region and, like the Yangtze, the water is very green from the Tibetan
+snows. The prevailing rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone,
+as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the valley are so
+precipitous that it seems impossible for a human being to walk over them,
+and yet they are patched with brown corn fields from the summit to the
+water. Considering the small area available for cultivation there are a
+considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered into villages and
+seldom live in isolated houses as in the Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream
+comes down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating ditches,
+the ground is beautifully terraced for rice paddys, but in other places,
+corn and peas appear to be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such
+as turnips, squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is rather
+remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the country between the Mekong
+and the Yangtze rivers. In several places the water was spanned by rope
+bridges. The cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end must
+necessarily be higher than the other, there are always two ropes, one to
+cross each way. The traveler is tied by leather thongs in a sitting
+position to a wooden "runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and
+shoots across the river at tremendous speed.
+
+The valley is hopeless from a zoölogical standpoint. It is too dry for
+small mammals and the mountain slopes are so precipitous, thinly forested,
+and generally undesirable, that, except for gorals, no other large game
+would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting. There are no
+cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of mallards which feed in
+the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese.
+
+On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong valley and began to march
+southeast by east across an unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We camped at
+night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees just above a deep
+moist ravine. In the morning our traps contained several rare shrews, five
+silver moles, a number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous spiny
+rat. It was too good a place to leave and I sent Hotenfa to inquire from a
+family of natives if there was big game of any sort in the vicinity. He
+reported that there were goral not far away, and at half past eight we rode
+down the trail for three miles when I left my horse at a peasant's house.
+They told us that the goral were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which
+rose two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour and a half we
+climbed steadily upward.
+
+We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep cañon when Hotenfa
+excitedly whispered, "_gnai-yang_" and held up three fingers. He tried to
+show the animals to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought was a
+goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of rock flew into the
+air while the three gorals disappeared among the trees two hundred feet
+above the spot where I had supposed them to be.
+
+I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started on a run for the other
+side of the gorge. When we arrived, Hotenfa motioned me to swing about to
+the right while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. No sooner had
+he reached the edge of the precipice than I saw him lean far out, fire with
+my three-barrel gun, and frantically wave for me to come. I ran to him and,
+throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked down. There directly
+under us stood a huge goral, but just as I was about to shoot, the earth
+gave way beneath my feet and I would have fallen squarely on the animal had
+Hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me back to safety.
+
+The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt and stones came from
+before I fired hurriedly, breaking his fore leg at the knee. Without the
+slightest sign of injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock. I
+dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running at full speed
+across a narrow open ledge toward a thick mass of cover on the opposite
+side of the cañon. I fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the
+crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the mountain, stone
+dead.
+
+It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly to the bottom of
+the valley and, slipping and rolling in a cloud of red dust, dropped over a
+precipice. The ram brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred feet
+below us, and it required half an hour's hard work to reach the spot.
+
+When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which had been broken in
+the fall slipped through my fingers, and away went the goral on another
+rough and tumble descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven
+hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We returned to camp at
+noon bringing joy with us, for, as my wife had remarked the day before, "We
+will soon have to eat chickens or cans."
+
+Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following day and we left on
+December 23, camping at night on a flat terrace beside a stream at the end
+of a moist ravine. We intended to spend Christmas here for it was a
+beautiful spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration was to be
+on Christmas Eve. The following day dawned bright and clear. There had not
+been a drop of rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm enough
+for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at night the temperature
+dropped to about 15°+ or 20°+ Fahr. The camp proved to be a good one,
+giving us two new mammals and, just after tiffin, Hotenfa came running in
+to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_)
+in a cornfield a mile away.
+
+The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but while we were gone Yvette
+had been busy and, just before dinner, she ushered us into our tent with
+great ceremony. It had been most wonderfully transformed. At the far end
+stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny candles and surrounded by masses
+of white cotton, through which shone red holly berries. Holly branches from
+the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and hung in green waves from
+the ridge pole. At the base of the tree gifts which she had purchased in
+Hongkong in the preceding August were laid out.
+
+Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from the Chinese wine and
+orange juice, and we drank to each other and to those at home while sitting
+on the ground and opening our packages. We had purchased two Tibetan rugs
+in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents for Yvette. These rugs
+usually are blue or red, with intricate designs in the center, and are well
+woven and attractive.
+
+To the servants and _mafus_ we gave money and cigarettes. When the
+muleteers were brought to the tent to receive their gifts they evidently
+thought our blazing tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and
+began to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done before their
+heathen gods.
+
+Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days previously I had shot a
+pair of mallard ducks and they formed the _pièce de résistance_. The dinner
+consisted of soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked
+squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers, coffee and
+cigarettes.
+
+Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon passed through a very
+dirty Chinese town in a deep valley near some extensive salt wells. Red
+clay dust lay thick over everything and the filth of the streets and houses
+was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a mile beyond the village, but
+were greatly annoyed by the Chinese who insisted on swarming into camp.
+Finally, unable longer to endure their insolent stares, I drove them with
+stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in row upon row exactly as in
+the "bleachers" at an American baseball game.
+
+When we left the following day we passed dozens of caravans and groups of
+men and women carrying great disks of salt. Each piece was stamped in red
+with the official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only licensed
+merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover, the importation of salt from
+foreign countries is forbidden. For the purposes of administration, China
+is divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which has its own
+sources of production and the salt obtained in one district may not be sold
+in another.
+
+In Yün-nan the salt of the province is supplied from three regions. The
+water from the wells is boiled in great caldrons for several days, and the
+resulting deposit is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed, mixed
+with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains. After passing a
+village of considerable size called Pei-ping, we began the ascent of an
+exceedingly steep mountain range twelve thousand feet high. All the
+afternoon we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening at a
+pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the way to the summit. During
+the night it snowed heavily and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed
+world.
+
+Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest white and between the
+branches we could look westward across the valley toward the Mekong and the
+purple mountain wall of the Burma border. There were still one thousand
+feet of climbing between us and the summit of the pass. The trail was
+almost blocked, but by slow work we forced our way through the drifts. Some
+of the mules were already weak from exposure and underfeeding, and two of
+them had to be relieved of their loads; they died the next day. Our _mafus_
+did not appear to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from the
+knees down and their feet had no covering except straw sandals. Indeed when
+we discovered, on the summit of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was
+burning, they waited only a few moments to warm themselves.
+
+We met two other caravans fighting their way up the mountain from the other
+side, and by following the trail which they had broken through the drifts
+we made fairly good time on the descent. There had been no snow on the
+broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon and we found that
+its ponds and fields were alive with ducks, geese, and cranes. The birds
+were wild but we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning and
+killed enough to last us several days.
+
+On December 31, our weary days of crossing range after range of tremendous
+mountains were ended, and we stood on the last pass looking down upon the
+great Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the old city, which lies
+on the main A-tun-tzu--Ta-li Fu road, are two large marshy ponds and, away
+to the south, is an extensive lake. We camped just without the courtyard of
+a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette and I went over to the water
+which was swarming with ducks and geese.
+
+Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious afternoon
+sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as we neared the pond and circled
+high above our heads, but now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail"
+would swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out the birds
+would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs or climb higher with
+frightened quacks if the shot went wild. An hour before dark the brahminy
+ducks began to come in. We could hear their melodious plaintive calls long
+before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves out in the grass
+and mud. Soon a thin, black line would streak the sky, and as they drew
+nearer, Yvette would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of wood and
+bone that the flock would swing and dive toward us in a rush of flashing
+wings. When we could see the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit
+up and bang away.
+
+Now and then a big white goose would drop into the pond or an ibis flap
+lazily overhead, seeming to realize that it had nothing to fear from the
+prostrate bodies which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of the marsh
+was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled in the wild,
+sweet clamor so dear to the heart of every sportsman. As the day began to
+die, hung about with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the rice
+fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It was our last camp for the
+year and, as if to bid us farewell as we journeyed toward the tropics, the
+peaks of the great Snow Mountain far to the north, had draped themselves in
+a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky of lavender and gold
+like white cathedral spires.
+
+On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a beautiful little plain
+beside a spring overhung with giant trees at the head of Erh Hai, or Ta-li
+Fu Lake, which is thirty miles long. The fields and marshes were alive with
+ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a glorious day of sport over
+decoys and on the water before we went on to Ta-li Fu.
+
+Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip to the south of the
+province and we took possession of a pretty temple just within the north
+gate of the city. Here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned
+that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered from Hongkong had
+just arrived.
+
+Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager of the Standard Oil
+Company of Yün-nan Fu, their passage through Tonking had been facilitated,
+and he had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu. Mr. Page rendered
+great assistance to the Expedition in numberless ways, and to him we owe
+our personal thanks as well as those of the American Museum of Natural
+History.
+
+All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li Fu but, with the aid
+of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much better personnel for the trip to the Burma
+frontier. The cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was an especially
+fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and competent as the other had
+been lazy and helpless.
+
+Our work in the north had brought us a collection of thirteen hundred
+mammals, as well as several hundred birds, much material for habitat
+groups, and a splendid series of photographic records in Paget color
+plates, black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But what was of
+first importance, we had covered an enormous extent of diverse country and
+learned much about the distribution of the fauna of northern Yün-nan. The
+thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken in a more or less
+continuous line across six tremendous mountain ranges, and furnish an
+illuminating cross section of the entire region from Ta-li-Fu, north to
+Chung-tien, and west to the Mekong River.
+
+It is apparent that in this part of the province, which is all within one
+"life zone," even the smallest mammals are widely spread and that the
+principal factor in determining distribution is the flora. Neither the
+highest mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the Yangtze and the
+Mekong appear to act as effective barriers to migration, and as long as the
+vegetation remains constant, the fauna changes but little.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+During our work in Fukien Province and in various parts of Yün-nan we came
+into intimate personal contact with a great many missionaries; indeed every
+traveler in the interior of China will meet them unless he purposely avoids
+doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the missionary in his native
+habitat because, for the most part, he lives and works where the tourist
+does not go.
+
+Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise traveler from carrying
+back with him from the East a very definite impression of the missionary,
+which he has gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs where he hears him
+"damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously he adopts the popular
+attitude just as he enlarges his vocabulary to include "pidgin English" and
+such unfamiliar phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw."
+
+This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but simply a matter of fair
+play. We feel that in justice we ought to present our observations upon
+this subject, which is one of very general interest, as impartially as upon
+any phase of our scientific work. But it should be distinctly understood
+that we are writing _only_ of those persons whom we met and lived with, and
+whose work we had an opportunity to know and to see; _we are not attempting
+generalizations on the accomplishments of missionaries in any other part of
+China_.
+
+There are three charges which we have heard most frequently brought against
+the missionary: that he comes to the East because he can live better and
+more luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages in lucrative
+trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes little good, either
+religious or otherwise. It is said that his converts are only "rice
+Christians," and treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this
+manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more dishonest and
+unreliable than any others."
+
+It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town will be that of
+the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the mission buildings are imposing
+structures, and are placed upon a hill above and away from the rest of the
+city. Any white person who has traveled in the interior of China will
+remember the airless, lightless, native houses, opening, as they all do, on
+filthy streets and reeking sewers and he will understand that in order to
+exist at all a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean,
+well-ventilated house.
+
+Every missionary in China employs servants--many more servants than he
+could afford at home. So does every other foreigner, whatever his vocation.
+There is no such thing in China as the democracy of the West, and the
+missionary's status in the community demands that certain work in his house
+be done by servants; otherwise he and his family would be placed on a level
+with the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be discounted.
+But the chief reason is that the missionary's wife almost always has
+definite duties to which she could not attend if she were not relieved from
+some of the household cares. She leads in work among the women of the
+community by organizing clubs and "Mutual Improvement Societies" and in
+teaching in the schools or hospitals where young men and women are learning
+English as an asset to medical work among their own people. Servants are
+unbelievably cheap. While we were in Foochow a cook received $3.50 (gold)
+per month, a laundryman $1.75 (gold) per month, and other wages were in
+proportion.
+
+In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two months' vacation. Anyone
+who has lived through a Fukien summer in the interior of the province will
+know why the missionaries are given this vacation. If they were not able to
+leave the deadly heat and filth and disease of the native cities for a few
+weeks every year, there would be no missionaries to carry on the work. The
+business man can surround himself with innumerable comforts both in his
+home and in his office which the missionary cannot afford and, during the
+summer, life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant.
+
+Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the Min River and it is by
+no means the most remote station in the province. Very few travelers reach
+these places during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated.
+Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at one time she saw only one
+foreigner in eight months. Miss Cordelia Morgan is the sole foreign
+resident of Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six days from Yün-nan Fu.
+In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife and two other women, are
+fourteen days' ride from the nearest foreign settlement. In Li-chiang,
+Reverend and Mrs. A. Kok and their three small children live with two women
+missionaries. They are twenty-one days' travel from a doctor, and for four
+years previous to our visit they had not seen a white woman.
+
+These are some instances of missionaries whom we met in China who have
+voluntarily exiled themselves to remote places where they expect to spend
+their entire lives surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population.
+Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this life because it is
+easier or more luxurious than that at home?
+
+Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business positions to take
+up medical or evangelistic work in China where their compensation is
+pitifully small--not one-third of the salary they were commanding at home.
+
+We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging in trade with the
+natives even though in some places there were excellent business
+opportunities.
+
+Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences which
+missionaries bring with them. We saw them in various parts of China doing
+a magnificent work. Dr. Bradley has established a great leper hospital at
+Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the latest and most
+scientific treatment and beginning to look at life with a new hope. In
+Yen-ping, at the time of the rebellion, we saw Dr. Trimble working hour
+after hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of rest. In
+Yün-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was filled with patients suffering from
+almost every known disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw Mr. Hanna and his wife
+dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients waiting by the
+dozen, the fees received being not enough to pay for the cost of the
+medicines. Why is it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of
+China is supposed to be able to cure diseases? Certainly an important
+reason is because of the work done by the medical missionaries who have
+penetrated to the farthest corners of the most remote provinces.
+
+Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in many instances the real
+pioneers of western civilization. They bring to the people new standards of
+living, both morally and physically. They open schools and emancipate the
+Chinese children in mind and body. They fight the barbarous customs of foot
+binding and the killing and selling of girl babies. Until recent years it
+was not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with from two to six
+tiny infants peddling his "goods" from village to village. Not many years
+ago such a man appeared before the mission compound at Ngu-cheng (Fukien)
+with four babies in his basket. Three of these had expired from exposure
+and the kerosene oil which had been poured down their throats to stupefy
+them and drown their cries. The fourth was purchased by the wife of the
+native preacher for ten cents in order to save its life. This child was
+reared and has since graduated from the mission schools with credit. In
+Foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription stands beside a
+stagnant pool: "Hereafter the throwing of babies into this pool will be
+punished by law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.
+
+Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna once remarked, "Yün-nan
+Province has broken the heart of more than one missionary." The Chinese do
+not understand their point of view, and it is difficult to make them see
+it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure altruism does not enter into
+his scheme of life. As a rule he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his
+cash bag. It is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the
+missionary has not come with an ulterior motive--if not to engage in trade,
+perhaps as a spy for his government. Others believe that it is because
+China is so vastly superior to the rest of the world that the missionaries
+wish to live there. Eventually the suspicions of the natives become quieted
+and they accept the missionary at some part of his true worth.
+
+At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw Harry Caldwell, Mr.
+Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save the lives of hundreds of people and the city
+from partial destruction because the Chinese officers of the opposing
+forces would trust the missionaries when they would not trust each other.
+
+An excellent piece of practical missionary work was done in Fukien
+Province, not long after our visit there. As we have related in Chapter
+III, several large bands of brigands were established in the hills about
+Yuchi. Brigandage began there in the following way. During a famine when
+the people were on the verge of starvation, a wealthy farmer, Su Ek by
+name, decided to do his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale
+a quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He approached another man of
+similar wealth who agreed with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price.
+Su Ek accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people and, when he
+had remaining only enough to sustain his own family until the following
+harvest, he sent the peasants to the second man who had also agreed to
+dispose of his grain.
+
+This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price, and the people,
+angered at his treachery, looted his sheds. He immediately went to Foochow
+and reported to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad in
+Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and that they had robbed and
+plundered his property.
+
+Without warning a company of soldiers swooped down upon the community and
+arrested a number of men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek made his
+escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand chief, and was later
+joined by other farmers who had been similarly persecuted. Unable to return
+to their homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order to live.
+
+Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow upon the promise that
+their lives would be spared if they would induce their band to surrender.
+They met the conditions but the government officials broke faith and the
+men were executed. Similar attempts were made to enter into negotiations
+with the brigands and in 1915 two hundred were trapped and beheaded after
+pardons had been promised them. Naturally the robbers refused to trust the
+government officials again.
+
+The months which elapsed between this act of treachery and the spring of
+1916, were filled with innumerable outrages. Many townships were completely
+devastated, either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers. Little will ever
+be known of what actually took place under the guise of settling
+brigandage, behind the mountains which separate Yuchi from the outer world.
+It is well that it should not be known.
+
+During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi. Business called him
+outside the city wall and just beyond the west gate he saw the bodies of
+ten persons who had that day been executed. Among these were two children,
+brothers, the sons of a man who was reported to have "sold rice to the
+brigands." The smaller child had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel
+beside his older brother further up in the row. He was too small to realize
+what it all meant but he wanted to die beside his brother.
+
+In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was partly severed from his
+body and who had been shot through and through by the soldiers. He was
+lying upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of tea or for
+someone to put him out of his misery. The missionary learned the man's
+story. It appeared that years ago a law suit in which his father had been
+concerned had been decided in his favor. In order to square the score
+between the clans, the son of the man who had lost the suit had reported
+that he had seen this man carrying rice to the brigands. He had been
+arrested by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in the glaring
+sun from nine o'clock in the morning until dark suffering the agonies of
+crucifixion. Not one of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the
+parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having administered to a
+brigand.
+
+The missionary returned to the city that night vowing that he would make a
+recurrence of such a thing impossible or he would leave China. He took up
+the matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way and later with the
+military governor in Foochow. He was well known to the brigands by
+reputation and visited several of the chiefs in their strongholds. They
+declared that they had confidence in him but none in the government--or its
+representatives. It was only after assuming full responsibility for any
+treachery that the brigands agreed to discuss terms.
+
+Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township, the missionary was
+escorted out to civilization by twenty-five picked men to whom the chief
+had entrusted an important charge. As the group neared the township the
+missionary sent word ahead to the commander of the northern soldiers to
+prepare to receive the brigands.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF A PARDONED BRIGAND.]
+
+As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit of a hill overlooking
+the city, soldiers could be seen forming into squads outside the barracks.
+Instantly the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their rifles, and
+threw in shells. The missionary realized that they suspected treachery and
+turning about he said, "I am the guarantee for your lives. If a shot is
+fired kill me first."
+
+With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied by the brigands he marched
+into the city, where they were received by the officials with all the
+punctilious ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It had been a
+dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a rifle had been fired by
+mistake, and Chinese are always shooting when they themselves least expect
+to, he would have been instantly killed.
+
+This conference, and others which followed, resulted in several hundred
+pardons being distributed to the brigands by the missionary himself. The
+men then returned to their abandoned homes and again took up their lives as
+respectable farmers. Thus the reign of terror in this portion of the
+province was ended through the efforts of one courageous man. It is such
+applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary and admire his
+work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The last half of the expedition began January 13 when we left Ta-li Fu with
+a caravan of thirty miles for Yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south.
+The _mafus_ although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight" did
+not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence it was necessary to camp at
+Hsia-kuan at the foot of the lake.
+
+We improved our time there in hunting about for skins and finally purchased
+two fine leopards and a tiger. The latter had been brought from the Tonking
+frontier. There were a number of Tibetans wandering about the market place
+and in the morning a caravan of at least two hundred horses followed by
+twenty or thirty Tibetans, passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn.
+They were bringing tea from P'u-erh and S'su-mao in the south of the
+province and although they had already been nearly a month upon their
+journey there was still many long weeks of travel before them ere they
+reached the wind-blown steppes of their native land.
+
+The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful. We crossed a
+succession of dry, thinly forested mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high
+which near their summits were often clothed with a thick growth of
+rhododendron trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like fire balls among
+the green leaves, peach trees were in full blossom and in some spots the
+dry hills seemed about to break forth in the full glory of their spring
+verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called Shia-chai on a
+picturesque chain suspension bridge of a type which is not unusual in the
+southern and western part of the province. Several heavy iron chains are
+firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of the river and the
+roadway formed by planks laid upon them. Although the bridge shakes and
+swings in a rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it is
+perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.
+
+In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the mountain to the great
+Yung-chang plain, and for two hours trotted over a hard dirt road. The
+plain is eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its scattered
+villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy fields. The city itself
+includes about five thousand houses. It is exceedingly picturesque and is
+remarkable for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast
+strongly with those of the usual Chinese town. At the west, but still
+within the city walls, is a picturesque wooded hill occupied almost
+exclusively by temples.
+
+We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard of a large and
+exceptionally clean temple just outside the south gate of the city. It was
+the Chinese New Year and Wu told us that for several days at least it would
+be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect the natives to do any
+work whatever. It was a very pleasant place in which to stay although we
+chafed at the enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in
+photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting birds and
+making various excursions.
+
+Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner and at Yung-chang we
+saw many of the customs attending its celebration. It is a time of feasting
+and merry making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will work on
+that day. Chinese families almost always live under one roof but should any
+male member be absent at this season the circumstances must be exceptional
+to prevent him from returning to his home.
+
+It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's house at New
+Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and for several days after leaving the
+city, we were continually passing young women mounted on mules or horses
+and accompanied by servants returning to their homes. New clothes are a
+leading feature of this season and the dresses of the brides and young
+matrons were usually of the most unexpected hues for, according to our
+conception of color, the Chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous for
+their good taste. Purple and blue, orange and red, pink and lavender clash
+distressingly, but are worn with inordinate pride.
+
+These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the bride's family. Dr. Smith
+says in "Chinese Characteristics":
+
+    When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly business
+    basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of sewing for her
+    husband's family, which the wife's family must help her get through
+    with. She is accompanied on each of these visits by as many of her
+    children as possible, both to have her take care of them and to have
+    them out of the way when she is not at hand to look after them, and
+    most especially to have them fed at the expense of the family of the
+    maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. In regions where
+    visits of this sort are frequent, and where there are many daughters in
+    a family, their constant raids on the old home are a source of
+    perpetual terror to the whole family, and a serious tax on the common
+    resources. [Footnote: "Chinese Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p.
+    200.]
+
+Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous part in the New Year's
+celebration. At this time the "Kitchen God," according to current
+superstition, returns to heaven to render an account of the household's
+behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the lips of the departing
+deity with candy in order to "sweeten" his report of any evil which he may
+have witnessed during the year.
+
+Usually all the members of the family gather before the ancestral tablets,
+or should these be lacking as among many of the laboring classes, a scroll
+with a part of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed
+are appeased and honored by the burning of incense and the mumbling of
+incantations. While strict attention is paid to the religious observance to
+the dead, at New Year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered to the
+living.
+
+After the family have paid their respects to one another the younger male
+members go from house to house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to
+receive them. The following days are devoted to visits to relatives living
+in the neighboring towns and villages, and this continues, an endless
+routine, until fourteen days later the Feast of the Lanterns puts an end to
+the "epoch of national leisure."
+
+The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New Year's they turn feverishly
+to this form of amusement which is almost their only one. But they also
+have to think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely
+necessary for all classes and conditions of men to meet their obligations
+at the end of the year.
+
+Almost everyone owes money in China. According to the clan system an
+individual having surplus cash is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate
+of interest) to any members of his family in need of help. However, a
+Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely obliged to and almost never
+settles a debt until he has been dunned repeatedly.
+
+The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.
+
+    Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in the task of
+    trying to chase down the men who owe money to him, and compel them to
+    pay up, and at the same time in trying to avoid the persons who are
+    struggling to track _him_ down and corkscrew from him the amount of his
+    indebtedness to them! The dodges and subterfuges to which each is
+    obliged to resort, increase in complexity and number with the advance
+    of the season, until at the close of the month, the national activity
+    is at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured then, it will go over
+    till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status of a claim
+    which has actually contrived to cheat the annual Day of Judgment. In
+    spite of the excellent Chinese habit of making the close of a year a
+    grand clearing-house for all debts, Chinese human nature is too much
+    for Chinese custom, and there are many of these postponed debts which
+    are a grief of mind to many a Chinese creditor.
+
+    The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most sentimental of
+    the human race. New Year _must not_ be violated by duns for debts, and
+    the debts _must_ be collected New Year though it be. For this reason
+    one sometimes sees an urgent creditor going about early on the first
+    day of the year carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [=debtor].
+    His artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet
+    risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed....
+
+    We have but to imagine the application of the principles which we have
+    named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we get new light upon the
+    nature of the Chinese New Year festivities. They are a time of
+    rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing so keen as that of a ruined
+    debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd devices in avoiding the most
+    relentless of his creditors and has thus postponed his ruin for at
+    least another twelve months.
+
+    For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year, the debtor
+    finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters, where he cannot
+    be molested. Even should his creditors meet him on New Year's day,
+    there could be no possibility of mentioning the fact of the previous
+    day's disgraceful flight and concealment, or indeed of alluding to
+    business at all, for this would not be "good form" and to the Chinese
+    "Good Form" (otherwise known as custom), is the chief national
+    divinity. [Footnote: "Village Life in China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907,
+    pp. 208-209.]
+
+Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited by Chinese and in no
+part of the province did we see foot-binding more in evidence. Practically
+every woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station in life was
+crippled in this brutal way. The women wear long full coats with flaring
+skirts which hang straight from their shoulders to their knees. When the
+trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles, they look in a
+side view exactly like huge umbrellas.
+
+One day we visited a cave thirty _li_ north of the city where we hoped to
+find new bats. A beautiful little temple has been built over the entrance
+to the cavern which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into the
+rock. But twenty _li_ south of Yung-chang, just beyond the village of
+A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave which is reported to extend entirely
+through the hill. Whether or not this is true we can not say for although
+we explored it in part we did not reach the end. The central corridor is
+about thirty feet wide and at least sixty or seventy high. We followed the
+main gallery for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which led off
+at a sharp angle. We were not equipped with sufficient candles to pursue
+the exploration more extensively and did not have time to visit it again.
+The cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable size, but the
+limestone was a dull lead color. We found only one bat and these animals
+appear not to have used it extensively since there was little sign upon the
+floor.
+
+At Yuang-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first time in Yün-nan but
+found them to be in universal use farther to the south and west. The huge
+brutes are as docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child
+but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better part of valor
+where they are concerned.
+
+Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the rice fields but Chinese
+cows are used as burden bearers in this part of the province. Such caravans
+travel much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals are not
+loaded as heavily. Two or three of the leading cows usually carry upon
+their backs large bells hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no
+means unmelodious when heard at a distance. Marco Polo, the great Venetian
+traveler, refers to Yung-chang as "Vochang." His account of a battle which
+was fought in its vicinity in the year 1272 between the King of Burma and
+Bengal and one of Kublai Khan's generals is so interesting that I am
+quoting it below:
+
+    When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal], in India, who
+    was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory,
+    and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars had arrived at Vochang
+    [Yung-chang] he took the resolution of advancing immediately to attack
+    it, in order that by its destruction the grand khan should be deterred
+    from again attempting to station a force upon the borders of his
+    dominions. For this purpose he assembled a very large army, including
+    a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his country abounds),
+    upon whose backs were placed battlements or castles, of wood, capable
+    of containing to the number of twelve or sixteen in each. With these,
+    and a numerous army of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang,
+    where the grand khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance
+    from it, intended to give his troops a few days of rest.
+
+    As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great a force, was
+    known to Nestardín, who commanded the troops of the grand khan,
+    although a brave and able officer, he felt much alarmed, not having
+    under his orders more than twelve thousand men (veterans, indeed, and
+    valiant soldiers); whereas the enemy had sixty thousand, besides the
+    elephants armed as has been described. He did not, however, betray any
+    sign of apprehension, but descending into the plain of Vochang, took a
+    position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large trees,
+    whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants, which his troops
+    might not be able to sustain, they could retire, and from thence, in
+    security, annoy them with their arrows....
+
+    Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended into
+    the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his ground at
+    the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a disposition of
+    his force, placing the elephants in the front, and the cavalry and
+    infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear, but leaving between
+    them a considerable interval. Here he took his own station, and
+    proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly,
+    assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority of their
+    numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed
+    elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had never before been engaged
+    with such combatants, could by no means resist. Then giving orders for
+    sounding a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly
+    with his whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm,
+    making no movement, but suffering them to approach their entrenchments.
+
+    They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness to
+    engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses, unused to the
+    sight of such huge animals, with their castles, were terrified, and by
+    wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor could their riders by any
+    exertions restrain them, whilst the king, with the whole of his forces,
+    was every moment gaining ground. As soon as the prudent commander
+    perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of
+    mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount
+    and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they were fastened to
+    the trees.
+
+    When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced on foot towards
+    the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge of arrows;
+    whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed in the castles, and
+    the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in return with great
+    activity; but their arrows did not make the same impression as those of
+    the Tartars, whose bows were drawn with a stronger arm. So incessant
+    were the discharges of the latter, and all their weapons (according to
+    the instructions of their commander) being directed against the
+    elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving
+    way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who were thereby
+    thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible for their drivers to
+    manage them, either by force or address. Smarting under the pain of
+    their wounds, and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they
+    were no longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in
+    all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed
+    into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The consequence of
+    this was, that from the closeness of the branches of large trees, they
+    broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or castles that were upon
+    their backs, and involved in the destruction those who sat upon them.
+
+    Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired fresh
+    courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and
+    regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several
+    divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. On the
+    part of the king's troops there was no want of valor, and he himself
+    went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and not to be
+    alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants. But the
+    Tartars by their consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for
+    them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being
+    provided with such armor as was worn by the former.
+
+    The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped their
+    swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other. Then in an
+    instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and
+    multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion
+    of blood as was dreadful to behold. So great also was the clangor of
+    arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise seemed to
+    ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became a valiant
+    chief, was present wherever the greatest danger appeared, animating his
+    soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain their ground with resolution.
+    He ordered fresh squadrons from the reserve to advance to the support
+    of those that were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was
+    impossible any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the
+    impetuosity of the Tartars, the greater part of his troops being either
+    killed or wounded, and all the field covered with the carcasses of men
+    and horses, whilst those who survived were beginning to give way, he
+    also found himself compelled to take to flight with the wreck of his
+    army, numbers of whom were afterwards slain in the pursuit....
+
+    The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the
+    enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled for
+    shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found that the
+    men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in cutting down
+    trees and barricading the passages, with the intent of defending
+    themselves. But their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who
+    slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed to
+    the management of the elephants, they possessed themselves of these to
+    the number of two hundred or more. From the period of this battle the
+    grand khan has always chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which
+    before that time he had not done. The consequences of the victory were,
+    that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of the king
+    of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions. [Footnote: "The
+    Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian." Everyman's Library. J.M. Dent &
+    Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 253-256.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+We left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday, January 28. Our stay there
+would have been exceedingly pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was
+impossible not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the caravan. Traveling
+southward for two days over bare brown mountain-sides, their monotony
+unrelieved except by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended
+abruptly into the great subtropical valley at Shih-tien.
+
+Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in a succession of rice
+paddys and fields of sugar cane interspersed with patches of graceful
+bamboo, their summits drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes;
+the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the surrounding hills is
+delightful. However, we were disappointed in the shooting for, although it
+appeared to be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we killed
+only five teal, and the great ponds were almost devoid of bird life. Even
+herons, so abundant in the north, were conspicuous by their absence and we
+saw no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards.
+
+At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard on the outskirts of the
+town, and with Wu I returned to the village to inquire about shooting
+places. We seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within ten
+minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the room, overflowed through
+the door and windows, and formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which
+completely blocked the street outside. It was a simple way of getting all
+the village together and Wu questioned everyone who looked intelligent.
+
+We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang, five days' travel
+south, and we returned to the temple just in time to receive a visit from
+the resident mandarin. He was a good-looking, intellectual man, with
+charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen whom we met in
+China.
+
+During his visit, and until dinner was over and we had retired to our
+tents, hundreds of men, women and children crowded into the temple yard to
+gaze curiously at us. After the gates had been closed they climbed the
+walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows. Their curiosity was
+insatiable but not unfriendly and nowhere throughout our expedition did we
+find such extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested by the
+people in this immediate region. They were largely Chinese and most of them
+must have met foreigners before, yet their curiosity was much greater than
+that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white persons for the first
+time.
+
+Just before camping the next day we passed through a large village where we
+were given a most flattering reception. We had stopped to do some shooting
+and were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The _mafus_ must have
+announced our coming, for the populace was out _en masse_ to greet us and
+lined the streets three deep. It was a veritable triumphal entry and crowds
+of men and children followed us for half a mile outside the town, running
+beside our horses and staring with saucer-like eyes.
+
+On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high mountain and wound down
+a sharp descent for about 4,000 feet into a valley only 2,300 feet above
+sea level. We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a biting wind
+and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and coats over flannel shirts.
+After going down about 1,000 feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets,
+on the second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the remainder of
+the descent rode with sleeves rolled up and shirts open at the throat. We
+had come from mid-winter into summer in two hours and the change was most
+startling. It was as though we had suddenly ridden into an artificially
+heated building like the rooms for tropical plants at botanical gardens.
+
+Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river where we had a splendid
+view of the wide valley which was like the bottom of a well with high
+mountains rising abruptly on all sides. It was a place of strange
+contrasts. The bushes and trees were in full green foliage but the grass
+and paddy fields were dry and brown as in mid-winter. The thick trees at
+the base of the hills were literally alive with doves but there were few
+mammal runways and our traps yielded no results. That night a muntjac, the
+first we had heard, barked hoarsely behind the tents.
+
+The _yamen_ "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien delivered his
+official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo) which lies farther down the
+valley. The magistrate, who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon after
+with ten or twelve men and we discovered that there was but one man in the
+village who spoke Chinese.
+
+The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to have the responsibility of
+our safety thrust upon him and consequently assured us that there were
+neither game nor hunters in this village. Although his anxiety to be rid of
+us was apparent, he was probably telling the truth, for the valley is so
+highly cultivated (rice), and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited,
+that it is doubtful if much game remains.
+
+In the morning the entire valley was filled with a dense white fog but we
+climbed out of it almost immediately, and by noon were back again in winter
+on the summits of the ridges. The country through which we passed _en
+route_ to Gen-kang was similar to that which had oppressed us during the
+preceding week--cultivated valleys between high barren mountains relieved
+here and there by scattered groves of planted fir trees. It was a region
+utterly hopeless from a naturalist's standpoint and when we arrived at a
+large town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged.
+
+During almost a month of travel we had been guided by native information
+which without exception had proved worthless. It seemed useless to rely
+upon it further, and yet there was no other alternative, for none of the
+foreigners whom we had met in Yün-nan knew anything about this part of the
+province. We were certain to reach a tropical region farther south and the
+fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the market offered
+slight encouragement. These were said to come from a village called
+Meng-ting, "a little more far," to the tune of four or five days' travel,
+over on the Burma frontier.
+
+With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of the weather, we left in a
+pouring rain on February 5, to slip and splash southward through veritable
+rivers of mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the second day the
+country suddenly changed. The trail led through a wide grassy valley,
+bordered by heavily forested hills, into a deep ravine. Along the banks of
+a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered logs and
+dense vegetation made ideal conditions for small mammalian life.
+
+We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky gateway. At the right a
+green-clothed mountain rose out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the
+left wave after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves in the
+low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley filled with stately
+trees which spread into a thick green canopy overhead.
+
+We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the forest. While the tents
+were being pitched, I set a line of traps along the base of the opposite
+mountain and found a "runway" under almost every log. About eight o'clock I
+ran my traps and, with the aid of a lantern, stumbled about in the bushes
+and high grass, over logs and into holes. When I emptied my pockets there
+were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing seven species _and
+all new to our collection_. Heller brought in eight specimens and added two
+new species. We forthwith decided to stay right where we were until this
+"gold mine" had been exhausted.
+
+In the morning our traps were full of mammals and sixty-two were laid out
+on the table ready for skinning. The length, tail, hind foot, and ear of
+each specimen was first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in
+the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our serial number;
+then an incision was made in the belly, the skin stripped off, poisoned
+with arsenic, stuffed with cotton, and sewed up. The animal was then pinned
+in position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden tray which
+fitted in the collecting trunk.
+
+The specimens were put in the sun on every bright day until they were
+thoroughly dry and could be wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight
+trunks or boxes. We have found that the regulation U.S. Army officer's
+fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It measures thirty inches long
+by thirteen deep and sixteen inches wide and will remain quite dry in an
+ordinary rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in water. The
+skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons of some, are numbered like the
+skin, strung upon a wire, and dried in the sun. Also individuals of every
+species are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical study.
+
+Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As soon as the skin has been
+removed and cleaned of flesh and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it
+and the hide rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the water which has
+been extracted by the salt poured off, and the skin hung over a rope or a
+tree branch to dry. If it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may
+be kept in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field conditions
+it should be placed in the sun. Before it becomes too hard, the hide is
+rolled or folded into a convenient package hair side in, tied into shape
+and allowed to become "bone dry." In this condition it will keep
+indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the salt absorbs moisture
+from the air and alternate wetting and drying is fatal.
+
+We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin both large and small
+animals and they became quite expert. They required constant watching,
+however, and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or I
+examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.
+
+On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the village of Mu-cheng ten
+_li_ distant. The men assured us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac
+in the neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no dogs and were
+armed with crossbows, antiquated guns, and bows and arrows, but they showed
+us the skins of two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game.
+
+Like most of the other natives, with the exception of the Mosos on the Snow
+Mountain, these men had no definite plan in hunting. The first day I went
+out with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill not far from
+camp. Without giving me an opportunity to reach a position in front of
+them, they began to work up the hill, and I had a fleeting glimpse of a
+sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the summit.
+
+Two days later while I was out with ten other men who had a fairly good
+pack of dogs, the first party succeeded in killing a female sambur. The
+animal weighed at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our camp
+and we purchased the skin for ten _rupees_. South of Gen-kang the money of
+the region, like all of Yün-nan for some distance from the Burma frontier,
+is the Indian _rupee_ which equals thirty-three cents American gold; in
+that part of the province adjoining Tonking, French Indo-China money is
+current.
+
+My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this camp, which we called
+"Good Hope."
+
+    The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough for comfort
+    and the nights are clear and cold. How we do sleep! It seems hardly an
+    hour from the time we go to bed until we hear Wu rousing the servants,
+    and the crackle of the camp-fire outside the tent. We half dress in our
+    sleeping bags and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our
+    high boots in its comfortable warmth.
+
+    After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I inspect the
+    traps. The ground is white with frost and the trees and bushes are
+    dressed in silver. Every trap holds an individual interest and we
+    follow the line through the forest, resetting some, and finding new
+    mammals in others. Yvette has conquered her feminine repugnance far
+    enough to remove shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring
+    and dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches them.
+
+    We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with the men, the
+    lady of the camp works at her photography. I return in the late
+    afternoon and after tea we wander through the woods together. It is the
+    most delightful part of the day when the sun goes down and the shadows
+    lengthen. We sit on a log in a small clearing where we can watch the
+    upper branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of a great colony of
+    red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus erythraeus_ subsp.) and after a
+    few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along a branch, my gun
+    roars out, and there is a thud upon the ground.
+
+    Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died away in the
+    forest the gun bangs again. We have already shot a dozen squirrels from
+    this tree and yet more are there. Sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk
+    (_Tamiops macclellandi_ subsp.) will appear on the lower branches,
+    searching the bark for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to
+    find him in the brown leaves. When it is too dark to see the squirrels,
+    we wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious broiled
+    deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke and talk of
+    the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps."
+
+    Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a gun we pick our
+    way among the trees until we strike the trail along which the traps are
+    set. On the soft ground our feet are noiseless and, extinguishing the
+    lanterns, we sit on a log to listen to the night sounds. The woods are
+    full of life. Almost beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a
+    scurry among the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite
+    hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. Suddenly there is a
+    sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards away has done its
+    work. Even in the tree tops the night life is active. Dead twigs drop
+    to the ground with an unnatural noise, and soft-winged owls show black
+    against the sky as they flit across an opening in the branches.
+
+    We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into a cuplike
+    hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already half of them are full.
+    In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by the tail as he ran across the
+    trap; another holds a veritable treasure, and at my exclamation of
+    delight Yvette runs up excitedly. It is a rare Insectivore of the genus
+    _Hylomys_ and possibly a species new to science. We examine it beside
+    the lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket by
+    itself.
+
+    The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log. The trap is
+    gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over every inch of ground.
+    Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet away and stifles a scream for
+    in it, caught by the neck and still alive, is a huge rat nearly two
+    feet long; it too is a species which may prove new.
+
+    When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail to the edge
+    of the forest and into the clearing where the tents glow in the
+    darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is delightfully warmed by the
+    charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably on the beds, we write our
+    daily records or read Dickens for half an hour. It is with a feeling of
+    great contentment that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out
+    the candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the
+    moonlight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES
+
+During the eight days in which we remained at the "Good Hope" camp, two
+hundred specimens comprising twenty-one species were added to our
+collection. Although the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was quite
+unlike that of any region in which we had previously collected, and that
+undoubtedly was responsible for the complete change of fauna. We were on
+the very edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the Tonking and
+Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west of the province.
+
+It was already mid-February and if we were to work in the fever-stricken
+valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high time we were on the way southward.
+The information which we had obtained near Gen-kang had been supplemented
+by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to go to Meng-ting as soon as
+possible.
+
+The first march was long and uneventful but at its end, from the summit of
+a high ridge, we could see a wide valley which we reached in the early
+morning of the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly left us on a
+jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly down a steep ravine to lose
+itself in a veritable forest of tree ferns and sword grass. The slanting
+rays of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious depths of the
+mist-filled valley. To the right a giant sentinel peak of granite rose
+gaunt and naked from out the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to
+the left in huge ascending billows.
+
+We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of the bell on the leading
+mule announced the approach of the caravan and then we picked our way
+slowly down the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation. In an hour
+we were breathing the moist warm air of the tropics and riding across a
+wide valley as level as a floor. The long stretches of rank grass, far
+higher than our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos, banana
+palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled vines.
+
+Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled into the grass. The
+bamboo houses, sheltered by trees and bushes, were roofed in the shape of
+an overturned boat with thatch and the single street was wide and clean.
+Could this really be China? Verily, it was a different China from that we
+had seen before! It might be Burma, India, Java, but never China!
+
+Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning. A real Priscilla,
+somewhat strange in dress to be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel
+nut, but Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside her stood
+John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers, hitched far up over one leg to
+show the intricate tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban
+completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun almost as ancient in design
+as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla kept her eyes upon the spinning
+wheel, but John's gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent
+even before we appeared around a corner of the house and the pretty picture
+resolved into its rightful components--a surprised, but not unlovely Shan
+girl and a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide brown
+eyes and open mouth at what must have seemed to him the fancy of a
+disordered brain.
+
+For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and quiet, where every
+day was exactly like the day before, had suddenly ridden two big men with
+white skins and blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a
+broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little one had jumped from the
+horse and pointed a black box with a shiny front at him and his Priscilla.
+At once, but without loss of dignity, Priscilla vanished into the house,
+but John Alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new tin can had been
+thrust into his hand and before he had really discovered what it was the
+little person had smiled at him and turned her attention to the charming
+street of his village. There the great water buffalos lazily chewed their
+cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned natives who played
+trustingly with the calves almost beneath their feet.
+
+Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had ever seen, and
+regretfully we rode away across the plain between the walls of waving grass
+toward the Nam-ting River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and
+tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs were soon across
+the muddy stream and the mules were made to swim to the other bank. Shortly
+after leaving the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank grass on
+to the open rice paddys which stretched away in a gently undulating plain
+from the river to the mountains. Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese,
+but three great flocks of cranes (probably _Grus communis_) rose from the
+fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals above our heads until they were
+lost in the blue depths of the sky.
+
+Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a few wisps of smoke
+curling above its summit, but not until we were well-nigh there did we
+realize that its beautiful trees sheltered the thatched roofs of Meng-ting.
+But this was only the "residential section" of the village and below the
+knoll on the opposite side of a shallow stream lay the shops and markets.
+
+We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of jungle separated us from the
+nearest house. As soon as the tents were up I announced our coming to the
+mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock. Wu and I found the
+_yamen_ to be a large well-built house, delightfully cool and exhibiting
+several foreign articles which evinced its proximity to Burma.
+
+We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who shortly introduced the
+mandarin--a young Shan not more than twenty years old who only recently had
+succeeded his late father as chief of the village. The boy was dressed in
+an exceedingly long frock coat, rather green and frayed about the elbows,
+which in combination with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a
+most extraordinary appearance.
+
+We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who did all the talking was
+the "power behind the throne." He accepted my gift of a package of tea with
+great pleasure, but the information about hunting localities for which we
+asked was not forthcoming. He first said that he knew of a place where
+there were tiger and leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us
+for we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be responsible for
+our deaths; bringing to his attention the fact that tigers had never been
+recorded from the Meng-ting region did not impress him in the slightest.
+
+It did tend to send him off on another track, however, and he next remarked
+that if he sent us to a place where the hunting was disappointing we
+probably would report him to the district mandarin. Assurances to the
+contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that he wished only to get
+us out of his district and thus relieve himself of the responsibility of
+our safety. During the conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the
+young Shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he sat stolidly in
+his chair, hardly winking, and except for the constant supply of cigarettes
+which passed between his fingers there was no evidence that he even
+breathed.
+
+The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman that he would make
+inquiries concerning hunting grounds and communicate with us in the
+morning. We returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives
+arrived from the _yamen_ bearing about one hundred pounds of rice, a sack
+of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three chickens, and a great bundle of fire
+wood. These were deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin.
+
+We were at a loss to account for such generosity until Wu explained that
+whenever a high official visited a village it was customary for the
+mandarin to supply his entire party with food during their stay. It would
+be quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however, for the
+supplies were levied from the inhabitants of the town. We kept the eggs and
+chickens, giving the _yamen_ "runners" considerably more than their value
+in money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and potatoes.
+
+On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan Buddhist monastery, bamboo
+walled and thatched with straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant
+of childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley. All day
+long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the mud walls about the temple
+like a flock of birds peering at us with bright round eyes. They were wild
+as hawks, these little priests and, although they sometimes left the
+shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below the bushy hedge
+about our rice field.
+
+In the village we saw them often, wandering about the streets or sitting in
+yellow groups beneath the giant trees which threw a welcome shade over
+almost every house. They were not all children, and finely built youths or
+men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits of lemon peel, passed to and
+fro to the temple on the hill.
+
+There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the village with male
+children is required to send at least one boy to live a part of his life
+under the tutelage of the Church. He must remain three years, and longer,
+if he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and their clothing is
+not an important item of expenditure as it consists merely of a straw hat
+and a yellow robe. They lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn
+in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness.
+
+The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the weekly market was held, and
+when Wu and I crossed the little stream to the business part of the
+village, we found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque crowd of
+natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It was a group flashing with
+color, and every individual a study for an artist. There were blue-clad
+Chinese, Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and Burmans
+dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned Lisos, flat-faced
+Palaungs, Was, and Kachins in black and red strung about with beads or
+shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of those who did not carry a
+spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked looking daggers peeped from beneath
+their sashes. Every man carried a weapon ready for instant use.
+
+Nine tribes were present in the market that day and almost as many
+languages were being spoken. It was a veritable Babel and half the trading
+was done by signs. The narrow street was choked with goods of every kind
+spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails, knives, swords,
+hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats, crossbows, arrows, pottery,
+tea, opium, and scores of other articles for food or household use.
+
+Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing new goods or
+packing up their purchases; under open, thatched pavilions were silent
+groups of men gambling with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses"
+white-faced natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling "pills" of
+opium and oblivious to the constant stream of passers-by.
+
+It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic mass of life and
+color, where Chinese from civilized Canton drank, and gambled, and smoked
+with wild natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken
+jungles.
+
+After one glimpse of the picture in the market I dashed back to camp to
+bring the "Lady of the Camera." On the way I met her, hot and breathless,
+half coaxing, half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent in
+yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying vainly to photograph a
+priest and had discovered these splendid fellows when all her color plates
+had been exposed. She might have succeeded in bringing them to camp had I
+not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage and rushed away with averted
+faces.
+
+When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried back to the market
+followed by two coolies with the cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work
+alone I set up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less than a minute
+the narrow space in front of us was packed with a seething mass of natives.
+It was impossible to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly
+disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused the camera on the
+irregular line of heads and swung it back and forth registering a variety
+of facial expressions which it would be hard to duplicate. For some time it
+was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even for a moment, but after
+one or two had conquered their fear and been liberally rewarded, there was
+a rush for places. Wu asked several of the natives who could speak Chinese
+if they knew what we were doing but they all shook their heads. None of
+them had ever seen a camera or a photograph.
+
+The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all the tribes as well as the
+most difficult to photograph. Yvette was not able to get them at all, and I
+could do so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two or three squatting
+near their baskets on the ground I moved slowly up behind them keeping in
+the center of the crowd. After the "movie camera" was in position Wu
+suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the women realized what
+was happening they were registered on twenty-five or thirty feet of film.
+
+One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much, suddenly became belligerent
+when I pointed the camera in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn
+knife. I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down in a heap.
+He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine, but it took all of the fight
+out of him for he received no sympathy from the spectators.
+
+Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera operations and a less
+determined person would have given up in despair. The natives were so shy
+and suspicious that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to stand for
+a second and it was only after three hours of aggravating work in the
+stifling heat and dust that she at last succeeded in exposing all her
+plates. Her patience and determination were really wonderful and I am quite
+sure that I should not have obtained half her results.
+
+The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals. They were short,
+and strongly built, with a mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and
+thick lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of a short black
+jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and ornamented with strings of
+beads and pieces of brass or silver. This tribe forms the largest part of
+the population in northern Burma and also extends into Assam. Yün-nan is
+fortunate in having comparatively few of them along its western frontier
+for they are an uncivilized and quarrelsome race and frequently give the
+British government considerable trouble.
+
+There were only a few Burmans in the market although the border is hardly a
+dozen miles to the west, but the girls were especially attractive. Their
+bright pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile and their
+graceful figures draped in brilliant _sarongs_ were in delightful contrast
+to the other, not over-clean, natives.
+
+The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which added to their
+distinction. The lips of virtually every other woman and man were stained
+from the red juice, which is in universal use throughout India, the Malay
+Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Yün-nan we first noted it at the
+"Good Hope" camp, and the Shans are generally addicted to the practice.
+
+The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely Shan, but during the
+winter a good many Cantonese Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The
+drug is smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative trade is
+carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five cents (Mexican) an ounce
+in Burma and sold for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Yün-nan Fu and for
+ten dollars in Shanghai.
+
+Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The drug is cooked over an
+alcohol lamp and when the "pill" is properly prepared it is placed in the
+tiny bowl of the pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. The
+process is a rather complicated one and during it the natives always
+recline. No visible effect is produced even after smoking several pipefuls,
+but the deathly paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate opium
+user.
+
+There can be no doubt that the Chinese government has been, and is,
+genuinely anxious to suppress the use of opium and it has succeeded to a
+remarkable degree. We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in
+Yün-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a guard of soldiers,
+on inspection trips. Indeed, while we were in Meng-ting the district
+mandarin arrived. We were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of
+deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They were like the chimes of
+far away cathedral bells sounding nearer and louder, but losing none of the
+sweetness. Soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the camp
+bearing in their midst a covered chair. The mandarin established himself in
+a spacious temple on the opposite side of the village, where I visited him
+the following day and explained the difficulty we had had at the Meng-ting
+_yamen_. He aided us so effectually that all opposition to our plans ended
+and we obtained a guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting
+River, three miles from the Burma border.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+Every morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled with a thick white mist
+and when we broke camp at daylight each mule was swallowed up in the fog as
+soon as it left the rice field. We followed the sound of the leader's bell,
+but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan visible. For thirty _li_
+the valley is broad and flat as at Meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant
+growth of rank grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved
+its way through a range of hills.
+
+The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through a dense, tropical
+jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved bananas, and giant trees laced
+and interlaced with thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall
+of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel. We followed the
+trail all day, sometimes picking our way among the rocks high above the
+river or padding along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. At
+night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous native had
+fought the jungle and been defeated; his bamboo hut was in ruins and the
+fields were overgrown with a tangle of throttling vegetation.
+
+We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road were fascinating.
+Brilliant green parrots screamed in the tree tops and tiny sun-birds
+dressed in garments of red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail
+like living jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a huge hornbill
+flapping heavily over the river, every beat of his stiff wing feathers
+sounding like the motor of an aëroplane. Bamboo partridges called from the
+bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air.
+
+At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed two thatched huts in a
+little clearing beside the trail and the guide remarked that our camping
+place was not far away. We reached it shortly and were delighted. Two
+enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark shade above a
+sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned rice field. From a patch of
+ground as level as a floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look
+across the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle and up to the
+green mountain beyond. A half mile farther down the trail, but hidden away
+in the jungle, lay a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the
+guide said we should be able to find hunters.
+
+As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with a bag of steel traps
+to set them on the tiny trails which wound through the jungle in every
+direction. Selecting a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center,
+covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body of a bird or a
+chunk of meat by a wire over the pan about three feet from the ground. A
+light branch was fastened to the chain as a "drag." When the trap is pulled
+this invariably catches in the grass or vines and, while holding the animal
+firmly, still gives enough "spring" to prevent its freeing itself.
+
+Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest of wits between the
+trapper and the animal with the odds by no means in favor of the former.
+The trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings may be
+unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands may linger about the bait, or
+there may be numberless other possibilities to frighten the suspicious
+animal.
+
+In the evening our guide brought a strange individual whom he introduced as
+the best hunter in the village. He was a tall Mohammedan Chinese who
+dressed like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He seemed to be
+afflicted with mental and physical inertia, for when he spoke it was in
+slow drawl hardly louder than a whisper, and every movement of his body was
+correspondingly deliberate. We immediately named him the "Dying Rabbit" but
+discovered very shortly that he really had boundless energy and was an
+excellent hunter.
+
+The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for beaters and we drove a
+patch of jungle above camp but without success. There were many sambur
+tracks in the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to be
+difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the open places were so
+few and small that a sambur had every chance to break through without
+giving a shot.
+
+Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying Rabbit" was armed with a
+.45-caliber bolt action rifle into which he had managed to fit a .303 shell
+and several of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875. The guns had
+all been brought from Burma and most were without ammunition, but each man
+had an assortment of different cartridges and used whichever he could force
+into his rifle.
+
+The men worked splendidly under the direction of the "Dying Rabbit." On the
+second day they put up a sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but
+was absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned to camp we
+found that a civet (_Viverra_) had walked past our tent and begun to eat
+the scraps about the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the _mafus_ and
+servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun. After considerable
+difficulty they persuaded him that there really was some cause for their
+excitement and he shot the animal. It was probably ill, for its flesh was
+dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition.
+
+Civets belong to the family _Viverridae_ and are found only in Asia and
+Africa. Although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly
+related to them and their claws are only partly retractile. They are very
+beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with black, a ringed tail,
+and a black and white striped pointed head. A scent gland near the base of
+the tail secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating, is
+not particularly disagreeable. The animals move about chiefly in the early
+morning and evening and at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals,
+fish, and frogs. One which we caught and photographed had a curious habit
+of raising the hair on the middle of its back from the neck to the tail
+whenever it was angry or frightened.
+
+Although there were no houses within half a mile of camp we were surprised
+on our first night to hear cocks crowing in the jungle. The note was like
+that of the ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat more
+abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer and all his harem in a
+deserted rice field, and he flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and
+gold.
+
+I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left of "sixes" and
+found that they were jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) in full plumage. The
+cock was a splendid bird. The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his
+back and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was hardly more
+beautiful than the black of his underparts and green-glossed tail. Picture
+to yourself a "black-breasted red" gamecock and you have him in all his
+glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more pheasant-like in his
+general bearing. The female was a trim little bird with a lilac sheen to
+her brown feathers and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen.
+
+The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard hens and roosters
+which were probably first domesticated in Burma and adjacent countries long
+before the dawn of authentic history. According to tradition the Chinese
+received their poultry from the West about 1400 B.C. and they are figured
+in Babylonian cylinders between the sixth and seventh centuries B.C.;
+although they were probably introduced in Greece through Persia there is no
+direct evidence as to when and how they reached Europe.
+
+The black-breasted jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) inhabit northern India,
+Burma, Indo-Chinese countries, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine
+Islands; a related species, _G. lafayetti_, is found in Ceylon; another,
+_G. sonnerati_, in southern India, and a fourth, _G. varius_, in Java.
+
+We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even where they were seldom
+hunted. During the heat of the day they remain in thick cover, but in
+cloudy weather and in the early morning and evening they come out into
+clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River we could usually put
+up a few birds on the edge of the deserted rice fields which stretched up
+into the jungle, but they were never far away from the edge of the forest.
+
+We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but usually a cock had with
+him six or eight hens. It was interesting to watch such a flock feeding in
+the open. The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a piece of
+gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and industriously ran about
+among his trim little hens, rounding up the stragglers and directing his
+harem with a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually
+tempting food.
+
+It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually would send the
+flock whirring into the jungle while they were well beyond shotgun range.
+When flushed from the open the birds nearly always would alight in the
+first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying deeper into the
+jungle. We caught several hens in our steel traps, and one morning at the
+edge of a swamp I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and left"
+as they flushed together.
+
+We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of the mating season for the
+jungle fowl. It is said that they brood from January to April according to
+locality, laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a bamboo
+clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves have been scratched together
+for a nest. The hen announces the laying of an egg by means of a proud
+cackle, and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep, peep,
+peep" of the domestic birds. After the breeding season the beautiful red
+and gold neck hackles of the male sometimes are molted and replaced by
+short blackish feathers.
+
+There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the cocks are polygamous,
+but our observations tend to show that they are. We never saw more than one
+male in a flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in pairs.
+The cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic birds and their long
+curved spurs are exceedingly effective weapons.
+
+We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting River camp and on
+the second afternoon it contained a splendid polecat. This animal is a
+member of the family Mustelidae which includes mink, otter, weasels,
+skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep yellow throat, and long
+tail is really very handsome. Polecats inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and
+are closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated and used in
+hunting rats and rabbits. We found them to be abundant in the low valleys
+along the Burma border and often saw them during the day running across
+a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The polecat is a
+blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything that comes in its way for
+the pure love of killing, even when its appetite has been satisfied.
+
+On the third morning we found two civets in the traps. The cook told me
+that some animal had stolen a chicken from one of his boxes during the
+night and we set a trap only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading
+into the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook boxes were
+not bothered again.
+
+Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was a delightful part of our
+camp life. It was like opening a Christmas package as we walked up the
+trails, for each one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of the
+region were so varied that surprises were always in store for us. Besides
+civets and polecats, we caught mongooses, palm civets, and other
+carnivores. The small traps yielded a new _Hylomys_, several new rats, and
+an interesting shrew.
+
+We saw a few huge squirrels (_Ratufa gigantea_) and shot one. It was
+thirty-six inches long, coal black above and yellow below. The animals were
+very shy and as they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no
+means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting group confined to
+India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and
+Borneo.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Our most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was hunting monkeys. Every
+morning we heard querulous notes which sounded much like the squealing of
+very young puppies and which were followed by long, siren wails; when the
+shrill notes had reached their highest pitch they would sink into low
+mellow tones exceedingly musical.
+
+The calls usually started shortly after daylight and continued until about
+nine o'clock, or later if the day was dark or rainy. They would be answered
+from different parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen
+places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the cries were made by
+_hod-zu_ (monkeys) and several times we started in pursuit, but they always
+ceased long before we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from
+which they came. At last we succeeded in locating the animals.
+
+We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a trail which led up a
+valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly the puppy-like squealing began, followed
+by a low tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but the trees were
+empty. We stole silently along the trail for a hundred yards and turned
+into a dry creek bed which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. With
+infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we slipped along,
+scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill sitting on a dead branch caught
+sight of us and flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. A flock of
+parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel followed persistently
+scolding at the top of its voice, but the monkeys continued to call.
+
+The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood motionless beside a
+tree. For an instant the countless jungle sounds were hushed in a
+breathless stillness; then, low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which
+swelled into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all the
+forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again and again it floated
+over the tree tops and we listened strangely moved, for it was like the
+music of an exquisite contralto voice. At last it ceased but, ere the
+echoes had reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely
+siren screech.
+
+The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and tense. The trees stretched
+upward full one hundred and fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy
+roof. Long ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant
+growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant trunks in a swaying mass
+of living green. Far above the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the
+forest towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost branches we could just
+discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from which proceeded discordant
+squeals.
+
+It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all in camp. I fired a
+charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey and as the gun roared out the tree
+tops suddenly sprang into life. They were filled with running, leaping,
+hairy forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to branch; not a
+dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow, brown, and gray.
+
+The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and threw itself full twenty
+feet to a horizontal limb, below and to the right. I fired again and he
+stopped, ran a few steps forward and swung to the underside of the branch.
+At the third charge he hung suspended by one arm and dropped heavily to the
+ground stone dead.
+
+We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up the hill where the
+branches were still swaying as the monkeys traveled through the tree tops.
+They had a long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every step our
+clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our hands were torn, and our
+faces scratched and bleeding. In ten minutes they had disappeared and we
+turned about to find the dead animal. Suddenly Yvette saw a splash of
+leaves in the top of a tree below us and a big brown monkey swung out on a
+pendent vine. I fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled
+slowly around and dropped to the ground. Before I had reloaded my gun it
+gathered itself together and dashed off through the woods on three legs
+faster than a man could run. The animal had been hiding on a branch and
+when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered.
+
+We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the creek bed and sat down to
+examine it. It was evidently a gibbon (_Hylobates_), for its long arms,
+round head, and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species with
+which I was familiar the male was black. This one was yellow and we knew it
+to be a prize. That there were two other species in the herd was certain
+for we had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed away among the
+trees, but the gibbons were far more interesting than the others.
+
+Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and teeth of all the
+anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group which also includes the gorilla,
+chimpanzee, and orangutan. They are apparently an earlier offshoot of the
+anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the giant apes and man
+are probably a later branch. Gibbons are essentially Oriental being found
+in India, Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the Islands of Hainan, Sulu,
+Sumatra, and Java.
+
+For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River camp we devoted
+ourselves to hunting monkeys and soon discovered that the three species we
+had first seen were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon, another a
+brown baboon (_Macacus_), and the third a huge gray ape with a long tail
+(_Pygathrix_) known as the "langur." On the first day all three species
+were together feeding upon some large green beans and this happened once
+again, but usually they were in separate herds.
+
+The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although the same troop could
+usually be found in the valley where we had first discovered them, they
+chose hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them because of the
+thorny jungle. Usually when they called, it was from the upper branches of
+a dead tree where they could not only scan every inch of the ground below,
+but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun. Sometimes we climbed upward
+almost on our hands and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing
+ourselves up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs and bushes,
+slipping, falling, scrambling through the indescribable tangle. We went
+forward only when the calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood
+motionless as the wailing ceased. But in spite of all our care they would
+see or hear us. Then in sudden silence there would be a tremor of the
+branches, splash after splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away
+through the trackless tree tops.
+
+The gibbons are well named _Hylobates_ or "tree-walkers" for they are
+entirely arboreal and, although awkward and almost helpless on the ground,
+once their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed as by a
+miracle.
+
+They launch themselves into space, catch a limb twenty feet away, swing for
+an instant, and hurl themselves to another. It is possible for them to
+travel through the trees faster than a man can run even on open ground, and
+when one examines their limbs the reason is apparent. The fore arms are so
+exceedingly long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground when the
+animal stands erect, and the slender hands are longer than the feet.
+
+The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and would never drop until
+stone dead. Once I shot an old male with my 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher rifle at
+about one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone clear through
+his body, he hung for several minutes before he dropped into a tangle of
+vines.
+
+It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work our way through the
+jungle to the spot where the animal had fallen, and we had been searching
+for nearly half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a monkey was
+running along a branch above our heads. I fired with the shotgun at a mass
+of moving leaves and killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the
+thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would sometimes disappear as
+completely as though they had vanished in the air. After being fooled
+several times we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we could
+watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys would try to steal away.
+
+The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild as the gibbons and were
+found in larger herds. Some of the langurs were carrying babies which clung
+to their mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede them in
+the slightest on their leaps through the tree tops.
+
+The young of this species are bright orange-red and strangely unlike the
+gray adults. As they grow older the red hair is gradually replaced by gray,
+but the tail is the last part of the body to change. Heller captured one of
+the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to camp in his coat pocket. The
+little fellow was only a few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless.
+
+When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer little wizened face and
+blue eyes visible it had a startling resemblance to a human baby until its
+long tail would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion. It lived
+only four days in spite of constant care.
+
+There are fifty-five species of langurs (_Pygathrix_) all of which are
+confined to the Orient. In some parts of India the animals are sacred and
+climb about the houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without
+fear. At times they do so much damage to crops that the natives who do not
+dare to kill the animals themselves implore foreigners to do so. The
+langurs are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan mountains range
+far up into the snow and enjoy the cold weather. In the market at Li-chiang
+we saw several skins of these animals which had been brought down by the
+Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was used by the Chinese for rugs
+and coats.
+
+The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River camp, like all others of
+the genus _Pygathrix_, was interesting because of the long hairs of the
+head which form a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never heard the animals
+utter sounds, but it is said that the common Indian langur, _Pygathrix
+entellus_, gives a loud whoop as it runs through the tree tops. Often when
+a tiger is prowling about the jungle the Indian langurs will follow the
+beast, keeping in the branches just above its head and scolding loudly.
+
+The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting was a close
+relative of the species (_Macacus rhesus_) which one sees parading solemnly
+about the streets of Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian cities. In Agra,
+the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey Temple is visited by every
+tourist. A large herd of macaques lives in the grounds and at a few
+chuckling calls from the native attendants will come trooping over the
+walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate. These animals are
+surprisingly tame and make most amusing pets.
+
+On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water hole in the midst of a
+dense jungle where the mud was trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar,
+and other animals. We decided to spend a night watching beside it, but the
+"Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the day time lost his courage as the
+sunlight waned. Very doubtfully he consented to go.
+
+Although the trip netted us no tangible results it was an experience of
+which we often think. We started just at dusk and installed ourselves in
+the bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an hour the forest was
+enveloped in the velvety blackness of the tropic night. Not a star nor a
+gleam of light was visible and I could not see my hand before my face.
+
+We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the breath of the jungle,
+which although without definite sound, was vibrant with life. Now and then
+a muntjac barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag thrilled us like an
+electric shock. Once a wild boar grunted on the opposite bank of the river,
+the sound coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although the
+animal was far away.
+
+Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the leaves and a small animal
+ran across my wife's lap, leaping frantically down the hill as it felt her
+move. For five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. Although no
+animals came to the water hole we were silent with a great happiness as we
+groped our way back to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the
+jungle and were thrilled with the mystery of the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+We saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not only was there a village
+half a mile beyond our camp, but natives were passing continually along the
+trail on their way to and from the Burma frontier. The village was named
+Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when we arrived, but the natives were cordial
+and agreed to hunt with us; when the head man returned, however, he was
+most unfriendly. He forbade the villagers from coming to our camp and
+arguments were of no avail. It soon became evident that only force could
+change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants and _mafus_, we
+visited his house. He was informed that unless he ceased his opposition and
+ordered his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to Meng-ting for
+trial before the mandarin. He grudgingly complied and we had no further
+trouble.
+
+We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and honest people but abnormally
+lazy. During our three weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although
+the natives prized them highly, and often brought to us those in which
+animals had been caught. Shans were continually about our camp where boxes
+were left unlocked, but not an article of our equipment was missed.
+
+The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot poles and built an open
+porch in front of the door, while the dwellings at Meng-ting and farther up
+the valley were all placed upon the ground. The thatched roofs overhung
+several feet and the sides of the houses were open so that the free passage
+of air kept them delightfully cool. Moreover, they were surprisingly clean,
+for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if they wore sandals,
+left them at the door. In the center of the single room, on a large flat
+stone, a small fire always burned, but much of the cooking was done on the
+porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over the hearth.
+
+The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support." The extensive rice
+paddys indicated that in the past there had been considerable cultivation
+but the fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers purchased all
+their vegetables from the Mohammedan hunter and two other Chinese who lived
+a mile up the trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes
+entertained. In all probability they lived upon the sale of smuggled opium
+for they were only a few miles from the Burma border.
+
+Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily tattooed. Usually the
+right leg alone, but sometimes both, were completely covered from the hip
+to the knee with intricate designs in black or red. The ornamentations
+often extended entirely around the body over the abdomen and waist, but
+less frequently on the breast and arms.
+
+All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations and usually
+fastened their wide trousers in such a way as to display them to the best
+advantage. We often could persuade a man to pose before the camera by
+admiring his tattoo marks and it was most amusing to watch his childlike
+pleasure.
+
+The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions, and it is probable
+that at one time it inhabited a large part of China south of the Yangtze
+River; indeed, there is reason to believe that the Cantonese Chinamen are
+chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial resemblance between the two races
+certainly is remarkable.
+
+Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory in Yün-nan before its
+conquest by the Mongol emperors of China in the thirteenth century A.D.,
+and at one time actually subdued Burma and established a dynasty of their
+own, at present the only independent kingdom of the race is that of Siam.
+By far the greatest number of Shans live in semi-independent states
+tributary to Burma, China, and Siam, and in Yün-nan inhabit almost all of
+the southern valleys below an altitude of 4,000 feet.
+
+The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such an extent of fertile
+land is because the low plains are considered unhealthy and the Chinese
+cannot, or will not, live there. Whether or not the malarial fever of
+the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be proved, but the
+Chinese believe it to be so and the result is the same. Where the
+Shans are numerous enough to have a chief of their own they live in a
+semi-independent state, for although their head man is subordinate to the
+district Chinese official, the latter seldom interferes with the internal
+affairs of the tribe.
+
+The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct Mongolian type
+of features and rather fair complexions. Their dress varies decidedly with
+the region, but the men of the southern part of the province on the
+Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so baggy that they are
+almost skirtlike, a white jacket, and a large white or pink turban
+surmounted by a huge straw hat. The women dress in a white jacket and skirt
+of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans are of similar material
+and may be worn in a high cylinder, a low oval, or many other shapes
+according to the particular part of the province in which they live.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one and we left it on March 7,
+with much regret. Its resources seemed to be almost exhausted and the
+Mohammedan hunter assured us that at a village called Ma-li-ling we would
+find excellent shooting. We asked him the distance and he replied, "About a
+long bamboo joint away." It required three days to get there!
+
+Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do not know but we
+eventually found it to be a tiny village built into the side of a hill in
+an absolutely barren country where there was not a vestige of cover. Our
+journey there was not uneventful. We left Nam-ka with high hopes which were
+somewhat dampened after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot where our
+caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.
+
+With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a good trail which led
+through dense jungle where there was not a clearing or a sign of life. In
+the afternoon we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and
+ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and emerged into an
+absolutely treeless valley between high barren hills. We knew that the
+Burma frontier could not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a
+large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the other side the hills
+were covered with bright green stalks and here and there a field glistened
+with white poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we were on the direct
+road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he said was in Burma. On our
+map it was marked well over the border in Chinese territory and we were
+greatly puzzled.
+
+About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were silhouetted against the
+sky on a tiny knoll in the midst of a grove of beautiful trees, and we
+camped at the edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid mud, but we
+were told that it was the only water supply of the village and its cattle.
+As though to prove the statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the
+hill, and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly chewing their
+cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women with buckets in their hands were
+constantly arriving at the pond for their evening supply of water. We had
+no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the filthy liquid but
+there was no alternative and after repeated boiling and several strainings
+we settled it with alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup.
+
+After dinner we questioned the few natives who spoke Chinese, but we became
+only more and more confused. They knew of no such place as Ma-li-ling and
+our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they were familiar with the
+trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther west in Burma and, moreover, they said
+that two hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. We were quite
+certain that they must be native Indian troops but thought that a white
+officer might perhaps be in command.
+
+We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible political
+difficulties since we had no permits to shoot in Burma, but there seemed to
+be no alternative, for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical
+Ma-li-ling. We eventually discovered that there were two villages by that
+name--one in Burma, and the other in China, where it was correctly placed
+on the map which we were using.
+
+While we were discussing the matter a tremendous altercation arose between
+the Chinese _mafus_ and the servants. For some time Roy did not interfere,
+supposing it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance at last became
+unbearable. Calling Wu we learned that because we had been so careful to
+avoid English territory the _mafus_ had conceived the idea that for some
+reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. Since we had inadvertently
+crossed into Burma it appeared to them that it would be an opportune time
+to extort an increase of wages. They announced, therefore, that unless
+extra money was given them at once they would untie the loads and leave us.
+
+They were hardly prepared for what followed, however. Taking his Mannlicher
+rifle, Roy called the _mafus_ together and told them that if any man
+touched a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if they made the
+slightest resistance the gun would be turned on them. A _mafus_' mules
+represent all his property and they did not relish the turn affairs had
+taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads guarded during the
+night. In the morning the _mafus_ were exceedingly surprised when they
+learned that we were going to Ma-li-pa and their change of front was
+laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please as they had been
+belligerent the night before.
+
+The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills through which we had
+passed on the previous afternoon. There was only one village, but it was
+surrounded by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a rather difficult
+matter for a native living in China near the border to understand why he
+should not be allowed to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards
+away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without restriction.
+Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better than on level ground. The plants
+begin to blossom in late February and the petals, when about to fall, are
+collected for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to cover the balls
+of opium. The seed pods which are left after the petals drop off are
+scarified vertically, at intervals of two or three days, by means of a
+sharp cutting instrument. The operation is usually performed about four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form of dried juice, is
+collected the next morning. When China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of
+opium and the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were from
+twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the Empire.
+
+We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon and found it to be a
+straggling village built on two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed
+population of Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly market day
+and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of Indian soldiers in khaki were
+standing about, and I called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of them speak
+English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with cap in hand, and said,
+"Yes, Madame, I speak English."
+
+One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our own language from a
+native in this out-of-the-way spot! He was the "compounder," or medical
+assistant, and told us that the hundred native troops were in charge of a
+white officer whose house was on the opposite side of the river gorge. He
+guided us to a temple and, while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a
+tall, handsome young British officer who introduced himself as Captain
+Clive. He was almost speechless with surprise at seeing me, for he had not
+spoken a sentence in English or seen a white person since his arrival at
+this lonely post five months before.
+
+He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin and we accepted
+gladly. On the way he gave us our first news of the outside world, for we
+had been beyond communication of any sort for months, and we learned that
+the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Germany.
+
+Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo house with a broad veranda
+and thatched with straw. It was delightfully cool and dark after the glare
+of the yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order. The care
+which Britishers take to keep from "letting down" while guarding the
+frontiers of their vast empire is proverbial, and Captain Clive was a
+splendid example of the Indian officer. He was as clean-shaved and
+well-groomed as though he had been expecting us for days and the tiffin to
+which we sat down was as dainty and well served as it could have been in
+the midst of civilization.
+
+The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of our young officer who had
+been temporarily detached from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis, and sent
+on border duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers were in
+active service in East Africa, and he had cried to resign several times,
+but the Indian government would not release him. When we reached Rangoon
+some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined his regiment
+and was at the front. Ma-li-pa was a recently established "winter station"
+and in May would be abandoned when the troop returned to Lashio, ten days'
+journey away. Comfortable barracks, cook houses, and a hospital had been
+erected beside a large space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade
+ground.
+
+Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph with Lashio, at the end of
+the railroad, and received a _résumé_ of world news two or three times a
+week. With mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages were
+flashed from one mountain top to another and, under favorable conditions,
+reached Lashio in seven or eight hours.
+
+We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks in an open field,
+for there was no available shade. Although Captain Clive was perfectly
+satisfied with our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed
+until he had communicated with the Indian government by heliograph. The
+border was being guarded very closely to prevent German sympathizers from
+crossing into Burma from China and inciting the native tribes to rebellion.
+
+In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among the Kachins in the
+Myitkyina district on the upper waters of the Irawadi River had been
+incited by a foreigner, I believe, and Clive had assisted in suppressing
+it. The Indian government was taking no further chances and had given
+strict orders to arrest and hold anyone, other than a native, who crossed
+the border from China.
+
+Very fortunately H.B.M. Consul-General Goffe at Yün-nan Fu had communicated
+with the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma concerning our Expedition and we
+consequently expected no trouble, but Captain Clive could not let us
+proceed until he had orders to do so from the Superintendent of the
+Northern Shan States. Through a delayed message this permission did not
+reach him for five days and in the meantime we made the most of the limited
+collecting resources which Ma-li-pa afforded.
+
+Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma. He rose at six
+o'clock and after coffee and rolls had drill for two hours. At half past
+ten a heavy meal took the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with
+sandwiches and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at eight. His
+company was composed of several different native tribes, and each religious
+caste had its own cook and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not
+prepare meals for men of another. It is an extraordinary system but one
+which appears to operate perfectly well under the adaptable English
+government. Certainly one of the great elements in the success of the
+British as colonizers is their respect for native customs and
+superstitions!
+
+The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised to hear all commands
+given in English although none of the men could understand that language.
+This is done to enable British and Indian troops to maneuver together.
+Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to his officers. In the evening
+the men played football on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had
+suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic carpet of the
+Arabian Nights.
+
+Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned about nine o'clock.
+Conditions were not favorable for small mammals and although we could
+undoubtedly have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats we did not set a
+line of steel traps for we expected to leave at any time. Our attention was
+mostly devoted to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred
+interesting specimens.
+
+We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain Clive and he dined with
+us in the evening. He had brought with him from Lashio a large quantity of
+supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done at home. Although
+the days were very warm, the nights were cold and a camp fire was most
+acceptable.
+
+Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese authorities and,
+while we were there, a very old mandarin, blind and infirm, called to
+present his compliments. He had been an ardent sportsman and was especially
+interested in our guns; had we been willing to accept the commission he
+would have paid us the money then and there to purchase for him a Savage
+.250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old gentleman always had
+been very loyal to the British and had received several decorations for his
+services.
+
+A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman crawled into camp with
+his throat terribly cut. He had been attacked by brigands only a few miles
+over the border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The company
+"compounder" took him in charge and, when Clive asked him about the
+patient, his evasive answers were most amusing; like all Orientals he would
+not commit himself to any definite statement because he might "lose face"
+if his opinion proved to be wrong.
+
+Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman will die?" Looking
+very judicial the native replied, "Sir, he _may_ die, and yet, he may
+live." "But," said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "Yes," was the
+answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That was all the satisfaction he
+was able to get.
+
+Clive told us of another native who formerly had been in his company. He
+had been transferred and one day the Captain met him in Rangoon. When asked
+if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical, "Sir, it is good, but
+not _s-o-o_ good!"
+
+On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a heliograph from Rangoon
+announced that "The Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of
+Natural History is especially commended to His Majesty's Indian Government
+and permission is hereby granted to carry on its work in Burma wherever it
+may desire." This was only one of the many courtesies which we received
+from the British.
+
+The morning following the receipt of the heliogram we broke camp at
+daylight. When the last mule of the caravan had disappeared over the brown
+hills toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode away. If we are
+ever again made "prisoners of war" we hope our captor will be as delightful
+a gentleman as Captain Clive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+From Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the Salween River. The
+country through which we passed was a succession of dry treeless hills,
+brown and barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of the third day
+we reached the Salween at a ferry a few miles from the village of Changlung
+where the river begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across the
+border from China into Burma.
+
+The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself through the mountains and
+the sides are so precipitous that the trail doubles back upon itself a
+dozen times before it reaches the river 3,500 feet below. The upper half of
+the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees, but in the lower part the
+grass is long and rank and a thin dry jungle straggles along the water's
+edge. The Salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide, but
+narrows to half that distance below the ferry and flows in a series of
+rapids between rocky shores.
+
+The valley is devoid of human life except for three boatmen who tend the
+ferry, but the deserted rice fields along a narrow shelf showed evidence of
+former cultivation. On the slopes far up the side of the cañon is a Miao
+village, a tribe which we had not seen before. Probably the valley is too
+unhealthy for any natives to live close to the water's edge and, even at
+the time of our visit in early March, the heated air was laden with
+malaria.
+
+The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with opium, and assured us
+that there were no mammals near the river. They admitted that they
+sometimes heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched on a steep
+sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird catlike call of a peacock echoed
+up the valley. It was answered by another farther down the river, and the
+report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth a wild "pe-haun,"
+"pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a dozen places.
+
+The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles lashed together with vines
+and creepers. It floated just above the surface and was half submerged when
+loaded. The natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in place of oars.
+It consisted of a piece of tightly woven bamboo matting three feet long and
+two feet wide at right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle. With
+these the men nonchalantly raked the water toward them from the bow and
+stern when they had poled the raft well into the current. The invested
+capital was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers" needed
+repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed to build an entirely new
+outfit.
+
+All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the river from our camp
+where the jungle was thickest. On the first morning my wife and I floated
+down the river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a peacock
+which had called frequently from a rocky point near the water's edge. We
+picked our way through the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old
+cock either saw or heard us before we were within range, and I caught just
+a glimpse of a brilliant green neck as he disappeared into the bushes. A
+second bird called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused to
+come into the open and as we started to stalk it in the jungle we heard a
+patter of feet among the dry leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw
+the bird sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a bush-clad
+hill.
+
+This was the only peacock which we were ever able to flush when it had
+already gained cover. Usually the birds depend entirely upon their ability
+to hide or run through the bushes. After several attempts we learned that
+it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully. The jungle was so
+crisp and parched that the dry leaves crackled at every step and even small
+birds made a loud noise while scratching on the ground.
+
+The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for them at the river when
+they came to drink in the early morning and evening. Between two rocky
+points where we had first seen the birds there was a long curved beach of
+fine white sand. One morning Heller waited on the point nearest camp while
+my wife and I posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river. We had
+been sitting quietly for half an hour when we heard a scratching in the
+jungle. Thinking it was a peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water
+and sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. Meanwhile, Heller witnessed
+an interesting little drama enacted behind us.
+
+An old male peacock with a splendid train stole around the point close to
+the water, jumped to a high stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a
+full minute craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view as we
+kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his presence. After he had
+satisfied his curiosity he hopped off the observation pinnacle and, with
+his body flattened close to the ground, slipped quietly away. It was an
+excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had Heller not witnessed
+the scene we should never have known how the clever old bird had fooled us.
+
+The following morning we got a peahen at the same place. Heller had
+concealed himself in the bushes on one side of the point while I watched
+the other. Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the jungle on
+set wings and alighted at the water's edge. She saw Heller almost
+instantly, although he was completely covered by the vines, and started to
+fly, but he dropped her with a broken wing. Recovering herself, she darted
+around the rocky point only to meet a charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was
+a beautiful bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow and
+blue face patch and a green neck and back, but her plumes were short and
+inconspicuous when compared with those of the male.
+
+Probably these birds had never before been hunted but they were exceedingly
+shy and difficult to kill. Although they called more or less during the
+entire day and we could locate them exactly, they were so far back in the
+jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made a stalk impossible. We
+tried to drive them but were unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush
+unless they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover. Apparently
+realizing that their brilliant plumage made them conspicuous objects, the
+birds relied entirely upon an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful
+sight and hearing to protect themselves from enemies.
+
+They usually came to the river to drink very early in the morning and just
+before dusk in the afternoon, but on cloudy days they might appear at
+almost any hour. If undisturbed they would remain near the water's edge for
+a considerable time or strut about the sand beach just at the edge of the
+jungle. At the sound of a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks
+would answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the domesticated
+birds will do.
+
+The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is poison and our
+servants were horrified when they learned that we intended to eat it. They
+fully expected that we would not survive the night and, even when they saw
+we had experienced no ill effects, they could not be persuaded to touch any
+of it themselves. An old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds
+are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and roasted they are almost
+the equal of turkey.
+
+The species which we killed on the Salween River is the green peafowl
+(_Pavo munticus_) which inhabits Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay
+Peninsula. Its neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common
+Indian peacock (_Pavo cristatus_), and it is said that it is the most
+beautiful bird of the world.
+
+The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are dropped about August
+and the birds assume more simple barred plumes, but the molt is very
+irregular; usually the full plumage is resumed in March or even earlier.
+The train is, of course, an ornament to attract the female and, when a cock
+is strutting about with spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar
+rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.
+
+The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush in the dense
+jungle, are dull brownish white and nearly three inches long. The chicks
+are sometimes domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said
+they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The birds are omnivorous,
+feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles, flower buds, young shoots, and grain.
+
+The common peafowl (_Pavo cristatus_) is a native of India, Ceylon, and
+Assam. It is held sacred by some religious castes and we saw dozens of the
+birds wandering about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra, and
+Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable pets because they often
+attack infirm persons and children and kill young poultry.
+
+In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so abundant and easily
+killed that they do not furnish even passable sport, but in other places
+they are as wild and difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the
+Salween River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen that
+wherever peafowls are common, there tiger will be found.
+
+A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen abruptly in
+domestication is the so-called "japanned" or black-shouldered peacock named
+_Pavo nigripennis_ by Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is intermediate
+between _P. munticus_ and _P. cristatus_ and apparently "breeds true" but
+never has been found in a wild state. Albino specimens are by no means
+unusual and are a feature of many zoölogical gardens.
+
+Peacocks have been under domestication for many centuries and are mentioned
+in the Bible as having been imported into Palestine by Solomon; although
+the bird is referred to in mythology, the Greeks probably had but little
+knowledge of it until after the conquests of Alexander.
+
+In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from our camp on the Salween
+River I put up a silver pheasant (_Euplocamus nycthemerus_), one of the
+earliest known and most beautiful species of the family Phasianidae. Its
+white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black, extends like a wedding
+veil over the head, back and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black
+underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs.
+
+This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon the heart and back
+badges of the official dresses of civil mandarins to denote the rank of the
+wearer, and is found only in southern and western China. It is by no means
+abundant in the parts of Yün-nan which we visited and, moreover, lives in
+such dense jungle that it is difficult to find. The natives sometimes snare
+the birds and offer them for sale alive.
+
+We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween River, but were not
+successful in killing any. They were probably the Indian baboon (_Macacus
+rhesus_) and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most
+extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and sometimes came down to
+the water to skip and dance along the sand and play among the rocks. The
+monkeys invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river from us and
+by the time we hunted up the boatmen and got the clumsy raft to the other
+shore the baboons had disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running
+through the trees up the mountain-side.
+
+The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping ground for either
+small or large mammals, but the birds were interesting and we secured a
+good many species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were abundant and
+pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks along the river and only two
+cormorants.
+
+Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay, for it is a long way
+from the main road and the climb out of the gorge is too formidable to be
+undertaken if the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where the
+valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped at the river the heat was
+most uncomfortable during the middle of the day and was but little
+mitigated by the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer the valley
+at this point must be a veritable furnace and doubtless reeks with fever.
+We slept under nets at night and in the early evening, while we were
+watching for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+It is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley. We left on March 24 and
+all day crawled up the steep sides on a trail which doubled back and forth
+upon itself like an endless letter S. From our camp at night the river was
+just visible as a thin green line several thousand feet below, and for the
+first time in days, we needed a charcoal fire in our tents.
+
+We were _en route_ to Lung-ling, a town of considerable size, where there
+was a possibility that mail might be awaiting us in care of the mandarin.
+Although ordinarily a three days' journey, it was more than four days
+before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack of malaria shortly after
+leaving the Salween River and we had to travel half stages.
+
+When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude of 5,000 feet, we
+arrived at a Chinese town. Its dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together
+in a crowded mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged children and
+foot-bound women, were in unpleasant contrast to the charming little Shan
+villages which we had seen in the low country. The inhabitants themselves
+appeared to no better advantage when compared with their Shan neighbors,
+for their stares and insolent curiosity were almost unbearable.
+
+The region between the Salween River at Changlung and Lung-ling is as
+uninteresting to the zoölogist as it could possibly be, for the hills are
+dry and bare and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical Chinese town
+except that the streets are wide and it is not as dirty as usual. The
+mandarin was a jolly rotund little fellow who simulated great sympathy when
+he informed me that he had received no mail for us. We had left directions
+to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang and in the event that he did not
+find our camp to proceed to Lung-ling with the mail. We learned some weeks
+later that the runner had been frightened by brigands and had turned back
+long before he reached Meng-ting.
+
+We had heard from our _mafus_ and other natives that black monkeys were to
+be found on a mountain pass not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu, on the
+main Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain that they would
+prove to be gibbons, we decided to make that our next hunting camp. It was
+three stages from Lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we again
+descended to the Salween River.
+
+The valley at this point is several miles wide and is so dry that the few
+shrubs and bushes seem to be parched and barely able to live. At the upper
+end a picturesque village is set among extensive rice fields. Although a
+few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly Shans who are in a
+transitory state and are gradually adopting Chinese customs. The houses are
+joined to each other in the Chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with
+straw. In shape as well as in composition they are quite unlike the
+dwellings of the southern Shans. The women wore cylindrical turbans, about
+eighteen inches high, which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the
+men were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of Chinese blue. I believe
+that some of the Shan women also had bound feet but of this I cannot be
+certain.
+
+We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree at the far end of the
+village street, and a short time after the tents were up we had a visit
+from the Shan magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow wearing
+foreign dress and quite _au courant_ with foreign ways. He even owned a
+breech-loading shotgun, and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. He
+presented us with the usual chickens and I returned several tins of
+cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman and directed us to a place
+on the mountain above the village where he said monkeys were abundant.
+
+We left early in the morning with a guide and, after a hard climb, arrived
+at a little village near the forest to which the magistrate had directed
+us. Not only did the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys but
+we discovered for ourselves that the only water was more than a mile away,
+and that camping there was out of the question.
+
+The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu. It is a tiny village built
+into the mountain-side with hardly fifty yards of level ground about it,
+but commanding a magnificent view over the Salween valley. Although we
+reached there at half past two in the afternoon the _mafus_ insisted on
+camping because they swore that there was no water within fifty _li_ up the
+mountain. Very unwillingly I consented to camp and the next morning found,
+as usual, that the _mafus_ had lied for there was a splendid camping place
+with good water not two hours from Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for
+the Chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small matters, and the
+head _mafu_ blandly admitted that he knew there was a camping place farther
+on but that he was tired and wanted to stop early.
+
+As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted with a ringing
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the forest five hundred feet below us; they
+were the calls of gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those of
+the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once and, after considerable
+prospecting, chose a flat place beside the road. It was by no means ideal
+but had the advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from either side
+of the ridge which for its entire length was scarcely two hundred feet in
+width. The sides fell away for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad
+slopes and, as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of mountains
+rolled outward in a great sea of green.
+
+Our camp would have been delightful except for the wind which swept across
+the pass night and day in an unceasing gale. My wife and I set a line of
+traps along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge, while
+Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced with the forest. The
+trees were immense spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed a
+solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft moss carpet underneath. Every
+trunk was clothed in a smothering mass of vines and ferns and parasitic
+plants and, from the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers swayed
+back and forth with every breath of wind. Below, the forest was fairly open
+save for occasional patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so
+close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more than a somber
+twilight beneath the trees.
+
+Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale which howled up
+the valley from the south and swept across the ridge in a torrent of wind.
+The huge trees around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed about to be
+torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of branches and the roar of the wind it
+was impossible to hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question.
+We lay in our bags expecting every second to have the covering torn from
+above our heads, but the tough cloth held, and at midnight the gale began
+to lull. In the morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind
+never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was a breathless calm
+among the trees a few hundred feet below.
+
+My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our line of traps about
+nine o'clock in the morning when the forest suddenly resounded with the
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off at
+first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At the first note we
+seized our guns and dashed down the mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and
+falling. The animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet below
+the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we moved cautiously from tree
+to tree, going forward only when they called. It was one of the most
+exciting stalks I have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed always
+close above our heads.
+
+We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black monkey leaped out of a
+tree top just as I stepped from behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. For
+a full half minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head thrust
+forward staring intently; then launching himself into the air as though
+shot from a catapult he caught a branch twenty feet away, swung to another,
+and literally flew through the tree tops. Without a sound save the swish of
+the branches and splash after splash in the leaves, the entire herd
+followed him down the hill. It was out of range for the shotgun and my wife
+was ten feet behind me with the rifle, but had I had it in my hand I doubt
+if I could have hit one of those flying balls of fur.
+
+We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but two days later we
+redeemed ourselves and brought in the first new gibbons. We were sitting on
+a bed of fragrant pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been
+chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when suddenly the wild
+call of the monkeys echoed up the mountain-side.
+
+They were far away to the left, and we ran toward them, stumbling and
+slipping on the moss-covered rocks and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa"
+sounding louder every moment. They seemed almost under us at times and we
+would stand motionless and silent only to hear the howls die away in the
+distance. At last we located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge
+filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny plants. It was an
+impossible place to cross, and we sat down, irresolute and discouraged. In
+a few moments a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black apes
+swinging along through the trees, two hundred yards away. Finally they
+stopped and began to feed. They were small marks at that distance but I
+rested my little Mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot while Yvette
+watched them with the glasses. One big fellow swung out on a branch and
+hung with one arm while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other.
+Yvette saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did not move, and
+at the roar of the second he dropped heavily into the vines below. A brown
+female ran along the branch a few seconds later and peered down into the
+jungle where the first monkey had fallen. I covered her carefully with the
+ivory head of the front sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong
+off the tree.
+
+For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of leaves and three huge
+black males leaped into full view from the summit of a tall tree. They were
+silhouetted against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick succession
+registering two clean misses. The bullets must have whizzed too close for
+comfort and they faded instantly into the forest like three black shadows.
+
+For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense foliage hoping to catch
+a glimpse of a swaying branch. Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling in the low
+tree beneath which we were sitting and seized me violently by the arm,
+screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above us. Quick, quick, he's
+going!"
+
+I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not twenty feet away hung
+a huge brown monkey half the size of a man. Almost in a daze I fired with
+the shotgun. The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long arm and a pair
+of eyes blazing like living coals, stared into mine. I fired again point
+blank as the huge mouth, baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a
+bloodcurdling howl. The monkey slowly swung back again, its arm relaxed and
+the animal fell at my feet, stone dead.
+
+It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance we had chosen, from all
+the trees in the forest, to sit under the very one in which the gibbon had
+been hiding and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.
+
+While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of the gorge, I climbed down
+into the jungle to try and make my way up the opposite side where the other
+monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the rocks were covered with
+a thin layer of earth which supported a dense growth of vegetation. If I
+tried to let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern it would
+almost invariably strip away with a long layer of dirt and send me
+headlong.
+
+After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine where a mountain
+torrent leaped and foamed over the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade
+to a pool fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite side was
+more difficult than the descent and twice I had to return after finding the
+way impassable.
+
+A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated me from the spot
+where the gibbons had fallen. I skirted the rock face and had laboriously
+worked my way around and above it when a vine to which I had been clinging
+stripped off and I began to slide. Faster and faster I went, dragging a
+mass of ferns and creepers with me, for everything I grasped gave way.
+
+I thought it was the end of things for me because I was hardly ten feet
+above the precipice which fell away to the jagged rocks of the stream bed
+in a drop of seventy feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my life.
+Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me flattened out against
+the cliff. But even then I was far from safe, as I realized when I tried to
+twist about to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from a bush
+above my head.
+
+How I managed to crawl back to safety among the trees I can remember only
+vaguely. I finally got down to the bottom of the cañon, but felt weak and
+sick and it was half an hour before I could climb up to the place where my
+wife was waiting. She was already badly frightened for she had not seen me
+since I left her an hour before and, when I answered her call, she was
+about to follow into the jungle where I had disappeared. We left the two
+monkeys to be recovered from above and went slowly back to camp.
+
+The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of the Nam-ting River. They
+represent a well-known species called the "hoolock" (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+which is also found in Burma.
+
+The males, both old and young, are coal black with a fringe of white hairs
+about the face, and the females are light brown. Their note is totally
+unlike the Nam-ting River gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the
+top of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle for an hour
+or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes as they swing through
+the branches and are silent during the remainder of the day. They called
+most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom heard them during cloudy
+weather.
+
+Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every day,
+but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons
+of the Nam-ting River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops at
+almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things which I have
+ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw themselves from one
+tree to another with unerring precision.
+
+On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three months and our share
+amounted to 105 letters besides a great quantity of magazines. Wu had
+ridden to Teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had a
+basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Reuter's cablegrams which
+were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of
+the Chinese Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen also sent a
+note telling us of a good hunting ground near Teng-yueh.
+
+We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers and,
+through them, began to get in touch with the world again. It is strange how
+little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its reach and
+has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. And it is just as strange
+how essential it all seems immediately one is again within reach of such
+adjuncts of civilization.
+
+On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water fell in torrents,
+and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant that we could
+barely hear each other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp had
+not been made with reference to weather and during the night I waked to
+find that we were in the middle of a pond with fifteen inches of water in
+the tent. Shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface of
+the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our cots. This was the
+beginning of a ten days' rain after which we had six weeks of as delightful
+weather as one could wish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+
+TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village
+called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride
+along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed through grove
+after grove of rhododendrons in full blossom. The trees were sometimes
+thirty feet in height and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living
+coals among their dark green leaves. In the northern part of Yün-nan the
+rhododendrons grow above other timber line on mountains where it is too
+high even for spruces.
+
+It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu. I had another attack
+of the Salween malaria and for five or six days could do little work.
+Heller, however, made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned
+pheasant, Temmick's tragopan (_Ceriornis temmincki_), besides half a dozen
+langurs of the same species as those we had collected on the Nam-ting
+River. He also was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels
+(_Petaurista yunnanensis_) which we had hoped to get at Wei-hsi. He saw the
+animal in the upper branches of a dead tree on the first evening we were in
+Tai-ping-pu but was not able to get a shot. The next night he watched the
+same spot and killed the squirrel with a charge of "fours." It measured
+forty-two and one-quarter inches from the nose to the end of the tail and
+was a rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the underparts were
+cream white. As in all flying squirrels, the four legs were connected by a
+sheet of skin called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body. This
+acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail from tree to tree for,
+of course, it cannot fly like a bat. As these huge squirrels are strictly
+nocturnal, they are not often seen even by the natives. We were told by the
+Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building huge fires in the woods they
+could attract the animals and shoot them with their crossbows.
+
+A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel from a native and
+kept it for several days in the hope that it might become tame. The animal
+was exceedingly savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at
+anyone who approached its basket. It could not be tempted to eat or drink
+and, as it was a valuable specimen, we eventually chloroformed it.
+
+Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half dozen families
+of Lisos were living, and we hired the men to hunt for us. They were
+good-natured fellows, as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and
+worked well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck which had been
+killed with their crossbows and poisoned darts. The arrows were about
+twelve inches long, made of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece
+of the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels were sharpened to
+a needle point, but the hunting darts were tipped with steel or iron. The
+poison they extracted from a plant, which I never saw, and it was said that
+it takes effect very rapidly.
+
+The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot in the side with a single
+arrow and they assured us that only the flesh immediately surrounding the
+wound had been spoiled for food. These natives like the Mosos, Lolos, and
+others carried their darts in a quiver made from the leg skin of a black
+bear, and none of the men wished to sell their weapons; I finally did
+obtain a crossbow and quiver for six dollars (Mexican).
+
+Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the Lisos guided my wife and
+me to a large cave where they said there was a colony of bats. The cavern
+was an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult and dangerous
+place in the side of a cliff just above a swift mountain stream. We strung
+our gill net across the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to
+stir up the animals while we caught them as they flew out. In less than
+half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown bats, but our fingers were cut
+and bleeding from the vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. They all
+represented a widely distributed species which we had already obtained at
+Yün-nan Fu.
+
+From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu asking him to
+forward to Teng-yueh the specimens which we had left in his care, and the
+day following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing our cases
+passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves, were about ready to leave and two
+days later at ten o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain
+summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh plain which lay before us
+like a relief map. It is as flat as a plain well can be and, except where a
+dozen or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley is one vast
+watery rice field. Far in the distance, outside the gray city walls, we
+could see two temple-like buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds,
+and Wu told us they were the houses of the Customs officials.
+
+Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting" or second-class Chinese
+city, is one of the most important places in the province, for it stands as
+the door to India. All the trade of Burma and Yün-nan flows back and forth
+through the gates of Teng-yueh, over the great caravan road to Bhamo on the
+upper Irawadi.
+
+An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs, which are administered by
+the British government as security for the Boxer indemnity, is situated in
+this city, and we were looking forward with the greatest interest to
+meeting its white population. At the time of our visit the foreigners
+included Messrs. H.G. Fletcher and Ralph C. Grierson, respectively Acting
+Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Customs; Messrs. W.R. Palmer and
+Abertsen, also of the Customs; Mr. Eastes, H.B.M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian
+Medical Officer, and Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the China Inland Mission;
+Mr. Eastes, accompanied by the resident mandarin, was absent on a three
+months' opium inspection tour so that we did not meet him.
+
+We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and camped in a temple outside the
+city walls. Immediately after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson and went
+with him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and Palmer were
+living. We found there a Scotch botanist, Mr. Forrest, an old traveler in
+Yün-nan who was _en route_ to A-tun-zu on a three-year plant-hunting
+expedition for an English commercial firm. We had heard much of Forrest
+from Messrs. Kok and Hanna and were especially glad to meet him because of
+his wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province. Mr. Forrest
+was interested chiefly in primroses and rhododendrons, I believe, and in
+former years obtained a rather remarkable collection of these plants.
+
+From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United States had declared war
+on Germany. It had been announced only a week before, and the information
+had reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately. It came as
+welcome news to us Americans who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to
+ourselves and others our country's lethargy in the face of Teuton
+insolence, and made us feel that once again we could acknowledge our
+nationality with the pride we used to feel.
+
+On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his guests and to move our
+caravan and belongings to his beautiful home. We were charmed with it and
+our host. The house was built with upturned, temple-like gables, and from
+his cool verandah we could look across an exquisite flower-filled garden to
+the blue mountains from which we had had our first view of Teng-yueh the
+day before. The interior of the dwelling was as attractive as its
+surroundings, and the beautifully served meals were as varied and dainty as
+one could have had in the midst of a great city.
+
+Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their sport with them.
+Just beyond the city walls an excellent golf course had been laid out with
+Chinese graves as bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind the
+Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent polo ponies, besides
+three trained pointer dogs, and riding and shooting over the beautiful
+hills gave him an almost ideal life. We found that Mr. Fletcher had a
+really remarkable selection of records and an excellent Victrola. After
+dinner, as we listened to the music, we had only to close our eyes and
+float back to New York and the Metropolitan Opera House on the divine
+harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or Caruso's matchless voice. But none of
+us wished to be there in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and
+the music already brought with it a lingering sadness because our days in
+the free, wild mountains of China were drawing to a close.
+
+During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we dried and packed all our
+specimens in tin-lined boxes which were purchased from the agent of the
+British American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were just the right
+size to carry on muleback and, after the birds and mammals had been wrapped
+in cotton and sprinkled with napthalene, the cases were soldered and made
+air tight. The most essential thing in sending specimens of any kind
+through a moist, tropical climate such as India is to have them perfectly
+dry before the boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their
+destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined.
+
+On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased from a native two bear
+cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_) about a week old. Each was coal black except for a
+V-shaped white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When they first came to
+us they were too young to eat and we fed them diluted condensed milk from a
+spoon.
+
+The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the story of their amusing
+ways as they grew older is a book in itself. After a month one of the cubs
+died, leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only lived and
+flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.
+
+He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the Irawadi River to Rangoon,
+and across the Bay of Bengal to Calcutta. He then visited many cities in
+India, and at Bombay boarded the P. & O.S.S. _Namur_ for Hongkong and
+became the pet of the ship. From China we took him to Japan, across the
+Pacific to Vancouver, and finally to our home at Lawrence Park, Bronxville,
+New York. After an adventurous career as a house pet, when his exploits had
+made him famous and ourselves disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully
+sent him to the National Zoölogical Park, Washington, D.C., where he is
+living happily at the present time. He was the most delightful little pet
+we have ever owned and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his
+early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can see him still as he
+came to us the first week. He might well have been the model for the
+original "Teddy Bear" for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears
+and sparkling little eyes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+A few months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen had discovered a
+splendid hunting ground near the village of Hui-yao, about eighty _li_ from
+Teng-yueh. He had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while passing
+through the village, the natives told him that a large herd of _gnai-yang_
+or "wild goats" lived on the side of a hill through which a branch of the
+Shweli River had cut a deep gorge.
+
+Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the accuracy of the report
+he spent two days hunting and with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover,
+he saw twenty-five others. We examined the two skins and realized at once
+that they represented a different species from those of the Snow Mountain.
+Therefore, when we left Teng-yueh our first camp was at Hui-yao.
+
+Heller and I started with four natives shortly after daylight. We crossed a
+tumbledown wooden bridge over the river at a narrow cañon where the sides
+were straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for about two
+miles. On the way Heller, who was in front, saw two muntjac standing in the
+grass on an open hillside, and shot the leader. The deer pitched headlong
+but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off into the thick cover
+at the edge of the meadow. It had disappeared before Heller reached the
+clearing but he saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock.
+Although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal ran a quarter of a
+mile, and he finally discovered her several hours later in the bushes
+beside the river.
+
+In a short time we reached an open hillside which rose six or seven hundred
+feet above the river in a steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall
+of rock bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We separated at this
+point. Heller, with two natives, keeping near the river, while I climbed up
+the hill to work along the cliffs half way to the summit.
+
+In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort and, looking up, saw
+three gorals standing on a ledge seventy-five yards above him. He fired
+twice but missed and the animals disappeared around a corner of the hill. A
+few hundred yards farther on he saw a single old ram but his two shots
+apparently had no effect.
+
+Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far from the summit for a
+mile or more without seeing an animal. Fresh tracks were everywhere and
+well-cut trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass. I had
+reached an impassable precipice and was returning across a steep slope when
+seven gorals jumped out of the grass where they had been lying asleep. I
+was in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick succession as
+the animals appeared through the branches, but missed both times.
+
+I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then nearly two hundred yards
+away. One big ram had left the herd and was trotting along broadside on. I
+aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his head appeared in
+the peep sight. He turned a beautiful somersault and rolled over and over
+down the hill, finally disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water.
+
+The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds later I saw a small one
+slowly skirting the rocks on the very summit of the hill. The first shot
+kicked the dirt beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran behind
+a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher on the trunk of a tree,
+covering the edge of the rock with the ivory head of the front sight and
+waited. I was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal out, and in
+two or three minutes his head appeared. I fired instantly, boring him
+through both shoulders, and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging
+against a rock not fifty yards from where we stood.
+
+The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling at the top of their
+lungs, ran up the hill like goats to bring the animal down to me. It was a
+young male in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches long. Our
+pleasure was somewhat dampened, however, when we went to recover the first
+goral for we found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge of the
+river it had either rolled or crawled into the water. We searched along the
+bank for half a mile but without success and returned to Hui-yao just in
+time for tiffin.
+
+In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little grove on the
+opposite side of the river behind the hunting grounds. Heller, instead of
+going over with the caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the
+pine forest where he could look across the river to the hill on which we
+had hunted in the morning. With his field glasses he discovered five gorals
+in an open meadow, and opened fire. It was long shooting but the animals
+did not know which way to run, and he killed three of the herd before they
+disappeared. Our first day had, therefore, netted us one deer and four
+gorals which was better than at any other camp we had had in China.
+
+We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao would prove to be a
+wonderful hunting ground, and the two weeks we spent there justified all
+our hopes. At other places the cover was so dense or the country so rough
+that it was necessary to depend entirely upon dogs and untrained natives,
+but here the animals were on open hillsides where they could be still
+hunted with success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn something
+about the habits of the animals for we could watch them with glasses from
+the opposite side of the river when they were quite unconscious of our
+presence.
+
+There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that we did not bring in one
+or more gorals and even after we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens
+were left. Shooting the animals from across the river was rather an
+unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very effective method of
+collecting the particular specimens we needed for the Museum series. The
+distance was so great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the
+bullets were coming and almost any number of shots might be had before the
+animals made for cover. It became simply a case of long range target
+shooting at seldom less than three hundred yards.
+
+Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter, however, and was
+as good sport as I have ever had. The rocks and open meadow slopes were so
+precipitous that there was very real danger every moment, for one misstep
+would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to the bottom where he would
+inevitably be killed.
+
+The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the sheerest cliffs or to
+hide in the rank grass, and it took close work to find them. I used most
+frequently to ride from camp to the river, send back the horse by a _mafu_,
+and work along the face of the rock wall with my two native boys. Their
+eyesight was wonderful and they often discovered gorals lying among the
+rocks when I had missed them entirely with my powerful prism binoculars.
+Their eyes had never been dimmed by study and I suppose were as keen as
+those of primitive man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives
+thousands of years ago over these same hills.
+
+There were many glorious hunts and it would be wearisome were I to describe
+them all, but one afternoon stands out in my memory above the others. It
+was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away from camp, across
+the rice fields and up the grassy valley to the long sweep of open meadow
+on the rim of the river gorge.
+
+Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter, and I crawled carefully
+to a jutting point of rocks and lay face down to inspect the cliffs above
+and to the left. With my glasses I scanned every inch of the gray wall, but
+could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi I saw him gazing
+intently at the rock which I had just examined, and in a moment he
+whispered excitedly "_gnai-yang_." By putting both hands to the side of his
+head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and although he pointed
+with my rifle, it was full five minutes before I could discover the goral
+flat upon his belly against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore
+legs doubled beneath his body. He was sound asleep in the sun and looked as
+though he might remain forever.
+
+By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up above and circle around
+the cliff to a ragged promontory which jutted into space within a hundred
+yards of the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour before we
+peered cautiously between two rocks opposite the ledge where the goral had
+been asleep. The animal was gone. We looked at each other in blank
+amazement and then began a survey of the ground below.
+
+Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the ram feeding in an open
+meadow and we began at once to make our way down the face of the cliff. It
+was dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety and worked
+cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the goral had been standing. Again we
+crawled like snakes among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving
+grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared, and even Achi could not
+discover a sign of life upon the meadow.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and looked around.
+Instantly there was a rattle of stones and a huge goral leaped out of the
+grass thirty yards away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle and
+shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the animal. Swearing
+softly at my carelessness, I threw in another shell, selected a spot in
+front of the ram, and fired. The splendid animal sank in its tracks without
+a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.
+
+I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized me by the arm,
+whispering "_gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang, na, na, na, na_," and
+pointing to the cliffs two hundred yards above us. I looked up just in time
+to see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit of the ridge.
+An instant later he appeared again and stopped broadside on with his noble
+head thrown up, silhouetted against the sky. It was a perfect target and,
+resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the animal with the white bead
+and centered it in the rear sight. As I touched the hair trigger and the
+roar of the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the cliff, the
+animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling over and over down the
+meadow and bringing up against a boulder not twenty yards from the first
+goral.
+
+That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk I would not have
+changed my lot with any man on earth. The breathless excitement of the
+stalk and the wild thrill of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid
+rams were still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley and across
+the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette ran to the edge of the
+grove, her hands filled with wet photographic negatives. "How many?" she
+called. "Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many for you?" "Fourteen
+color plates," she sung back happily, "and all good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+We had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during our first week in camp.
+He rode out on Thursday afternoon and remained until Sunday, bringing us
+mail, war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with goral meat for all
+the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the afternoon of his visit I had killed
+three monkeys which represented a different species from any we had
+obtained before. They were the Indian baboon (_Macacus rhesus_) and were
+probably like those of the Salween River at Changlung.
+
+I found two great troupes of the monkeys running along the opposite river
+bank. The first herd was climbing up the almost perpendicular rock walls,
+swinging on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in the tufts of
+grass. I could not approach nearer than one hundred and fifty yards and did
+some very bad shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at that
+distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires a much better shot
+than I am to register more hits than misses. I did kill two, but both
+dropped into the river and promptly sank, so that I gave it up.
+
+Less than a half mile farther on another and larger troupe appeared among
+the boulders just at the water's edge. Profiting by my experience, I kept
+out of sight among the bushes and watched the animals play about until one
+hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant. I got six in this way, but
+we were able to recover only three of them from the water.
+
+Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the doe which he killed on
+the first day. One of the largest bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers
+three and one half inches long from the burr to the tip. The skin-covered
+projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the summits of which
+the antlers grow, measured two and one-half inches from the skull to the
+burrs. Evidently the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for,
+although they were all in full summer pelage, two already had lost their
+antlers while the other had not. I can think of no more delicious meat than
+the flesh of these little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by
+the English sportsmen of India as they are by the foreigners of China.
+
+I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was fortunate in killing a
+splendid coal-black serow which represents a sub-species new to science;
+although the natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick
+jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen for years. Heller
+and I had gone to this part of the gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys
+which he had located on the previous day. We had separated, Heller keeping
+close to the water while I skirted the cliffs near the summit not far from
+the road which led through the pine forest.
+
+I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when suddenly with a snort a
+large animal dashed out of a thicket below and to the left. I caught a
+glimpse of a great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns as the
+beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized that it was a serow. A
+few seconds later it reappeared, running directly away from me along the
+upper edge of the gorge. I fired and the animal dropped, gave a convulsive
+twist, rolled over, and plunged into the cañon.
+
+As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited yells from below, and
+it was evident that some natives near the water had seen it fall. I had
+slight hope that they might have rescued it from the river, but my heart
+was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying to find a place where it was
+possible to descend. A wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away
+guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible for a human being
+to walk along it, and in proof I slid the last half of the way to the rocks
+at the river's edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck.
+
+When we reached the stream it was only to find a flat wall against which
+the water surged in a mass of white foam, separating us from the place
+where the serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock but in two
+steps the water was above my waist. It was evident that we would have to
+swim, and I began to undress, inviting Achi and the wood cutter to follow;
+the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few clothes with
+considerable hesitation.
+
+It was a swim of only about forty feet around the face of the cliff but the
+current was strong and it was no easy matter to fight my way to the other
+side. After I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood cutter to
+follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently the current was more than
+he had bargained for and a look of fear crossed his face, but he went
+manfully at it.
+
+He had almost reached the rock on which I was standing with outstretched
+hand when his strength seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. I
+jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one hand and letting my
+legs float out behind. The wood cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to
+which he clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning man
+and I dragged him up stream until, to my intense relief, he could grasp the
+rocks.
+
+We picked our way among the boulders for a few yards and suddenly came upon
+the serow lying partly in the water. I felt like dancing with delight but
+the sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations and I merely
+yelled to Achi who understood from the tone, if not from my words, that the
+animal was safe.
+
+The men who had shouted when the animal fell over the cliff were only fifty
+feet away, but they too were separated from it by a wall of rock and
+surging water. They said that there was an easier way up the cliff than the
+one by which we had descended, and prepared a line of tough vines, one end
+of which they let down to us. We made it fast to the serow and I kept a
+second vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as they dragged it
+to the other shore. It was landed safely and the wood cutter was hauled
+over by the same means.
+
+I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered that Achi had
+disappeared, taking my garments and those of the wood cutter with him. He
+evidently intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in the rather
+awkward predicament of making our way through the thick brush with only the
+proverbial smile and minus even the necktie.
+
+The men fastened together the serow's four legs, slipped a pole beneath
+them and toiled up the steep slope preceded by a naked brown figure and
+followed by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with vines and
+creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing through them with no bodily
+protection was far from comfortable.
+
+When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge I was dismayed to find
+that Achi was not there with my clothes. The wood cutter did not appear to
+be greatly worried and indicated that we would find him farther up the
+road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every second to meet some person,
+and sure enough, a Chinese woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. I
+dived into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a rabbit, and
+from the frightened way in which she hurried past, she must have thought
+she had seen one of her ancestral spirits stalking abroad. We eventually
+found the boy, and, decently dressed, I faced the world again with
+confidence and happiness.
+
+On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the cliffs across the river. It
+was high up and fully three hundred and fifty yards away but, of course,
+quite unconscious of our presence. My first two shots struck close beside
+the animal, but at the third it rolled over and over down the hill, lodging
+among the rocks just above the river.
+
+Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half the village acted as an
+escort to the serow, an animal which few had ever seen. It was a female,
+and probably weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The mane was short
+and black and strikingly unlike the long white manes of the Snow Mountain
+serows; the horns were almost smooth. Getting this specimen was one of the
+lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman, for one might hunt for
+weeks in the same place without ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is
+exceedingly dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk
+except in a few spots. The animal had been feeding on the new grass just at
+the edge of the heavy cover and probably had been sleeping under a bush
+when she was disturbed.
+
+Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good collection of reptiles and
+lizards at Hui-yao, but in all other parts of the province which we visited
+they were exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in a place where
+there were so few reptiles and batrachians. We obtained only one species of
+poisonous snake here. It was a small green viper which we sometimes saw
+coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass. Several species of
+nonpoisonous snakes were more common but were nowhere really abundant.
+
+We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for a village called
+Wa-tien where there was a report of sambur. None of us had any real hope of
+finding the huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we camped in
+the early afternoon on an open hilltop five miles from Wa-tien where the
+natives assured us the animals often came to eat the young rice during the
+night.
+
+We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters, but awoke to find a dense
+fog blanketing the valley and mountains. It was not until half past nine
+that the gray mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough for
+us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly behind the camp and skirted
+the edge of a heavily forested ravine which the men wished to drive.
+
+Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed to a sharp ridge
+above and beyond him. In less than half an hour the dogs began to yelp in
+an uncertain way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to the ground,
+and a few seconds later Heller fired twice in quick succession. Two sambur
+had skirted the edge of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he
+had missed with both shots.
+
+The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense underbrush. In a few
+moments the dogs began to yelp again and, while Heller remained on the
+hillside to watch the open fields, I followed the hounds along the creek
+bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 250-300 rifle sounded five
+times in quick succession just above our heads, and we climbed hurriedly
+out of the gorge.
+
+Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur running along the edge of
+a bean field but the animal showed no sign of being hit. We easily picked
+up the trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found several drops of
+blood, showing that at least one bullet had found its mark. The blood soon
+ceased and we began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely scratched.
+
+Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine, a branch of the one
+out of which it had first been driven, and while he watched the upper side
+I worked my way to the bottom to look for tracks. A few moments later the
+natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and Heller called out that
+they had found the deer, which was lying stone dead half way down the side
+of the gorge in a mass of thick ferns. The sambur had been hit only once
+but the powerful Savage bullet had crashed through the shoulder into the
+lungs; it was quite sufficient to do the work even on such a huge animal
+and the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the place where it
+had been shot.
+
+It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair of antlers which
+measured twenty-seven inches in length. The deer was about the size of an
+American wapiti, or elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred
+pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese hunters were wild
+with excitement, but especially so when we began to eviscerate the animal,
+for they wished to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal
+value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every receptacle which
+they could find after each man had drunk all he could possibly force down
+his throat and had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax.
+
+When the sambur was brought to camp a regular orgy was held by our
+servants, _mafus_, and dozens of villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or
+steal some of the blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his
+perquisite, carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a basin. The
+liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum, and in fact every part of
+the viscera was saved. Because the antlers were hard they were not
+considered of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we should
+have had to guard them closely; then they would have been worth about one
+hundred dollars (Mexican).
+
+We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that it would not be
+difficult to get sambur, and indeed, Heller did see another in the
+afternoon but failed to kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of the
+hunters died suddenly during the night and all the men went off with their
+dogs to the burial feast which lasted several days, and we were not able to
+find any other good hounds.
+
+There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity of our camp but they
+fed entirely during the night and spent the day in such thick cover that it
+was impossible to drive them out except with good beaters or dogs. We
+hunted faithfully every morning and afternoon but did not get another shot
+and, after a week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain range six
+miles away near a Liso village.
+
+The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain range is the same
+on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu and reaches a height of 11,000 feet near
+Wa-tien. It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests must shelter
+a good deal of game.
+
+The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded ridges rising out of
+open cultivated valleys, which often run into the jungle-filled ravines in
+which the sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this particular region
+and not in the neighboring country is a mystery unless it is the proximity
+of the great forested mountain range. But in similar places only a few
+miles away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives said the
+animals had never been seen, and neither were they known on the opposite
+side of the mountain range where the Teng-yueh--Tali-Fu road crosses the
+Salween valley.
+
+On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three or four days hunting
+monkeys before we returned to Teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the
+field work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I became separated
+from the caravan but as we had one of our servants for a guide we were not
+uneasy.
+
+The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang (which we had changed
+to "Leaping Frog" because he never did leap for any cause whatever), and
+before long he had us hopelessly lost.
+
+It would appear easy enough to ask the way from the natives, but the
+Chinese are so suspicious that they often will intentionally misdirect a
+stranger. They do not know what business the inquirer may have in the
+village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on general principles,
+they send him off in the wrong direction.
+
+Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer of whom we inquired
+the way directed us to a road at nearly right angles to the one we should
+have taken, and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found the
+caravan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+It was of paramount importance to pack our specimens before the beginning
+of the summer rains. They might be expected to break in full violence any
+day after June 1, and when they really began it would be impossible to get
+our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually all caravan travel ceases during the wet
+season. Therefore our second stay at Hui-yao was short and we returned to
+Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field work of the Expedition exactly
+a year from the time it began with our trip up the Min River to Yeng-ping
+in Fukien Province.
+
+Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become his guests and no place
+ever seemed more delightful, after our hot and dusty ride, than his
+beautiful garden and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served.
+Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the specimens were packed
+and the boxes sealed it was necessary to wrap them in waterproof covers;
+moreover, the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded, a caravan
+engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of motion-picture film developed. This
+was done in the spacious dark room connected with Mr. Grierson's house
+which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters of the tent which
+we had used for so many months.
+
+Much of the success of our motion film lay in the fact that it was
+developed within a short time after exposure, for had we attempted to bring
+or send it to Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such
+work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic changes.
+Although cinematograph photography requires an elaborate and expensive
+outfit and is a source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an
+actual moving record of the life of such remote regions is worth all the
+trouble it entails.
+
+The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently satisfactory and were
+among the most interesting results of the expedition. The stereoscopic
+effects and the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric shading
+in the photographs are remarkable. Although the plates had been subjected
+to a variety of climatic conditions and temperatures by the time the last
+ones were exposed in Burma, a year and a half after their manufacture, they
+showed no signs of deterioration even when the ordinary negatives which we
+brought with us from America had been ruined. The other photographs, some
+of which are reproduced in this book, speak for themselves.
+
+The entire collections of the Expedition were packed in forty-one cases and
+included the following specimens:
+ 2,100 mammals
+   800 birds
+   200 reptiles and batrachians
+   200 skeletons and formalin preparations for anatomical study
+   150 Paget natural color plates
+   500 photographic negatives
+10,000 feet of motion-picture film.
+
+Since the Expedition was organized primarily for the study of the mammalian
+fauna and its distribution, our efforts were directed very largely toward
+this branch of science, and other specimens were gathered only when
+conditions were especially favorable. I believe that the mammal collection
+is the most extensive ever taken from China by a single continuous
+expedition, and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to represent
+species new to science. Our tents were pitched in 108 different spots from
+15,000 feet to 1,400 feet above sea level, and because of this range in
+altitudes, the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably varied.
+Moreover, during our nine months in Yün-nan we spent 115 days in the
+saddle, riding 2,000 miles on horse or mule back, largely over small roads
+or trails in little known parts of the province.
+
+In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably and the leisure hours were
+made delightful by golf, tennis, riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson was a
+charming host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants, at our
+disposal, utter strangers though we were, and we shall never forget his
+welcome.
+
+We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because of the rain which was
+expected every day, and the coolies made us very comfortable upon our
+sleeping bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and covered with a
+strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the regulation Chinese "mountain
+schooner," at which we had so often laughed, but they proved to be
+infinitely more desirable than riding in the rain.
+
+With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh on June 1, behind a
+caravan of thirty mules for the eight-day journey to Bhamo on the outskirts
+of civilization. Our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of humanity.
+They were from S'suchuan Province and were all unmarried which alone is
+almost a crime in China. Every cent of money, earned by the hardest sort of
+work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and smoking opium. As Wu tersely
+put it "they make how much--spend how much!"
+
+About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously in the midst of
+a filthy village and disappear into some dark den in spite of our
+remonstrances. We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out of our
+chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we would see them huddled on
+a "kang" over tiny yellow flames sucking at their pipes. At tiffin each one
+would stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and his broad
+straw hat propped up to screen him from the wind. With infinite care he
+would extract a few black grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little
+water, and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium bubbled and was
+almost ready to drop. Then placing it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe
+he would hold it against the flame and draw in long breaths of the
+sickly-sweet smoke. The men could work all day without food, but opium was
+a prime necessity.
+
+It was almost impossible to start them in the morning and it became my
+regular duty to make the rounds of the filthy holes in which they slept,
+seize them by the collars and drag them into the street. Force made the
+only appeal to their deadened senses and we were heartily sick of them
+before we reached Bhamo.
+
+The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five thousand feet to almost
+sea level. Because of the fever the valleys are largely inhabited by
+"Chinese Shans" who differ in dress and customs from the Southern Shans of
+the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were tattooed and the women all wore the
+enormous cylindrical turban which we had seen once before in the Salween
+Valley.
+
+At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Yün-nan border into Burma. It is a
+beautiful spot where a foaming mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in
+a series of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall of
+green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron bridge from which a fine
+wide road of crushed stone leads all the way to Bhamo.
+
+What a difference between the country we were leaving and the one we were
+about to enter! It is the "deadly parallel" of the old East and the new
+West. On the one side is China with her flooded roads and bridges of
+rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a nation still living in
+the Middle Ages, fighting progress, shackled by the iron doctrines of
+Confucius to the long dead past. Across the river is English Burma, with
+eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of her people, her iron
+bridges and macadam roads representing the very essence of modern thought
+and progress.
+
+With paternal care of her officials the British government has provided
+_dâk_ (mail) bungalows at the end of each day's journey which are open to
+every foreign traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on piles.
+Each one has a spacious living room, with a large teakwood table and
+inviting lounge chairs. In a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and
+glass, all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are provided with
+adjoining baths and a covered passageway connects the kitchen with the
+house. All is ready for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a
+trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such comforts can only be
+appreciated when one has journeyed for months in a country where they do
+not exist.
+
+Our last night on the road was spent at a _dâk_ bungalow near a village
+only a few miles from Bhamo. We were seated at the window, when, with a
+rattle of wheels, the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by. That
+cart brought to us more forcibly than any other thing a realization that
+the Expedition was ended and that we were standing on the threshold of
+civilization.
+
+As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and a
+lump had risen in my throat. Not all the pleasures of the city, the love of
+friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild, free life of the
+year gone by. Silently we left the house and walked across the sunlit road
+into a grove of graceful, drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between
+the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled the air.
+
+The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy East; the East which,
+like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves a mystic spell about the wanderer whom
+she has loved and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. And when
+he would cast her off and return to his own again she knows full well that
+her subtle charm will bring him back once more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of low, cool houses, wide
+lawns and tree-decked streets built on the bank of the muddy Irawadi River.
+Only a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and palatial steamers run
+to Mandalay and Rangoon. We called upon Mr. Farmer, the Deputy
+Commissioner, who offered the hospitality of the "Circuit House" and in the
+evening took us with him to the Club.
+
+A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed women, and
+officers in uniform strolled about or sipped iced drinks beside the tennis
+court. We felt strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange to them
+for we were newly come from a far country which they saw only as a mystic,
+unknown land.
+
+On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile journey to Rangoon,
+exactly nine months after we had ridden away from Yün-nan Fu toward the
+Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need not be related here.
+When we reached civilization we expected that our transport difficulties
+were ended; instead they had only begun. India was well-nigh isolated from
+the Pacific and to expose our valuable collection to the attacks of German
+pirates in the Mediterranean and Atlantic was not to be considered even
+though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the world to reach
+America safely.
+
+We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with all our baggage to Bombay,
+and after a seemingly endless wait eventually succeeded in arriving at
+Hongkong by way of Singapore. There we separated from our faithful Wu and
+sent him to his home in Foochow. It was hard to say "good-by" to Wu, for
+his efficient service, his enthusiastic interest in the work of the
+Expedition, and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed to be
+done, had won our gratitude and affection. We ourselves went northward to
+Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver, and overland to New York, arriving
+on October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen months from the time we left. We were
+never separated from our collections for, had we left them, I doubt if they
+would ever have reached America. It was difficult enough to gather them in
+the field, but infinitely more so to guide the forty-one cases through the
+tangled shipping net of a war-mad world.
+
+They reached New York without the loss of a single specimen and are now
+being prepared in the American Museum of Natural History for the study
+which will place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zoölogical
+Expedition before the public.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The story of our travels is at an end. Once more we are indefinable units
+in a vast work-a-day world, bound by the iron chains of convention to the
+customs of civilized men and things. The glorious days in our beloved East
+are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems not far away, for the miles of
+land and water can be traversed in a thought. Again we stand before our
+tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us, watching the
+glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain turn purple and gold in the setting
+sun; again, we feel the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet
+tones of a gibbon's call. We have only to shut our eyes to bring back a
+picture of the bleak barriers of the Forbidden Land or the sunlit streets
+of a Burma village. Thank God, we saw it all together and such blessed
+memories can never die.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
+Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of;
+    discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao;
+    killed two gorals
+Africa
+Akeley, Carl E.
+Alaska
+Allen, Dr. J.A.
+American flags
+American Legation, Peking
+American Museum Journal
+American Museum of Natural History;
+    trustees of, specimens being prepared at
+Americans
+Ammunition, loss of
+Amoy
+_Anas boscas_ (Mallard ducks)
+Anglo-Chinese College
+Animal life, lack of
+Annamits
+Antlers
+Ape, gray (_Pygathrix_)
+_Apodemus_ (white-footed mouse)
+Asia
+_Asia_ Magazine, quoted from
+Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition;
+    members of
+Assam
+Assistants
+A-tun-zu
+
+Babies, killing and selling of
+Baboon, brown (_Macacus_)
+Baboon, Indian (_Macacus rhesus_)
+Bamboo chickens
+Bandits, attack of
+Bankhardt, Mr.
+Bat apartment house
+Bat cave, description of;
+    experience of girl in
+Bats, method of killing
+Batrachians
+Bear cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_), purchased at Teng-yueg
+Bedding
+Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to
+Bering Strait
+Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L.
+Betel nut
+Bhamo;
+    railroad from;
+    road to;
+    description of
+Big Ravine, description of;
+    temples near
+Birds, game
+_Blarina_
+Boat, Chinese, eye on
+Bode, Mr.
+Bohea Hills
+Bound feet
+Bowdoin, George
+Bradley, Dr.;
+    established leper hospital at Paik-hoi
+Brahmin priests
+Brahminy ducks;
+    habits of
+Bridge, suspension, description of
+Bridges, rope
+Brigand, seal of a pardoned
+Brigandage
+Brigands; beheading of;
+    infest Yün-nan;
+    description of
+British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong
+British East Africa
+Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos
+Buffaloes;
+    water
+Bui-tao
+Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of
+Burial, expenses of
+Burma;
+    border of;
+    girls of;
+    mammals caught near;
+    frontier of;
+    boundary of
+Burmans
+
+Calcutta
+Caldwell, Rev. Harry R.;
+    letter from;
+    house of;
+    stationed at Futsing;
+    tiger hunting, method of;
+    obtains serows at Yen-ping;
+    purchases serow skins in Fukien
+California
+_Callosciurus erythraeus_
+Camera equipment
+Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of
+Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock
+_Capricornulus crispus_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_
+Caravan, robbing of;
+    buying of;
+    renting of
+Caravan ponies
+Caravans, distance traveled by
+Cary, F.W., Commissioner of Customs
+_Casarca casarca_ (ruddy sheldrake)
+Caverns
+Central Asia
+Central Asian plateau
+_Cervus macneilli_
+Chair-coolies
+Chairs, description of
+Chang, Dr.
+Chang-hu-fan;
+    night at
+Changlung;
+    ferry at
+Chien-chuan
+Chi-li
+China;
+    aboriginal inhabitants of;
+    press;
+    inland mission
+Chinaman, Cantonese
+Chinese, Republic;
+    army of;
+    face saving;
+    Foreign Office;
+    screaming, habit of;
+    lack of sympathy of;
+    not affected by sun;
+    love of companionship;
+    bride of;
+    wedding of;
+    dress of;
+    Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with;
+    education of;
+    villages, description of;
+    etiquette of;
+    New Year;
+    collecting debts of
+Chipmunk (_Tamiops macclellandi_)
+Chi-yuen-kang
+Chou Chou
+Christians, native, persecution of
+Christianity, lesson in
+Christmas;
+    celebration of
+Chu-hsuing Fu
+Chung-tien
+Civet (_Viverra_)
+Clive, Captain
+Clothing
+Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M.
+Collecting case
+Color plates
+Confucius, rules of
+Cook, difficulty in obtaining;
+    description of
+Coolies
+Cormorants
+Corn
+Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese
+Cranes;
+    habits of
+Crossbows
+Cui-kau;
+    description of
+
+Da-Da
+Daing-nei
+_Dâk_ (mail) bungalows
+Da-Ming
+Darjeeling
+Davies, Major H.R.;
+    quoted
+Dead, burying of
+Deer
+Deer, barking
+Denby, Hon. Charles
+Dennet, Tyler, quoted
+D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition
+D'Orleans, Prince Henri
+Dog, red, death of
+Dogs, description of;
+    for food
+Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China
+Duai Uong
+Ducks brahminy;
+    shooting of
+Dupontès, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition
+
+Eastes, Mr., Consul
+Education, foreign
+_Elaphodus_
+Elephants
+Elk
+Ellsworth, Lincoln
+Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of
+Empress Dowager;
+    issued edict prohibiting opium growing
+Equipment, purchase of
+Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake
+Etiquette
+Europe
+European war
+Evans, H.G.;
+    assistance of
+Expedition, announcement of;
+    applicants for positions on;
+    results of
+Expeditions, preliminary
+Eye on Chinese boat
+
+Farmer, Mr.
+Fauna, mammalian
+_Felis temmicki_
+_Felis uncia_
+Ferry
+Fletcher, H.G.
+Flying squirrel
+Foochow;
+    foreign residents of;
+    streets of;
+    mail from;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    woman's college at
+Food box
+Foot binding, origin of;
+    method of;
+    Natural Foot Society of;
+    agitation against
+Forbidden City
+Ford, James B.
+Foreign Office
+Forest conservation, lack of
+Formosa
+Forrest, Mr.
+Fossil animals;
+    beds
+Francolins
+French Consul
+Frick, Childs
+Frick, Henry C.
+Fukien Province, China;
+    deforestation of;
+    mammals of;
+    climate and temperature of;
+    collecting in summer at;
+    birds of;
+    herpetology of;
+    trapping for small mammals at;
+    zoölogical study of;
+    language of;
+    travel in;
+    servants in;
+    serows hunted in;
+    missionary work in
+Funeral customs
+Futsing;
+    blue tiger hunting at
+
+Galápagos Islands
+_Gallus gallus_
+_Gallus lafayetti_
+_Gallus sonnerati_
+_Gallus varius_
+Gamblers
+Geese
+Gen-kang
+Gibbon (_Hylobates_);
+    description of;
+    hunting of
+Goffe, Consul-General at Yün-nan Fu
+Goitre, prevalence of
+Gorals;
+    first hunt for;
+    ceremonies at death of;
+    collecting for groups;
+    color of;
+    invisibility of;
+    description of;
+    horns of;
+    distribution of;
+    hunting of;
+    fighting of;
+    habits of;
+    feet of;
+    hunting of, at Hui-yao
+Great Invisible
+Grierson, Ralph C.
+_Grus communis_
+_Grus nigricollis_
+
+Habala;
+    hunting at
+Hainan, description of;
+    fauna of
+Haiphong;
+    arrival at
+Hanna, Rev. William J.
+Hanoi, description of
+_Harper's Magazine_
+Hartford, Mabel
+Heller, Edmund
+Himalaya Mountains
+Hoi-hau
+Homes
+Ho-mu-shu;
+    monkeys found near
+Hongkong, purchase of supplies at
+Hoolock (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+Hornbill
+Horses, size of
+Hospital attendants
+Hotenfa
+Hsia-kuan, description of
+Hui-yao;
+    reptiles and lizards found at
+Hunan
+Hung-Hsien
+Hunters
+Hutchins, Commander Thomas
+Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at
+_Hylobates_
+_Hylomys_
+_Hystrix_
+
+India
+Inns
+Irawadi River
+
+Japan
+Japanese newspaper reporters
+Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman
+Jungle fowl;
+    habits of
+
+Kachins;
+    women, appearance of
+Katha
+Kellogg, C.R.
+Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A.;
+    Pentecostal missionary;
+    assistance of
+Koko-nor
+Koo, Wellington
+Korea;
+    pheasants found in
+Kraemer, M.
+Kucheng
+Kwang-si
+Kwei-chau Province
+
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong
+Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by
+Languages and dialects, number of;
+    reason for
+Langur
+Langurs (_Pygathrix_)
+Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad
+Lapwings
+Las
+Lashio
+Legge, Prof. J., quoted
+Leopards
+Leper hospital
+_Li_, length of
+Li-chang;
+    animal life on route to;
+    arrival at;
+    camp in;
+    collecting in;
+    mammals of;
+    important fur market at;
+    inhabitants of;
+    return to
+Li-Hung Chang
+Ling-suik, monastery of;
+    description of;
+    priests at;
+    collecting at
+Lisos
+Livingstone, H.W.
+Loads, weight of
+Lolos;
+    depredations of;
+    independence of;
+    dress of;
+    capes worn by
+London Zoölogical Society's Garden
+Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at
+Lucas, Dr. F.A., acknowledgment to
+Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Tsia-kuan
+Lung-ling
+Lung-tao
+Lutzus
+
+McMurray, J.V.A.
+_Macacus rhesus_
+_Mafus_, description of
+Mail
+Malaria
+Malay Peninsula
+Ma-li-ling
+Ma-li-pa;
+    poppy fields at
+Mallard ducks
+Mammals, small, importance of;
+    preparing of
+Man, primitive, migrations of
+Man-eater, killing of
+Mandalay
+Mandarins, relations with
+Ma-po-lo, low valley at;
+    game at;
+    fog in
+Marco Polo
+Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+Mazzetti-Haendel, Baron
+Meadow vole (_Microtus_)
+Mekong
+Mekong river, description of
+Mekong-Salween divide
+Mekong valley;
+    vegetables in;
+    zoölogy of
+Meng-ting;
+    description of;
+    mandarin of;
+    Buddhist monastery at;
+    market at;
+    Cantonese visit and buy opium at;
+    fog at;
+    valley at;
+    birds at
+Mergansers
+Methodist mission
+Mexico
+Miao village
+Mice
+_Micromys_
+_Microtus_, meadow vole
+Min River;
+    life on
+Mission hospital;
+    China Inland
+Missionaries;
+    servants of;
+    natives trading with;
+    civilizing influence of
+Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan
+Mohammedan hunter
+Mohammedan war
+Mole
+Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to
+Money, carrying of;
+    transmitting of
+Monkey
+Monkey temple
+Moose
+Morgan, Cordelia
+Mosos;
+    description of;
+    capes worn by
+Motion pictures;
+    developing of
+Mountain goat
+"Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from
+Mouse (_Micromys_)
+Moving picture film
+Mu-cheng
+Muntjac, description of
+Museum authorities
+Mustelidae
+Myitkyina district
+
+_Naemorhedus griseus_
+Nam-ka, Shans at;
+    description of;
+    camp at
+Nam-ting River, ferry at;
+    camping at;
+    hunters at;
+    camp on;
+    polecat trapped at;
+    monkeys, hunting at;
+    hornbill, seen at;
+    monkeys found at;
+    Shans seen at;
+    caravan crossed
+_Namur_, S.S.
+Natives;
+    inaccuracy of
+New York, return to
+Ngu-cheng
+Non-Chinese tribes
+North America
+Northern soldiers
+Northern troops
+
+Opium;
+    growing of;
+    inspection of;
+    scandal;
+    smuggling of;
+    smoking of
+Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted
+
+Pack saddle, description of
+Pack, weight of
+Page, Howard
+Paget color plates
+Pagoda Anchorage
+Paik-hoi;
+    leper hospital at
+Palaungs
+Palmer, Mr.
+Pandas, coats of
+Pangolin, scales of
+Parrots
+Partridges, bamboo
+Passports
+_Pavo cristatus_
+_Pavo munticus_
+Peacock, black-shouldered
+Peacock, hunting of;
+    habits of;
+    eggs of;
+    domestication of
+Peacock, Indian
+Peafowl, killed on Salween River;
+    flesh of
+Peking
+_Petaruista yunnanensis_
+Phasiandae
+Pheasants, shooting of;
+    Lady Amherst's;
+    silver;
+    horned
+Phete;
+    country about;
+    natives of
+Photographic work
+Photographs in natural colors
+Photography, cinematograph
+Pigeons
+Pigs, killing of;
+    wild;
+    treatment of
+Pin-tail
+Pleistocene
+Pocock, Mr.
+Polecat
+Polo, Marco;
+    quoted
+Poppy blossoms
+Poppy fields
+Porcupine, description of
+Portable dark room
+Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel
+P'u-erh
+_Pygathrix_ (monkeys)
+
+Railroad, Hanoi to Yün-nan;
+    description of
+Rain, last of the season
+Rainey, Paul J.
+Rangoon
+_Ratufa gigantea_
+Rebellion of 1913
+Reinsch, Hon. Paul
+Republic
+Rhododendrons
+Rice
+Rice fields
+Rifle, Mannlicher;
+    Savage;
+    Winchester
+Riot in Shanghai
+Roads, descriptions of
+Rocky Mountain sheep
+Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore
+_Rupicapra_
+Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of
+
+Salt, preparation of
+Salween River;
+    heat of
+Sambur;
+    hunting of;
+    blood of
+Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General
+Sampans, first night in
+San Francisco
+Scandinavian steamer
+Schools for native girls
+Sclater, Mr.
+Screaming, Chinese habit of
+Sedan chairs
+Serows;
+    hunt for;
+    habits of;
+    hunting for;
+    description of;
+    color variation of;
+    Japanese;
+    difference from gorals;
+    horns of;
+    relationship of;
+    appearance of;
+    killed on Snow Mountain;
+    obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping;
+    distribution of;
+    habits of;
+    weight of;
+    hunting of at Hui-yao
+Servants, wages of
+Shanghai;
+    riot in
+Shans;
+    description of village of;
+    houses of;
+    heavily tattooed;
+    tribes of;
+    description of
+Sheldrakes
+Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by
+Shia-chai
+Shie-tien;
+    bird life at;
+    natives, curiosity of
+Shih-ku ferry
+Shoverling, Daly & Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by
+Shrew
+Shwelie River
+Singapore
+Slave raiding
+Smith, Arthur H., quoted
+Snow Mountain, camp at;
+    traveling to;
+    description of hunters at;
+    mammalogy of;
+    camp on slopes of;
+    mammals collected at;
+    serows killed on
+Soldiers, guard of;
+    guns of;
+    expense of;
+    use of;
+    treatment by natives of;
+    fight with;
+    extortions of
+South America
+Specimens, packing of
+Squirrel, flying (_Petaurista yunnanensis_);
+    _Ratufa gigantea_;
+    red-bellied (_Callosciurus erythraeus_)
+S'suchuan Province
+S'su-mao
+Standard Oil Co.;
+    launch of
+Su Ek
+Sun-birds
+_Sung-kiang_, S.S.
+
+Tablets, ancestral, description of
+Tai-ping-pu
+Taku
+Taku ferry
+Ta-li Fu;
+    soldiers guard to;
+    road to;
+    graves at;
+    lake at;
+    mandarin at;
+    pagodas at
+Ta-li Fu Lake, description of
+_Tamiops macclellandi_
+Taoist temple
+_Tao-tai_
+Tartars
+Temple, camp in
+Teng-yueh;
+    return to
+Tents
+_Tenyo Maru_
+Thompson, Dr.
+Tibet;
+    monopoly of gold in
+Tibetan plateaus
+Tibetans, description of;
+    photographing of;
+    dislike for strangers of;
+    influence of Chinese on
+Tiger;
+    man-eating;
+    lairs of;
+    stalking a goat;
+    habits of;
+    daring of;
+    strength of;
+    excitement of hunting;
+    weight of;
+    blood of;
+    skins in temples of;
+    food of;
+    hunting in lair of;
+    flesh and bones of;
+    marking trees by;
+    skins of
+Tiger, blue;
+    description of;
+    hunting of;
+    trying to trap
+Tonking
+Tragopan, Temmick's
+Transportation, difficulties of
+Trapping, methods of
+Traps, steel;
+    method of setting
+Trees, marking of, by tiger
+Tribes, non-Chinese, description of
+Trimble, Dr.;
+    house of
+Trowbridge, Captain Harry
+Tsai-ao, General
+_Tsamba_
+Tsang mountains
+Tsinan-fu
+_Tupaia belangeri chinensis_
+
+United States
+Universal Camera
+_Ursus tibetanus_
+
+Vegetarians
+_Viverra_
+Viverridae
+Vochang
+Vole
+Von Hintze, Admiral
+
+Wapiti
+War, Mohammedan
+Was
+Waterhole
+Wa-tien
+Wei-hsi
+White Water;
+    camp at;
+    weather at
+Wild boar
+Wilden, Henry M., French Consul
+Wolves
+Woman's college at Foochow
+Women, position of, in China
+Worship, ancestor
+Wu-Hung-tao, interpreter
+
+_Yamen_
+Yangtze River;
+    road to;
+    crossing of;
+    barrier to mammals
+Yangtze gorge, description of
+Yen-ping;
+    climate of;
+    description of;
+    residence of Mr. Caldwell at;
+    Methodist Mission at;
+    trapping at;
+    rebellion in;
+    refugees from;
+    fighting in;
+    attacked by rebels in;
+    wounded in;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    Chinese wedding at;
+    missionary buildings of
+Yokohama
+Yuan
+Yuan-Shi-kai;
+    death of
+Yuchi;
+    brigands at
+
+Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at;
+    road to;
+    water buffaloes at;
+    battle at
+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road
+Yün-nan;
+    size of;
+    topography of;
+    boundaries of;
+    fauna of;
+    natives of;
+    language of;
+    infested with brigands;
+    zoölogical study of;
+    meaning of;
+    summer climate of
+Yün-nan Fu;
+    foreign residents of;
+    foreign office at;
+    Dr. Thompson's hospital at
+
+Zoölogical Garden, Berlin
+Zoölogical Park, Calcutta
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Camps and Trails in China
+       A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China
+
+Author: Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+Release Date: May 7, 2004 [EBook #12296]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Paul Hollander, Christopher Lund and PG Distributed
+Proofreaders
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: OUR CAMP ON THE SNOW MOUNTAIN
+AT AN ALTITUDE OF 12,000 FEET]
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA
+
+BY
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.
+
+ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND
+LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOOeLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917; FELLOW
+NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER ZOOeLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
+LONDON, MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON; AUTHOR OF 'WHALE
+HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA'
+
+AND
+
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOOeLOGICAL EXPEDITION
+
+1918
+
+
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN AS AN EXPRESSION
+OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION
+
+
+"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
+Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
+There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
+And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
+
+--_Service_.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the Asiatic
+Zooelogical Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History to China in
+1916-17. Details of a purely scientific nature have been condensed, or
+eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our experiences with the
+strange natives and animals of a remote and little known region in the hope
+that the book will be interesting to the general reader.
+
+The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon the technical
+reports of its work which will be published in due course by the American
+Museum of Natural History. To these reports we would refer those readers
+who desire more complete information concerning the results of our
+researches. At the time the manuscript of this volume was sent to press the
+collections were still undergoing preparation and the study of the
+different groups had just begun.
+
+Although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his
+collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all the
+illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been made of
+her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in reference
+work and in numerous other ways.
+
+The information concerning the relationships and distribution of the native
+tribes of Yuen-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference work by
+Major H.R. Davies and we have followed his spelling of Chinese names.
+
+Parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the _American
+Museum Journal, Harper's Magazine_, and _Asia_ and to the editors of the
+above publications our acknowledgments are due.
+
+That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative collection of
+small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts of Mr. Edmund
+Heller, our companion in the field. He worked tirelessly in the care and
+preservation of the specimens, and the fact that they reached New York in
+excellent condition is, in itself, the best testimony to the skill and
+thoroughness with which they were prepared.
+
+Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely to the success of
+the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic devotion to our interests and
+his tact and resourcefulness under trying circumstances won our lasting
+gratitude and affectionate regard.
+
+The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among
+the most memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest
+gratitude to the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, and
+especially to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, whose enthusiastic
+endorsement and loyal support made the Expedition possible. Director F.A.
+Lucas, Dr. J.A. Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in
+furthering our interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
+
+To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions materially
+assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we wish to acknowledge our
+great personal indebtedness as well as that of the Museum; Mr. and Mrs.
+Charles L. Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Messrs. George
+Bowdoin, Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford, Henry C. Frick, Childs Frick,
+and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
+
+The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the
+following gentlemen, without whose cooeperation it would have been
+impossible to have carried on the work successfully. Their services have
+been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book: The Director
+of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs of the Province of Yuen-nan; M. Georges
+Chemin Dupontes, Director de l'Exploration de la Compagnie Francaise des
+Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yuen-nan, Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry
+Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai; M. Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong;
+Mr. Howard Page, Standard Oil Co., Yuen-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch,
+Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the Chinese Republic,
+Mr. J.V.A. McMurray, First Secretary of the American Legation, Peking; Mr.
+H.G. Evans, British-American Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna,
+Ta-li Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chang Fu; Ralph Grierson, Esq., Teng-yueh;
+Herbert Goffe, Esq., H.B.M. Consul General, Yuen-nan Fu; Messrs. C.R.
+Kellogg, and H.W. Livingstone, Foochow, China; the General Passenger Agent,
+Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.R. Caldwell,
+Yenping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript and who through his
+criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long experience in China.
+
+To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger we wish to express
+our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the preparation
+of the volume.
+
+ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS
+YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
+
+JUSTAMERE HOME,
+_Lawrence Park,
+Bronxville, N.Y._
+
+_May 10, 1917._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The importance of the scientific exploration of Central Asia--The region
+which the Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition investigated--Personnel of the
+Expedition--Equipment--Applicants for positions upon the Expedition
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our arrival
+in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral von Hintze, the German
+Minister--_En route_ to Shanghai--Death of Yuan Shi-kai
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The Min River--Our
+first night in a _sampan_--Miss Mabel Hartford--Brigands at
+Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at Yen-ping
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment house
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation in the
+city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded men at the hospital--We do Red
+Cross work--More fighting--A Chinese puzzle--The missionaries save the
+city--The narrow escape of a young Chinese--The mission cook--Return to
+Foochow
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+HUNTING THE GREAT INVISIBLE
+
+Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first tiger--Habits of
+tigers--Experiences with the Great Invisible--Killing a man eater--Chinese
+superstitions--Hunting in the lair
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first view of the
+beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck with the tiger--A meeting in
+the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life at the temple--Fukien Province as a
+collecting ground
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's life in
+the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A Chinese wedding
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+VOYAGING TO YUeN-NAN
+
+Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--_En route_ to Tonking--The
+Island of Hainan--We engage a cook at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss
+of our Ammunition--Hanoi--The railroad to Yuen-nan Fu--Yuen-nan--The Chinese
+Foreign Office endorses our plans
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+Our caravan--The Yuen-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
+_mafus_--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese scholar--New
+mammals--Village life--Opium growing--An opium scandal--Goitre--The
+Chinese "Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss Morgan--Brigands--Our guard
+of soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr. H.G.
+Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese mandarins--Mammals at Ta-li--Caravan
+horses and mules--The cook becomes ill
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+LI-CHIANG, AND THE "TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The surprise of the
+foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small mammals--The Moso
+natives--Customs--The Snow Mountain--Baron Haendel-Mazzetti
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Cross-bows and poisoned arrows--Dogs--A
+porcupine--New mammals--We find a new camp on the mountain
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small mammals--The
+second goral
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material for a
+Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two gorals--A crested muntjac
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading dog--Rain--Two more
+serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of Yuen-nan
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Our new camp--A serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial ceremony--Ancestor
+worship
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view of the
+gorge--The Taku ferry--Caves
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
+mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid inhabitants--Strange
+natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving with the Lolos
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing frightened
+natives--Reason for suspicion
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The Shih-ku
+ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A well-deserved beating--Chinese soldiers
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties in the
+valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The salt wells--A snow covered
+pass--Duck shooting--Return to Ta-li Fu
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yuen-nan
+Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary exile--Medical
+missionaries--A missionary's experience with the brigands at Yuchi
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants of the
+city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
+cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical valley at
+Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid camp--Many new mammals--Preparing
+specimens--Sambur--Trapping
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE: OF MANY TONGUES
+
+The first Shan village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The Shan
+mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing under
+difficulties--Suppression of opium growing
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
+fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Strange calls in the jungle--Our first gibbons--Relationship and
+habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the jungle
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan
+tribe--Dress
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+Y.B.A.
+
+The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The _mafus_
+rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding the border--Life at Ma-li-pa
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+The valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker stalked--Habits
+of peafowls
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping on a
+mountain pass--Gibbons--An exciting hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the
+"hoolock"
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+TENG-YUEH: A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr.
+Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+Monkeys at Hui-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move camp to Wa-tien--A fine
+sambur
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of the Expedition--On
+the road to Bhamo--The chair coolies--Burma _vs._ China--In civilization
+again--Farewell to the Orient
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet.
+
+Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yuen-nan squirrel
+Edmund Heller
+Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral
+
+A Chinese hunter and a muntjac
+Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion
+
+The Ling-suik monastery
+A priest of Ling-suik
+
+A Chinese mother with her children
+Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet
+
+Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yuen-nan Fu
+Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu
+
+The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+The dead of China
+
+The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li-Fu
+The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu
+
+One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu
+
+A Moso herder
+A Moso woman
+
+The Snow Mountain
+
+A cheek gun used by one of our hunters
+The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain
+
+Hotenfa, one of our Moso hunters, bringing in a goral
+Another Moso hunter with a porcupine
+
+A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain
+
+A serow killed on the Snow Mountain
+The head of a serow
+
+The "white water"
+
+A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel
+The chief of our Lolo hunters
+
+A Lolo village
+Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time
+
+Travelers in the Mekong valley
+Two Tibetans
+
+The gorge of the Yangtze River
+
+A quiet curve of the Mekong River
+
+The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu
+A crested muntjac
+
+The south gate at Yung-chang
+A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's
+
+A Chinese patriarch
+Young China
+
+A Shan village
+A Shan woman spinning
+
+A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting
+One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons
+
+Our camp on the Nam-ting River
+The Shan village at Nam-ka
+
+The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River
+A civet
+
+A Shan girl
+A Shan boy
+
+A suspension bridge
+Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs
+
+A sambur killed at Wa-tien
+The head of a muntjac
+
+A mountain chair
+The waterfall at Teng-Yueh
+
+MAP I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition
+
+MAP II. Route of the Expedition in Yuen-nan
+
+
+
+
+
+CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
+
+The earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere in
+the vast plateau of Central Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains. From
+this region came the successive invasions that poured into Europe from the
+east, to India from the north, and to China from the west; the migration
+route to North America led over the Bering Strait and spread fanwise south
+and southeast to the farthest extremity of South America. The Central Asian
+plateau at the beginning of the Pleistocene was probably less arid than it
+is today and there is reason to believe that this general region was not
+only the distributing center of man but also of many of the forms of
+mammalian life which are now living in other parts of the world. For
+instance, our American moose, the wapiti or elk, Rocky Mountain sheep, the
+so-called mountain goat, and other animals are probably of Central Asian
+origin.
+
+Doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive wanderings
+of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters, one of the most
+important must have been the movements of the game upon which they lived.
+Therefore the study of the early human races is, necessarily, closely
+connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of the Central Asian
+mammalian life and its distribution. No systematic palaeontological,
+archaeological, or zooelogical study of this region on a large scale has
+ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of the inhabited surface
+of the earth about which so little is known.
+
+The American Museum of Natural History hopes in the near future to conduct
+extensive explorations in this part of the world along general scientific
+lines. The country itself and its inhabitants, however, present unusual
+obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the region one of vast
+intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the earth, but the climate is
+too cold in winter to permit of continuous work. The people have a natural
+dislike for foreigners, and the political events of the last half century
+have not tended to decrease their suspicions.
+
+It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for extensive
+research must be carefully prepared. One of the most important steps is the
+sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain a general knowledge of the
+natives and fauna and of the conditions to be encountered. For the first
+reconnoissance, which was intended to be largely a mammalian survey, the
+Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition left New York in March, 1916.
+
+Its destination was Yuen-nan, a province in southwestern China. This is one
+of the least known parts of the Chinese Republic and, because of its
+southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and faunal range
+is very great. It is about equal in size to the state of California and
+topographically might be likened to the ocean in a furious gale, for the
+greater part of its surface has been thrown into vast mountain waves which
+divide and cross one another in hopeless confusion.
+
+Yuen-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and S'suchuan, on the west by
+Burma, on the south by Tonking, and on the east by Kwei-chau Province.
+Faunistically the entire northwestern part of Yuen-nan is essentially
+Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of 8,000
+feet to 20,000 feet above sea level. In the south and west along the
+borders of Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys, the
+climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as the
+fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in the
+north.
+
+The natives of Yuen-nan are exceptionally interesting. There are about
+thirty non-Chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the Shans
+and Lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it is safe to
+say that in no similar area of the world is there such a variety of
+language and dialects as in this region.
+
+Although the main work of the Expedition was to be conducted in Yuen-nan, we
+decided to spend a short time in Fukien Province, China, and endeavor to
+obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which has been seen twice
+by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary and amateur naturalist, who
+has done much hunting in the vicinity of Foochow.
+
+The white members of the first Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition included Mr.
+Edmund Heller, my wife (Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A Chinese
+interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten muleteers,
+completed the personnel.
+
+Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His early work, which was
+done in the western United States and the Galapagos Islands, was followed
+by many years of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America, and Africa.
+He first visited British East Africa with Mr. Carl E. Akeley, next with
+ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and again with Mr. Paul J. Rainey. During
+the Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition Mr. Heller devoted most of his time to
+the gathering and preparation of small mammals. He joined our party late in
+July in China.
+
+Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition. She had studied
+photography as an amateur in Germany, France, and Italy, as well as in New
+York, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of photographs in
+natural colors. Such work requires infinite care and patience, but the
+results are well worth the efforts expended.
+
+Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and studied English at the
+Anglo-Chinese College in that city. He lived for some time in Teng-yueh,
+Yuen-nan, in the employ of Mr. F.W. Carey, Commissioner of Customs, and not
+only speaks mandarin Chinese but also several native dialects. He acted as
+interpreter, head "boy," and general field manager. My own work was devoted
+mainly to the direction of the Expedition and the hunting of big game.
+
+In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased only such
+equipment in New York as could not be obtained in Shanghai or Hongkong.
+Messrs. Shoverling, Daly & Gales furnished our guns, ammunition, tents, and
+general camp equipment, and gave excellent satisfaction in attention to the
+minor details which often assume alarming importance when an expedition is
+in the field and defects cannot be remedied. All food and commissary
+supplies were purchased in Hongkong (_see_ Chapter IX).
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the announcement of the Expedition was made by the American Museum of
+Natural History it received wide publicity in America and other parts of
+the world. Immediately we began to discover how many strange persons make
+up the great cities of the United States, and we received letters and
+telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take part in the
+Expedition. Men and boys were the principal applicants, but there was no
+lack of women, many of whom came to the Museum for personal interviews.
+
+Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. One was from a butcher
+who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our specimens, or
+defending us from savage natives; another young man offered himself to my
+wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure his twenty years' experience
+as a waiter would fit him for an important position on the Expedition, and
+numerous women, young and old, wished to become "companions" for my wife in
+those "drear wastes."
+
+Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way across
+the continent and in San Francisco until we embarked on the afternoon of
+March 28 on the S.S. _Tenyo Maru_ for Japan.
+
+Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel drew in
+toward the wharf in Yokohama she was boarded by the usual crowd of natives.
+We were standing at the rail when three Japanese approached and, bowing in
+unison, said, "We are report for leading Japanese newspaper. We wish to
+know all thing about Chinese animal." Evidently the speech had been
+rehearsed, for with it their English ended abruptly, and the interview
+proceeded rather lamely, on my part, in Japanese.
+
+Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for a
+person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise. We
+stayed three weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea. But
+before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would like
+briefly to review the political situation in China as a background for our
+early work in the province of Fukien.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+CHINA IN TURMOIL
+
+During the time the Expedition was preparing to leave New York, China was
+in turmoil. Yuan Shi-kai was president of the Republic, but the hope of his
+heart was to be emperor of China. For twenty years he had plotted for the
+throne; he had been emperor for one hundred miserable days; and now he was
+watching, impotently, his dream-castles crumble beneath his feet. Yuan was
+the strong man of his day, with more power, brains, and personality than
+any Chinese since Li-Hung Chang. He always had been a factor in his
+political world. His monarchial dream first took definite form as early as
+1901 when he became viceroy of Chi-li, the province in which Peking is
+situated.
+
+It was then that he began to modernize and get control of the army which is
+the great basis of political power in China. Properly speaking, there was
+not, and is not now, a Chinese national army. It is rather a collection of
+armies, each giving loyalty to a certain general, and he who secures the
+support of the various commanders controls the destiny of China's four
+hundred millions of people regardless of his official title.
+
+Yuan was able to bind to himself the majority of the leading generals, and
+in 1911, when the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, his plots and intrigues
+began to bear fruit. By crafty juggling of the rebels and Manchus he
+managed to get himself elected president of the new republic, although he
+did not for a moment believe in the republican form of government. He was
+always a monarchist at heart but was perfectly willing to declare himself
+an ardent republican so long as such a declaration could be used as a
+stepping stone to the throne which he kept ever as his ultimate goal.
+
+As president he ruled with a high hand. In 1913 there was a rebellion in
+protest against his official acts but he defeated the rebels, won over more
+of the older generals, and solidified the army for his own interests,
+making himself stronger than ever before.
+
+At this time he might well have made a _coup d'etat_ and proclaimed himself
+emperor with hardly a shadow of resistance, but with the hereditary caution
+of the Chinese he preferred to wait and plot and scheme. He wanted his
+position to be even more secure and to have it appear that he reluctantly
+accepted the throne as a patriotic duty at the insistent call of the
+people.
+
+Yuan's ways for producing the proper public sentiment were typically
+Chinese but entirely effective, and he was making splendid progress, when
+in May, 1915, Japan put a spoke in his wheel of fortune by taking advantage
+of the European war and presenting the historical twenty-one demands, to
+most of which China agreed.
+
+This delayed his plans only temporarily, and Yuan's agents pushed the work
+of making him emperor more actively than ever, with the result that the
+throne was tendered to him by the "unanimous vote of the people." To "save
+his face" he declined at first but at the second offer he "reluctantly"
+yielded and on December 12, 1915, became emperor of China.
+
+But his triumph was short-lived, for eight days later tidings of unrest in
+Yuen-nan reached Peking. General Tsai-ao, a former military governor of the
+province, appeared in Yuen-nan Fu, the capital, and, on December 23, sent an
+ultimatum to Yuan stating that he must repudiate the monarchy and execute
+all those who had assisted him to gain the throne, otherwise Yuen-nan would
+secede; which it forthwith did on December 25.
+
+Without doubt this rebellion was financed by the Japanese who had intimated
+to Yuan that the change from a republican form of government would not meet
+with their approval. The rebellion spread rapidly. On January 21, Kwei-chau
+Province, which adjoins Yuen-nan, seceded, and, on March 13, Kwang-si also
+announced its independence.
+
+About this time the Museum authorities were becoming somewhat doubtful as
+to the advisability of proceeding with our Expedition. We had a long talk
+with Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese Minister to the United States, at the
+Biltmore Hotel in New York. Dr. Koo, while certain that the rebellion would
+be short-lived, strongly advised us to postpone our expedition until
+conditions became more settled. He offered to cable Peking for advice, but
+we, knowing how unwelcome to the government of the harassed Yuan would be a
+party of foreigners who wished to travel in the disturbed area, gratefully
+declined and determined to proceed regardless of conditions. We hoped that
+Yuan would be strong enough to crush this rebellion as he had that of 1913,
+but day by day, as we anxiously watched the papers, there came reports of
+other provinces dropping away from his standard.
+
+On the _Tenyo Maru_ we met the Honorable Charles Denby, an ex-American
+Consul-General at Shanghai and former adviser to Yuan Shi-kai when he was
+viceroy of Chi-li. Mr. Denby was interested in obtaining a road concession
+near Peking and was then on his way to see Yuan. His anxiety over the
+political situation was not less than ours and together we often paced the
+decks discussing what might happen; but every wireless report told of more
+desertions to the ranks of the rebels.
+
+It seemed to be the beginning of the end, for Yuan had lost his nerve. He
+had decided to quit, and one hundred days after he became emperor elect he
+issued a mandate canceling the monarchy and restoring the republic. But the
+rebellious provinces were not satisfied and demanded that he get out
+altogether.
+
+About this time we reached Peking, literally blown in by a tremendous dust
+storm which seemed an elemental manifestation of the human turmoil within
+the grim old walls. Our cousin, Commander Thomas Hutchins, Naval Attache of
+the American Legation, was awaiting us on the platform, holding his hat
+with one hand and wiping the dust from his eyes with the other.
+
+The news we received from him was by no means comforting for in the
+Legation pessimism reigned supreme. The American Minister, Dr. Reinsch, was
+not enthusiastic about our going south regardless of conditions, but
+nevertheless he set about helping us to obtain the necessary vise for our
+passports.
+
+We wished first to go to Foochow, in Fukien Province, where we were to hunt
+tiger until Mr. Heller joined us in July for the expedition into Yuen-nan.
+Fukien was still loyal to Yuan, but the strong Japanese influence in this
+province, which is directly opposite the island of Formosa, was causing
+considerable uneasiness in Peking.
+
+We were armed with telegrams from Mr. C.R. Kellogg, of the Anglo-Chinese
+College, with whom we were to stay while in Foochow, assuring us that all
+was quiet in the province, and through the influence of Dr. Reinsch, the
+Chinese Foreign Office vised our passports. The huge red stamp which was
+affixed to them was an amusing example of Chinese "face saving." First came
+the seal of Yuan's impotent dynasty of Hung Hsien, signifying "Brilliant
+Prosperity," and directly upon it was placed the stamp of the Chinese
+Republic. One was almost as legible as the other and thus the Foreign
+Office saved its face in whichever direction the shifting cards of
+political destiny should fall.
+
+At a luncheon given by Dr. Reinsch at the Embassy in Peking, we met Admiral
+von Hintze, the German Minister, who had recently completed an adventurous
+trip from Germany to China. He was Minister to Mexico at the beginning of
+the war but had returned to Berlin incognito through England to ask the
+Kaiser for active sea service. The Emperor was greatly elated over von
+Hintze's performance and offered him the appointment of Minister to China
+if he could reach Peking in the same way that he had traveled to Berlin.
+Von Hintze therefore shipped as supercargo on a Scandinavian tramp steamer
+and arrived safely at Shanghai, where he assumed all the pomp of a foreign
+diplomat and proceeded to the capital.
+
+The Americans were in a rather difficult position at this time because of
+the international complications, and social intercourse was extremely
+limited. Dinner guests had to be chosen with the greatest care and one was
+very likely to meet exactly the same people wherever one went.
+
+Peking is a place never to be forgotten by one who has shared its social
+life. In the midst of one of the most picturesque, most historical, and
+most romantic cities of the world there is a cosmopolitan community that
+enjoys itself to the utmost. Its talk is all of horses, polo, racing,
+shooting, dinners, and dances, with the interesting background of Chinese
+politics, in which things are never dull. There is always a rebellion of
+some kind to furnish delightful thrills, and one never can tell when a new
+political bomb will be projected from the mysterious gates of the Forbidden
+City.
+
+We spent a week in Peking and regretfully left by rail for Shanghai. _En
+route_ we passed through Tsinan-fu where the previous night serious
+fighting had occurred in which Japanese soldiers had joined with the rebels
+against Yuan's troops. On every side there was evidence of Japan's efforts
+against him. In the foreign quarter of Shanghai just behind the residence
+of Mr. Sammons, the American Consul-General, one of Yuan's leading officers
+had been openly murdered, and Japanese were directly concerned in the plot.
+We were told that it was very difficult at that time to lease houses in the
+foreign concession because wealthy Chinese who feared the wrath of one
+party or the other were eager to pay almost any rent to obtain the
+protection of that quarter of the city.
+
+A short time later it became known to a few that Yuan was seriously ill. He
+was suffering from Bright's disease with its consequent weakness, loss of
+mental alertness, and lack of concentration. French doctors were called in,
+but Yuan's wives insisted upon treating him with concoctions of their own,
+and on June 6, shortly after three o'clock in the morning, he died.
+
+Even on his death-bed Yuan endeavored to save his face before the country,
+and his last words were a reiteration of what he knew no one believed. The
+story of his death is told in the _China Press_ of June 7, 1916:
+
+    According to news from the President's palace the condition of Yuan
+    became critical at three o'clock in the morning. Yuan asked for his old
+    confidential friend, Hsu Shih-chang, who came immediately. On the
+    arrival of Hsu, Yuan was extremely weak, but entirely conscious.
+
+    With tears in his eyes, Yuan assured his old friend that he had never
+    had any personal ambition for an emperor's crown; he had been deceived
+    by his _entourage_ over the true state of public opinion and thus had
+    sincerely believed the people wished for the restoration of the
+    monarchy. The desire of the South for his resignation he had not wished
+    to follow for fear that general anarchy would break out all over China.
+    Now that he felt death approaching he asked Hsu to make his last words
+    known to the public.
+
+    In the temporary residence of President Li Yuan-hung, situated in the
+    Yung-chan-hu-tung (East City) and formerly owned by Yang Tu, the
+    prominent monarchist, the formal transfer of the power to Li-Yuan-hung
+    took place this morning at ten o'clock. Yuan Chi-jui, Secretary of
+    State and Premier, as well as all the members of the cabinet, Prince Pu
+    Lun as chairman of the State Council, and other high officials were
+    present.
+
+    The officials, wearing ceremonial dress, were received by Li-Yuan-hung
+    in the main hall and made three bows to the new president, which were
+    returned by the latter. The same ceremony will take place at two
+    o'clock, when all the high military officials will assemble at the
+    President's residence.
+
+    The Cabinet, in a circular telegram has informed all the provinces that
+    Vice-President Li-Yuan-hung, in accordance with the constitution, has
+    become president of the Chinese Republic (Chung-hua-min-kuo) from the
+    seventh instance.
+
+So ended Yuan Shi-kai's great plot to make himself an emperor over four
+hundred millions of people, a plot which could only have been carried out
+in China. He failed, and the once valiant warrior died in the humiliation
+of defeat, leaving thirty-two wives, forty children and his country in
+political chaos.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+UP THE MIN RIVER
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+Three days after leaving Shanghai we arrived at Pagoda Anchorage at the
+mouth of the Min River, twelve miles from Foochow.
+
+We boarded a launch which threaded its way through a fleet of picturesque
+fishing vessels, each one of which had a round black and white eye painted
+on its crescent-shaped bow. When asked the reason for this decoration a
+Chinese on the launch looked at us rather pityingly for a moment and then
+said: "No have eye. No can see." How simple and how entirely satisfactory!
+
+The instant the launch touched the shore dozens of coolies swarmed like
+flies over it, fighting madly for our luggage. One seized a trunk, the
+other end of which had been appropriated by another man and, in the
+argument which ensued, each endeavored to deafen the other by his screams.
+The habit of yelling to enforce command is inherent with the Chinese and
+appears to be ineradicable. To expostulate in an ordinary tone of voice,
+pausing to listen to his opponent's reply, seems a psychological
+impossibility.
+
+There had been a mistake about the date of our arrival at Foochow, and we
+were two days earlier than we had been expected, so that Mr. C.R. Kellogg,
+of the Anglo-Chinese College, with whom we were to stay, was not on the
+jetty to meet us. We were at a loss to know where to turn amidst the chaos
+and confusion until a customs officer took us in charge and, judiciously
+selecting a competent looking woman from among the screaming multitude,
+told her to get two sedan chairs and coolies to carry our luggage. She
+disappeared and ten minutes later the chairs arrived. Dashing about among
+the crowd in front of us, she chose the baggage for such men as met with
+her approval and after the usual amount of argument the loads were taken.
+
+We mounted our chairs and started off with apparently all Foochow following
+us. As far as we could see down the narrow street were the heads and
+shoulders of our porters. We felt as if we were heading an invading army
+as, with our thirty-three coolies and sixteen hundred pounds of luggage, we
+descended upon the homes of people whom we did not know and who were not
+expecting us. But our sudden arrival did not disturb the Kelloggs and our
+welcome was typical of the warm hospitality one always finds in the Far
+East.
+
+No matter how long one has lived in China one remains in a condition of
+mental suspense unable to decide which is the filthiest city of the
+Republic. The residents of Foochow boast that for offensiveness to the
+senses no town can compare with theirs, and although Amoy and several other
+places dispute this questionable title, we were inclined to grant it
+unreservedly to Foochow. It is like a medieval city with its narrow,
+ill-paved streets wandering aimlessly in a hopeless maze. They are usually
+roofed over so that by no accident can a ray of purifying sun penetrate
+their dark corners. With no ventilation whatsoever the oppressive air reeks
+with the odors that rise from the streets and the steaming houses.
+
+In Foochow, as in other cities of China, the narrow alleys are literally
+choked with every form of industrial obstruction. Countless workmen plant
+themselves in the tiny passageways with the pigs, children, and dogs, and
+women bring their quilts to spread upon the stones. There is a common
+saying that the Chinese do little which is not at some time done on the
+street.
+
+The foreign residents, including consuls of all nationalities,
+missionaries, and merchants, live well out of the city on a hilltop. Their
+houses are built with very high ceilings and bare interiors, and as the
+occupants seldom go into the city except in a sedan chair and have
+"punkahs" waving day and night, life is made possible during the intense
+heat of summer.
+
+A telegram was awaiting us from the Reverend Harry Caldwell, with whom we
+were to hunt, asking us to come to his station two hundred miles up the
+river, and we passed two sweltering days repacking our outfit while Mr.
+Kellogg scoured the country for an English-speaking cook.
+
+One middle-aged gentleman presented himself, but when he learned that we
+were going "up country," he shook his head with an assumption of great
+filial devotion and said that he did not think his mother would let him go.
+Another was afraid the sun might be too hot. Finally on the eve of our
+departure we engaged a stuttering Chinese who assured us that he was a
+remarkable cook and exceptionally honest.
+
+If you have never heard a Chinaman stutter you have something to live for,
+and although we discovered that our cook was a shameless rascal he was
+worth all he extracted in "squeeze," for whenever he attempted to utter a
+word we became almost hysterical. He sounded exactly like a worn-out
+phonograph record buzzing on a single note, and when he finally did manage
+to articulate, his "pidgin" English in itself was screamingly funny.
+
+One day he came to the _sampan_ proudly displaying a piece of beef and,
+after a series of vocal gymnastics, eventually succeeded in shouting:
+"Missie, this meat no belong die-cow. Die-cow not so handsome." Which meant
+that this particular piece of beef was not from an animal which had died
+from disease.
+
+The first stage of our trip began before daylight. We rode in four-man
+sedan chairs, followed by a long procession of heavily laden coolies with
+our cameras, duffle-sacks, and pack baskets. The road lay through green
+rice fields between terraced mountains, and we jogged along first on the
+crest of a hill, then in the valley, passing dilapidated temples with the
+paint flaking off and picturesque little huts half hidden in the reeds of
+the winding river. It was a relief to get into the country again after
+passing down the narrow village streets and to breathe fresh air perfumed
+with honeysuckle.
+
+A passenger launch makes the trip to Cui-kau at the beginning of the
+rapids, but it leaves at two o'clock in the morning and is literally
+crowded to overflowing with evil-smelling Chinese who sprawl over every
+available inch of deck space, so that even the missionaries strongly
+advised us against taking it. The passengers not infrequently are pushed
+off into the water. One of the missionaries witnessed an incident which
+illustrates in a typical way the total lack of sympathy of the average
+Chinese.
+
+A coolie on the Cui-kau launch accidentally fell overboard, and although a
+friend was able to grasp his hand and hold him above the surface, no one
+offered to help him; the launch continued at full speed, and finally
+weakening, the poor man loosed his hold and sank. This is by no means an
+isolated case. Some years ago a foreign steamer was burned on the Yangtze
+River, and the crowds of watching Chinese did little or nothing to rescue
+the passengers and crew. Indeed, as fast as they made their way to shore
+many of them were robbed even of their clothing and some were murdered
+outright.
+
+Our first day on the Min River was the most luxurious of the entire
+Expedition, for we were fortunate in obtaining the Standard Oil Company's
+launch through the kindness of Mr. Livingston, their agent. It was large
+and roomy, and the trip, which would have been worse than disagreeable on
+the public boat, was most delightful. The Min is one of the most beautiful
+rivers of all China with its velvet green mountains rising a thousand feet
+or more straight up from the water and often terraced to the summits.
+
+Perched on the bow of our boat was a wizened little gentleman with a
+pigtail wrapped around his head, who said he was a pilot, but as he
+inquired the channel of everyone who passed and ran us aground a dozen
+times or more to the tremendous agitation of our captain, we felt that his
+claim was not entirely justified.
+
+The river life was a fascinating, ever-changing picture. One moment we
+would pass a _sampan_ so loaded with branches that it seemed like a small
+island floating down the stream. Next a huge junk with bamboo-ribbed sails
+projecting at impossible angles drifted by, followed by innumerable smaller
+crafts, the monotonous chant of the boatmen coming faintly over the water
+to us as they passed.
+
+When evening came we had reached Cui-kau. The _sampans_ in which we were to
+spend eight days were drawn up on the beach with twenty or thirty others.
+Right above us was the straggling town looking very much like the rear view
+of tenement houses at home. Darkness blotted out the filth of our
+surroundings but could do nothing to lessen the odors that poured down from
+the village, and we ate our dinner with little relish.
+
+Our beds were spread in the _sampans_ which we shared in common with the
+four river men who formed the crew. There was only a mosquito net to screen
+the end of the boat, but all our surroundings were so strange that this was
+but a minor detail. As we lay in our cots we could look up at the stars
+framed in the half oval of the _sampan's_ roof and listen to the sounds of
+the water life grow fainter and fainter as one by one the river men beached
+their boats for the night. It seemed only a few minutes later when we were
+roused by a rush of water, but it was daylight, and the boats had reached
+the first of the rapids which separated us from Yen-ping, one hundred and
+twenty miles away.
+
+In the late afternoon we arrived at Chang-hu-fan where Mr. Caldwell stood
+on the shore waving his hat to us amidst scores of dirty little children
+and the explosion of countless firecrackers. Wherever we went crackers
+preceded and followed us--for when a Chinese wishes to register extreme
+emotion, either of joy or sorrow, its expression always takes the form of
+firecrackers.
+
+There had been a good deal of persecution of the native Christians in the
+district, and only recently a band of soldiers had strung up the native
+pastor by the thumbs and beaten him senseless. He was our host that night
+and seemed to be a bright, vivacious, little man but quite deaf as a result
+of his cruel treatment. He never recovered and died a few weeks later. Mr.
+Caldwell had come to investigate the affair, for the missionaries are
+invested by the people themselves with a good deal of authority.
+
+We spent that night in the parish house just behind the little church, a
+bare schoolroom being turned over to us for our use, and it seemed very
+luxurious after we had set up our cots, tables, chairs, and bath tub; but
+the house was in the center of the town and the high walls shut out every
+breath of pure air. The barred windows opened on a street hardly six feet
+wide, and while we were preparing for bed there was a buzz of subdued
+whispers outside. We switched on a powerful electric flashlight and there
+stood at least forty men, women and children gazing at us with rapt
+attention, but they melted away before the blinding glare like snow in a
+June sun.
+
+That night was not a pleasant one. The heat was intense, the mosquitoes
+worse, and every dog and cat in the village seemed to choose our court yard
+as a dueling ground in which to settle old scores. The climax was reached
+at four o'clock in the morning, when directly under our windows there came
+a series of ear-splitting squeals followed by a horrible gurgle. The
+neighbors had chosen that particular spot and hour to kill the family pig,
+and the entire process which followed of sousing it in hot water and
+scraping off the hair was accompanied by unceasing chatter. Boiling with
+rage we dressed and went for a walk, vowing not to spend another night in
+the place but to sleep in the _sampans_.
+
+On the whole our river men were nice fellows but they had the love of
+companionship characteristic of all Chinese and the inherent desire to
+huddle together as closely as possible wherever they were. On the way up
+the river to Yuchi every evening they insisted on stopping at some
+foul-smelling village, and it was difficult to induce them to spend the
+night away from a town. Moreover, at our stops for luncheon they would
+invariably ignore a shady spot and choose a sand bank where the sun beat
+down like a blast furnace.
+
+The Chinese never appear to be affected by the sun and go bareheaded at all
+seasons of the year, shading their eyes with one hand or a partly opened
+fan. A fan is the prime requisite, and it is not uncommon to see coolies
+almost devoid of clothing, dragging a heavy load and with the perspiration
+streaming from their naked bodies, energetically fanning themselves
+meanwhile.
+
+Mr. Caldwell was _en route_ to Yuchi, one of his mission stations far up a
+branch of the Min River, and as there was a vague report of tiger in that
+vicinity we joined him instead of proceeding directly to Yen-ping. The
+tiger story was found to be merely a myth, but our trip was made
+interesting by meeting Miss Mabel Hartford, the only foreign resident of
+the place. She has lived in Yuchi for two years and at one time did not see
+a white person for eight months with the exception of Mr. Caldwell who was
+in the vicinity for three days. It requires four weeks to obtain supplies
+from Foochow, there is no telegraph, and mails are very irregular, but she
+enjoys the isolation and is passionately fond of her work.
+
+She has had an interesting life and one not devoid of danger. In 1895 she
+was wounded and barely escaped death in the Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+massacre in which ten women and one man were brutally murdered by a mob of
+fanatic natives known as "Vegetarians." The Chinese Government was required
+to pay a considerable indemnity to Miss Hartford, which she accepted only
+under protest and characteristically devoted to missionary work in Kucheng
+where the massacre occurred.
+
+Conditions at Yuchi when we arrived were most unsettled and for some months
+there had been a veritable "reign of terror." A large band of brigands was
+established in the hills not far from the city, and we were warned by the
+mandarin not to attempt to go farther up the river. A few months earlier
+several companies of soldiers had been sent from Foochow, and the result of
+turning loose these ruffians upon the town was to make "the remedy worse
+than the disease."
+
+The soldiers were continually arresting innocent peasants, accusing them of
+being brigands or aiding the bandits, and shooting them without a hearing.
+At one time accurate information concerning the camp of the robbers was
+received and the soldiers set bravely off, but when within a short distance
+of the brigands the commanders began to quarrel among themselves, guns were
+fired, and the bandits escaped. A Chinaman must always "save his face,"
+however, and when they returned to Yuchi they arrested dozens of people on
+mere suspicion and executed them without the vestige of a trial. Finally
+conditions became so intolerable that no one was safe, and after repeated
+complaints by the missionaries, a new mandarin of a somewhat better type
+was sent to Yuchi.
+
+As it was impossible to do any collecting farther up the river because of
+the bandits, we left for Yen-ping two days after arriving at Yuchi.
+Yen-ping is a wonderfully picturesque old city, situated on a hill at a
+fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and
+loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little use against
+artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less than
+field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover.
+
+The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the very
+summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the four dwelling
+houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's
+residence commands a wonderful view down the river and in the late
+afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and lavender and
+purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.
+
+But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable
+weather. In summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so nearly
+saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except
+over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost as bad in the opposite
+extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but the early fall is said to
+be delightful.
+
+The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces in China, has been
+denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have all been
+planted. This deforestation consequently has driven out the game, and
+except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and gorals, none of
+the large species is left. However, the dense growth of sword grass and the
+thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to
+muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small cats, civets, and other
+Viverines. These animals come to the rice paddys, which fill every valley,
+to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because of
+the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.
+
+We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although we caught a good many
+animals they were almost always stolen together with the traps. We had this
+same difficulty in Yuen-nan as well as in Fukien. None of us had ever seen
+natives in any part of the world who were such unmitigated thieves as the
+Chinese of these two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more abundant
+than the larger ones for the natives wage an unceasing war on those about
+the rice paddys and have exterminated nearly all but a few widely
+distributed forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE
+
+A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went with Mr. Caldwell and his
+son Oliver to a Taoist temple seven miles away in a lonely ravine known as
+Chi-yuen-kang. The walk to the temple in the early morning was delightful.
+The "bamboo chickens" and francolins were calling all about us and on the
+way we shot enough for our first day's dinner. Both these birds are
+abundant in Fukien Province but it is by no means easy to kill them for
+they live in such thick cover that they can only be flushed with
+difficulty.
+
+Early in the morning we frequently heard the francolins crowing in the
+trees or on the top of a hill and when a cock had taken possession of such
+a spot the intrusion of another was almost sure to cause trouble which only
+ended when one of them had been driven off.
+
+For two miles and a half the Big Ravine is a narrow cut between
+perpendicular rock walls thickly clothed to their very summits with bamboo
+and a tangle of thorny vines. In the bottom of the gorge a mountain torrent
+foams among huge bowlders but becomes a gentle, slow moving stream when it
+leaves the cool darkness of the canon to spread itself over the terraced
+rice fields.
+
+About a mile from the entrance two old temples nestle into the hillside.
+One stands just over the water, but the other clings to the rock wall three
+hundred feet above the river, and it was there that we made our camp.
+
+The old priest in charge did not appear especially delighted to see us
+until I slipped a Mexican dollar into his hand--then it was laughable to
+see his change of face. The far end of the balcony was given up to us while
+Mr. Caldwell and Oliver put up their beds at the feet of a grinning idol in
+the main temple.
+
+We had come to Chi-yuen-kang to hunt serow (_see_ Chapter XVII) and had
+brought with us only a few traps for small mammals. Harry had seen several
+serow exhibited for sale on market days in towns along the river, and all
+were reported to have been killed near this ravine. There was a village of
+considerable size at the upper end and here we collected a motley lot of
+beaters with half a dozen dogs to drive the top of a mountain which towered
+about two thousand five hundred feet above the river.
+
+Never will we forget that climb! We tried to start at daylight but it was
+well toward six o'clock before we got our men together. A Chinaman would
+drive an impatient man to apoplexy and an early grave for it is well-nigh
+impossible to get him started within an hour of the appointed time, and
+with a half dozen the difficulty is multiplied as many times. Just when you
+think all is ready and that there can be no possible reason for delaying
+longer, the whole crowd will disappear suddenly and you discover that they
+have gone for "chow." Then you know that the end is really in sight, for
+chow usually is the last thing.
+
+We waited nearly two hours on this particular morning before we started on
+the long climb to the top of the mountain. The sun was simply blazing, and
+in fifteen minutes we were soaked with perspiration. When we were half way
+up the dogs disappeared in a small ravine overgrown with bamboo and sword
+grass and suddenly broke into a chorus of yelps. They had found a fresh
+trail and were driving our way.
+
+Harry ran to a narrow opening in the jungle, shouting to us to watch
+another higher up. We were hardly in position when his rifle banged,
+followed by such a bedlam of yells and barks that we thought he must have
+killed nothing less than one of the hunters. Before we reached them Harry
+appeared, smiling all over, and dragging a muntjac (_Muntiacus_) by the
+fore legs. He had just made a beautiful shot, for the clearing he had been
+watching was not more than ten feet wide and the muntjac flashed across it
+at full speed. Caldwell fired while it was in mid-air and his bullet caught
+the animal at the base of the neck, rolling it over stone dead.
+
+This beautiful little deer in Fukien is hardly larger than a fox. Its
+antlers are only two or three inches in length and rise from an elongated
+skin-covered pedicel instead of from the base of the skull as in all other
+members of the deer family. On each side of the upper jaw is a slender
+tusk, about two inches long, which projects well beyond the lips and makes
+a rather formidable weapon.
+
+We hoped that this muntjac was going to prove a "good joss," but instead a
+disappointing day was in store for us. When we had worked our way to the
+very summit of the mountain under a merciless sun and over a trail which
+led through a smothering bamboo jungle, we saw dozens of fresh serow
+tracks. The animals were there without a doubt and we were on the _qui
+vive_ with excitement.
+
+We selected positions and the men made a long circuit to drive toward us as
+Caldwell had directed. After half an hour had passed we heard them yelling
+as they closed in, but what was our disgust to see them solemnly parading
+in single file up the bottom of the valley on an open trail and carefully
+avoiding all thickets where a serow could possibly be. As Harry expressed
+it, "all the animals had to do was to sit tight and watch the noble
+procession pass." The beaters very evidently knew nothing whatever about
+driving nor were we able to teach them, for they seriously objected to
+leaving the open trails and going into the bush.
+
+We worked hard for serow but the men were hopeless and it was impossible to
+"still hunt" the animals at that time of the year. The natives say that in
+September when the mushrooms are abundant in the lower forests the serow
+leave the mountain tops and thick cover to feed upon the fungus, and that
+they may be killed without the aid of beaters, but at any time the hunt
+would involve a vast amount of labor with only a moderate chance of
+success. After we had left Fukien, Mr. Caldwell purchased a fine male and
+female serow for us which are especially interesting as they represent a
+different subspecies (_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochcaetes_) from those
+we killed in Yuen-nan.
+
+Chi-yuen-kang did yield us results, however, for we discovered a wonderful
+bat cave less than a mile from our temple. Its entrance was a low round
+hole half covered with vegetation, and opening into a high circular
+gallery; from this three long corridors branched off like fingers from the
+palm of a giant's hand. The cave was literally alive with bats. There must
+have been ten thousand and on the first day we killed a hundred,
+representing seven species and at least four genera. This was especially
+remarkable as it is unusual to find more than two or three species living
+together.
+
+The cave was a regular bat apartment house for each corridor was divided by
+rock partitions into several small rooms in every one of which bats of
+different species were rearing their families. The young in most instances
+were only a few days old but were thickly clustered on the walls and
+ceilings, and each and every one was squeaking at the top of its tiny
+lungs. The place must have been occupied for scores, if not hundreds, of
+years for the floor was knee-deep with dung.
+
+When we returned the day after our first visit we found that many of the
+young bats had been removed by their parents and in some instances entire
+rooms had been vacated. After the first day the odor of the cave was so
+nauseating that to enable us to go inside it was necessary to wear gauze
+pads of iodoform over our noses.
+
+The bats at this place were killed with bamboo switches but later we always
+used a long gill net which had been especially made in New York. We could
+hang the net over the entrance to a cave and, when all was ready, send a
+native into the galleries to stir up the animals. As they flew out they
+became entangled in the net and could be caught or killed before they were
+able to get away. It was sometimes possible to catch every specimen in a
+cavern, and moreover, to secure them in perfect condition without broken
+skulls or wings.
+
+If a bat escaped from the net it would never again strike it, for the
+animals are wonderfully accurate in flight and most expert dodgers. Even
+while in a cave, where hundreds of bats were in the air, they seldom flew
+against us, although we might often be brushed by their wings; and it was a
+most difficult thing to hit them with a bamboo switch. Their ability in
+dodging is without doubt a necessary development of their feeding habits
+for, with the exception of a few species, bats live exclusively upon
+insects and catch them in the air.
+
+It is a rather terrifying experience for a girl to sit in a bat cave
+especially if the light has gone out and she is in utter darkness. Of
+course she has a cap tightly pulled over her ears, for what girl, even if
+she be a naturalist's wife, would venture into a den of evil bats with one
+wisp of hair exposed!
+
+All about is the swish of ghostly wings which brush her face or neck and
+the air is full of chattering noises like the grinding of hundreds of tiny
+teeth. Sometimes a soft little body plumps into her lap and if she dares to
+take her hands from her face long enough to disengage the clinging animal
+she is liable to receive a vicious bite from teeth as sharp as needles.
+But, withal, it is good fun, and think how quickly formalin jars or
+collecting trays can be filled with beautiful specimens!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+THE YEN-PING REBELLION
+
+On Sunday, June 18, we went to the bat cave to obtain a new supply of
+specimens. Upon our return, just as we were about to sit down to luncheon,
+four excited Chinese appeared with the following letter from Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    DEAR ROY:
+
+    There was quite a lively time in the city at an early hour this
+    morning. The rebels have taken Yen-ping and it looks as though there
+    was trouble ahead. Northern soldiers have been sent for and the chances
+    are that either tonight or tomorrow morning there will be quite a
+    battle. Bankhardt, Dr. Trimble and myself have just made a round of the
+    city, visiting the telegraph office, post office and other places, and
+    while we do not believe that the foreigners will be molested,
+    nevertheless it is impossible to tell just what to expect. It is
+    certain, however, that the Consul will order all of us to Foochow if
+    news of the situation reaches there. Owing to the uncertainty, I think
+    you had better come in to Yen-ping so as to be ready for any
+    eventuality.
+
+    After talking the situation over with Dr. Trimble and Mr. Bankhardt, we
+    all agreed that the wisest thing is for you to come in immediately. I
+    am sending four burden-bearers for it will be out of the question to
+    find any tomorrow, if trouble occurs tonight. The city gates are closed
+    so you will have to climb up the ladder over the wall behind our
+    compound. Best wishes.
+
+    HARRY.
+
+    P.S.--Later: It is again reported that Northern soldiers are to arrive
+    tonight. If they do and trouble occurs your only chance is to get to
+    Yen-ping today.
+
+    H.C.
+
+The camp immediately was thrown into confusion for Da-Ming, the cook, and
+the burden-bearers were jabbering excitedly at the top of their voices.
+The servants began to pack the loads at once and meanwhile we ate a roast
+chicken faster than good table manners would permit--in fact, we took it in
+our fingers. We were both delighted at the prospect of some excitement and
+talked almost as fast as the Chinese.
+
+In just one hour from the time Harry's letter had been received, we were
+on the way to Yen-ping. It was the hottest part of the day, and we were
+dripping with perspiration when we left the cool darkness of the ravine and
+struck across the open valley, which lay shimmering in a furnace-like heat.
+At the first rest house on the top of the long hill we waited nearly an
+hour for our bearers who were struggling under the heavy loads.
+
+Three miles farther on a poor woman tottered past us on her peglike feet
+leaning on the arm of a man. A short distance more and we came to the
+second rest house. We had been there but a few moments when three panting
+women, steadying themselves with long staves and barely able to walk on
+feet not more than four inches long, came up the hill. With them were
+several men bearing household goods in large bundles and huge red boxes.
+
+The exhausted women sank upon the benches and fanned themselves while the
+perspiration ran down their flushed faces. They looked so utterly miserable
+that we told the cook to give them a piece of cake which Mrs. Caldwell had
+sent us the day before. Their gratitude was pitiful, but, of course, they
+gave the larger share to the men.
+
+It was not long before other women and children appeared on the hill path,
+all struggling upward under heavy loads, or tottering along on tightly
+bound feet. Probably these women had not walked so far in their entire
+lives, but the fear of the Northern soldiers and what would happen in the
+city if they took possession had driven them from their homes.
+
+Farther on we had a clear view across the valley where a long line of
+people was filing up to a temple which nestled into the hillside. Half a
+mile beyond were two other temples both crowded with refugees and their
+goods. Hundreds of families were seeking shelter in every little house
+beside the road and were overflowing into the cowsheds and pigpens.
+
+At six o'clock we stood on the summit of the hill overlooking the city and
+half an hour later were clambering up the ladder over the high wall of the
+compound, just behind Dr. Trimble's house. We were wet through and while
+cooling off heard the story of the morning's fighting. It seemed that a
+certain element in the city was in cooeperation with the representatives of
+the revolutionary organization. These men wished to obtain possession of
+Yen-ping and, after the rebellion was well started, to gather forces, march
+to Foochow, and force the Governor to declare the independence of the
+province.
+
+The plot had been hatching for several days, but the death of Yuan Shi-kai
+had somewhat delayed its fruition. Saturday, however, it was known
+throughout the city that trouble would soon begin. Sunday morning at half
+past three, a band of one hundred men from Yuchi had marched to Yen-ping
+where they were received by a delegation of rebels dressed in white who
+opened to them the east gate of the city. Immediately they began to fire
+up the streets to intimidate the people and in a short time were in a hot
+engagement with the seventeen Northern soldiers, some of whom threw away
+their guns and swam across the river. The remaining city troops were from
+the province of Hunan and their sympathies were really with the South in
+the great rebellion. These immediately joined the rebels, where they were
+received with open arms. It was reported that the _tao-tai_ (district
+mandarin) had asked for troops from Foochow and that these might be
+expected at any moment; thus when they arrived a real battle could be
+expected and it was very likely that the city would be partly destroyed.
+
+We had a picnic supper on the Caldwell's porch and discussed the situation.
+It was the opinion of all that the foreigners were in no immediate danger,
+but nevertheless it was considered wise to be prepared, and we decided upon
+posts for each man if it should become necessary to protect the compound.
+
+Hundreds of people were besieging the missionaries with requests to be
+allowed to bring their goods and families inside the walls, but these
+necessarily had to be refused. Had the missionaries allowed the Chinese to
+bring their valuables inside it would have cost them the right of Consular
+protection and, moreover, their compound would have been the first to be
+attacked if looting began.
+
+On Monday morning while we were sitting on the porch of Mr. Caldwell's
+house preparing some bird skins, there came a sharp crackle of rifle fire
+and then a roar of shots. Bullets began to whistle over us and we could see
+puffs of smoke as the deep bang of a black powder gun punctuated the
+vicious snapping of the high-power rifles. The firing gradually ceased
+after half an hour and we decided to go down to the city to see what had
+happened, for, as no Northern troops had appeared, the cause of the
+fighting was a mystery.
+
+We went first to the mission hospital which lay across a deep ravine and
+only a few yards from the quarters of the soldiers. At the door of the
+hospital compound lay a bloody rag, and we found Dr. Trimble in the
+operating room examining a wounded man who had just been brought in. The
+fellow had been shot in the abdomen with a 45-caliber lead ball that had
+gone entirely through him, emerging about three inches to the right of his
+spine.
+
+From the doctor we got the first real news of the puzzling situation. It
+appeared that all the men who had arrived Sunday morning from Yuchi to join
+the Yen-ping rebels were in reality brigands and, to save their own lives,
+the Hunan soldiers quartered in the city had played a clever trick. They
+had pretended to join the rebels but at a given signal had turned upon
+them, killing or capturing almost every one. Although their sympathies were
+really with the South, the Hunan men knew that the rebels in Yen-ping could
+not hold the city against the Northern soldiers from Foochow and, by
+crushing the rebellion themselves, they hoped to avert a bigger fight.
+
+As we could not help the doctor he suggested that we might be of some
+assistance to the wounded in the city, and with rude crosses of red cloth
+pinned to our white shirt sleeves we left the hospital, accompanied by four
+Chinese attendants bearing a stretcher. In the compound we met a chair in
+which was lying an old man groaning loudly and dripping with blood. Beside
+him were his wife and several boys. The poor woman was crying quietly and,
+between her sobs, was offering the wounded man mustard pickles from a small
+dish in her hand! Poor things, they have so little to eat that they believe
+food will cure all ills!
+
+The bearers set the chair down as we appeared and lifted the filthy rag
+which covered a gaping wound in the man's shoulder, over which had been
+plastered a great mass of cow dung. Just think of the infection, but it was
+the only remedy they knew!
+
+We took the man upstairs where Dr. Trimble was preparing to operate on the
+fellow who had been shot in the abdomen. The doctor was working steadily
+and quietly, making every move count and inspiring his native hospital
+staff with his own coolness; the way this young missionary handled his
+cases made us glad that he was an American.
+
+On the way down the hill several soldiers passed us, each carrying four or
+five rifles and slung about with cartridge belts--plunder stripped from the
+men who had been killed. A few hundred yards farther on we found two
+brigands lying dead in a narrow street. The nearest one had fallen on his
+face and, as we turned him over, we saw that half his head had been blown
+away; the other was staring upward with wide open eyes on which the flies
+already were settling in swarms.
+
+There was little use in wasting time over these men who long ago had passed
+beyond need of our help, and we went on rapidly down the alley to the main
+thoroughfare. Guided by a small boy, we hurried over the rough stones for
+fifteen minutes, and suddenly came to a man lying at the side of the
+street, his head propped on a wooden block. An umbrella once had partly
+covered him but had fallen away, leaving him unprotected in the broiling
+sun. His face and a terrible wound in his head were a solid mass of flies,
+and thousands of insects were crawling over the blood clots on the stones
+beside him. At first we thought he was dead but soon saw his abdomen move
+and realized that he was breathing. It did not seem possible that a human
+being could live under such conditions; and yet the bystanders told us that
+he had been lying there for thirty hours--he had been shot early the
+previous morning and it was now three o'clock of the next afternoon.
+
+The man was a poor water-carrier who lived with his wife in the most utter
+poverty. He had been peering over the city wall when the firing began
+Sunday morning and was one of the first innocent bystanders to pay the
+penalty of his curiosity. I asked why he had not been taken to the
+hospital, and the answer was that his wife was too poor to hire anyone to
+carry him and he had no friends. So there he lay in the burning sun, gazed
+at by hundreds of passers-by, without one hand being lifted to help him.
+
+Our hospital attendants brushed away the flies, placed him in the stretcher
+and started up the long hill, followed by the haggard, weeping wife and a
+curious crowd. On every hand were questions: "Why are these men taking him
+away?" "What are they going to do with him?" But several educated natives
+who understood said, "_Ing-ai-gidaiie_" (A work of love). They got right
+there a lesson in Christianity which they will not soon forget. It is
+seldom that Chinese try to help an injured man, for ever present in their
+minds is the possibility that he may die and that they will be responsible
+for his burial expenses.
+
+We left the stretcher bearers at the corner of the main street with orders
+to return as soon as they had deposited the man in the hospital and, under
+the guidance of a boy, hurried toward the east gate where it was said seven
+or eight men had been shot. Our guide took us first to a brigand who had
+been wounded and left to die beside the gutter. The corpse was a horrible
+sight and with a feeling of deathly nausea we made a hurried examination
+and walked to the gate at the end of the street.
+
+A dozen soldiers were on guard. We learned from the officer that there were
+no wounded in the pile of dead just beyond the entrance, so we turned
+toward the river bank and rapidly patrolled the alleys leading to the
+_tao-tai's yamen_ (official residence) where the firing had been heaviest.
+The _yamen_ was crowded with soldiers, and we were informed that the dead
+had all been removed and that there were no wounded--a grim statement which
+told its own story.
+
+The _yamen_ is but a short distance from the hospital so we climbed the
+hill to the compound. The sun was simply blazing and I realized then what
+the wounded men must have suffered lying in the heat without shelter. We
+returned to the house and were resting on the upper porch when suddenly,
+far down the river, we saw the glint of rifle barrels in the sunlight, and
+with field glasses made out a long line of khaki-clad men winding along the
+shore trail. At the same time two huge boats filled with soldiers came into
+view heading for the water gate of the city. These were undoubtedly the
+Northern troops from Foochow who were expected Monday night.
+
+Even as we looked there came a sudden roar of musketry and a cloud of smoke
+drifted up from the barracks right below us--then a rattling fusillade of
+shots. We could see soldiers running along the walls firing at men below
+and often in our direction. Bullets hummed in the air like angry bees and
+we rushed for cover, but in a few moments the firing ceased as suddenly as
+it began.
+
+We were at a loss to know what it all meant and why the troops were firing
+upon the Northern soldiers whom they wished to placate. It was still a
+mystery when we sat down to dinner at half past seven, but a few minutes
+later Mr. Bankhardt rushed in saying that he had just received a note from
+the _tao-tai_. The mandarin's personal servant had brought word that the
+Northern soldiers, who had just entered the city, were going to kill him
+and he begged the missionaries for assistance. Bankhardt also told us of
+the latest developments in the situation. It seems that the city soldiers
+supposed the Northern troops to be brigands and had fired upon them and
+killed several before they discovered their mistake. A very delicate
+situation had thus been precipitated, for the Northern commander believed
+that it was treachery and intended to attack the barracks in the morning
+and kill every man whom he found with a rifle, as well as all the city
+officials.
+
+The story of the way in which the missionaries acted as peacemakers, saved
+the _tao-tai_, and prevented the slaughter which surely would have taken
+place in the morning, is too long to be told here, for it was accomplished
+only after hours of the talk and "face saving" so dear to the heart of the
+Oriental. Suffice it to say that through the exercise of great tact and a
+thorough understanding of the Chinese character they were able to settle
+the matter without bloodshed.
+
+The following day twenty brigands were given a so-called trial, marched off
+to the west gate, beheaded amid great enthusiasm, and the incident was
+closed. In the afternoon a messenger called and delivered to each of us an
+official letter from the commander of the Northern troops thanking us for
+the part we had played in averting trouble and bringing the matter to a
+peaceful end.
+
+An interesting sidelight on the affair was received a few days later. A
+young man, a Christian, who was born in the same town from which a number
+of the brigands had come, went to his house on Monday night after the fight
+and found seven of the robbers concealed in his bedroom. He was terrified
+because if they were discovered he and all his family would be killed for
+aiding the bandits. He told them they must leave at once, but they pleaded
+with him to let them stay for they knew there were soldiers at every corner
+and that it would be impossible to get away.
+
+While he was imploring them to go, a knock sounded at the door. He pushed
+the brigands into the courtyard, and opened to three soldiers. They said:
+"We understand you have brigands in your house." He was trembling with
+fear, but answered, "Come in and see for yourself, if you think so."
+
+The soldiers were satisfied by his frank open manner and, as they knew him
+to be a good man, did not search the house, but went away. The poor fellow
+was frightened nearly to death, but as his place was being watched it was
+impossible for the brigands to leave during the day.
+
+At night they stripped themselves, shaved their heads, and dressed like
+coolies, and were able to get to the ladder down the city wall just below
+the mission compound where they could escape into the hills.
+
+The day after this occurrence, about four o'clock in the afternoon, a
+breathless Chinese appeared at the house with a note to Mr. Bankhardt
+saying that his Chinese teacher and the mission school cook had been
+arrested by the Northern soldiers and were to be beheaded in an hour. We
+hurried to the police office where they were confined and found that not
+only the two men but three others were in custody.
+
+The mission cook owned a small restaurant under the management of one of
+his relatives and, while Bankhardt's teacher and the other man were sitting
+at a table, some Northern soldiers appeared, one of whom owed the
+restaurant keeper a small amount of money. When asked to pay, the soldier
+turned upon him and shouted: "You have been assisting the brigands. I saw
+some of them carrying goods into your house." Thereupon the soldiers
+arrested everyone in the shop.
+
+The police officials were quite ready to release the teacher and the other
+man upon our statements, but they would not allow the cook to go. His hands
+were kept tightly bound and he was chained to a post by the neck. The
+soldier who arrested him was his sole accuser, but of course, others would
+appear to uphold him in his charge if it were necessary.
+
+The cook was as innocent as any one of the missionaries, but it required
+several hours of work and threats of complaint to the government at Foochow
+to prevent the man from being summarily executed.
+
+We were not able to get any mail from Foochow during the rebellion because
+the constant stream of Northern soldiers on their way up the river had
+paralyzed the entire country to such an extent that all the river men had
+fled.
+
+The soldiers were firing for target practice upon every boat they saw on
+the river and dozens of men had been killed and then robbed. The Northern
+commander told us frankly that this could not be prevented, and when we
+announced that we were going to start will all the missionaries down the
+river on the following day, he was very much disturbed. He insisted that we
+have American flags displayed on our boats to prevent being fired upon by
+the soldiers.
+
+Although it had taken eight days to work our way laboriously through the
+rapids and up the river from Foochow to Yen-Ping, we covered the same
+distance down the river in twenty-four hours and had breakfast with Mr.
+Kellogg at his house the morning after we left Yen-Ping. In two days our
+equipment was repacked and ready for the trip to Futsing to hunt the blue
+tiger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+HUNTING THE "GREAT INVISIBLE"
+
+For many years before Mr. Caldwell went to Yen-ping he had been stationed
+at the city of Futsing, about thirty miles from Foochow. Much of his work
+consisted of itinerant trips during which he visited the various mission
+stations under his charge. He almost invariably went on foot from place to
+place and carried with him a butterfly net and a rifle, so that to so keen
+a naturalist each day's walk was full of interest.
+
+The country was infested with man-eating tigers, and very often the
+villagers implored him to rid their neighborhood of some one of the yellow
+raiders which had been killing their children, pigs, or cattle. During ten
+years he had killed seven tigers in the Futsing region. He often said that
+his gun had been just as effective in carrying Christianity to the natives
+as had his evangelistic work. Although Mr. Caldwell has been especially
+fortunate and has killed his tigers without ever really hunting them,
+nevertheless it is a most uncertain sport as we were destined to learn. The
+tiger is the "Great Invisible"--he is everywhere and nowhere, here today
+and gone tomorrow. A sportsman in China may get his shot the first day out
+or he may hunt for weeks without ever seeing a tiger even though they are
+all about him; and it is this very uncertainty that makes the game all the
+more fascinating.
+
+The part of Fukien Province about Futsing includes mountains of
+considerable height, many of which are planted with rice and support a
+surprising number of Chinese who are grouped in closely connected villages.
+While the cultivated valleys afford no cover for tiger and the mountain
+slopes themselves are usually more or less denuded of forest, yet the deep
+and narrow ravines, choked with sword grass and thorny bramble, offer an
+impenetrable retreat in which an animal can sleep during the day without
+fear of being disturbed. It is possible for a man to make his way through
+these lairs only by means of the paths and tunnels which have been opened
+by the tigers themselves.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's usual method of hunting was to lead a goat with one or two
+kids to an open place where they could be fastened just outside the edge of
+the lair, and then to conceal himself a few feet away. The bleating of the
+goats would usually bring the tiger into the open where there would be an
+opportunity for a shot in the late afternoon.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's first experience in hunting tigers was with a shotgun at the
+village of Lung-tao. His burden-bearers had not arrived with the basket
+containing his rifle, and as it was already late in the afternoon, he
+suggested to Da-Da, the Chinese boy who was his constant companion, that
+they make a preliminary inspection of the lair even though they carried
+only shotguns loaded with lead slugs about the size of buckshot.
+
+They tethered a goat just outside the edge of the lair and the tiger
+responded to its bleating almost immediately. Caldwell did not see the
+animal until it came into the open about fifty yards away and remained in
+plain view for almost half an hour. The tiger seemed to suspect danger and
+crouched on the terrace, now and then putting his right foot forward a
+short distance and drawing it slowly back again. He had approached along a
+small trail, but before he could reach the goat it was necessary to cross
+an open space a few yards in width, and to do this the animal flattened
+himself like a huge striped serpent. His head was extended so that the
+throat and chin were touching the ground, and there was absolutely no
+motion of the body other than the hips and shoulders as the beast slid
+along at an amazingly rapid rate. But at the instant the cat gained the
+nearest cover it made three flying leaps and landed at the foot of the
+terrace upon which the goat was tied.
+
+"Just then he saw me," said Mr. Caldwell, "and slowly pushed his great
+black-barred face over the edge of the grass not fifteen feet away.
+
+"I fired point-blank at his head and neck. He leaped into the air with the
+blood spurting over the grass, and fell into a heap, but gathered himself
+and slid down over the terraces. As he went I fired a second load of slugs
+into his hip. He turned about, slowly climbed the hill parallel with us,
+and stood looking back at me, his face streaming with blood.
+
+"I was fumbling in my coat trying to find other shells, but before I could
+reload the gun he walked unsteadily into the lair and lay down. It was
+already too dark to follow and the next morning a bloody trail showed where
+he had gone upward into the grass. Later, in the same afternoon, he was
+found dead by some Chinese more than three miles away."
+
+During his many experiences with the Futsing tigers Mr. Caldwell has
+learned much about their habits and peculiarities, and some of his
+observations are given in the following pages.
+
+"The tiger is by instinct a coward when confronted by his greatest
+enemy--man. Bold and daring as he may be when circumstances are in his
+favor, he will hurriedly abandon a fresh kill at the first cry of a
+shepherd boy attending a flock on the mountain-side and will always weigh
+conditions before making an attack. If things do not exactly suit him
+nothing will tempt him to charge into the open upon what may appear to be
+an isolated and defenseless goat.
+
+"An experience I had in April, 1910, will illustrate this point. I led a
+goat into a ravine where a tiger which had been working havoc among the
+herds of the farmers was said to live. This animal only a few days previous
+to my hunt had attacked a herd of cows and killed three of them, but on
+this occasion the beast must have suspected danger and was exceedingly
+cautious. He advanced under cover along a trail until within one hundred
+feet of the goat and there stopped to make a survey of the surroundings.
+Peering into the valley, he saw two men at a distance of five hundred yards
+or more cutting grass and, after watching intently for a time, the great
+cat turned and bounded away into the bushes.
+
+"On another occasion this tiger awaited an opportunity to attack a cow
+which a farmer was using in plowing his field. The man had unhitched his
+cow and squatted down in the rice paddy to eat his mid-day meal, when the
+tiger suddenly rushed from cover and killed the animal only a few yards
+behind the peasant. This shows how daring a tiger may be when he is able to
+strike from the rear, and when circumstances seem to favor an attack. I
+have known tigers to rush at a dog or hog standing inside a Chinese house
+where there was the usual confusion of such a dwelling, and in almost every
+instance the victim was killed, although it was not always carried away.
+
+"There is probably no creature in the wilds which shows such a combination
+of daring strategy and slinking cowardice as the tiger. Often courage fails
+him after he has secured his victim, and he releases it to dash off into
+the nearest wood.
+
+"I knew of two Chinese who were deer hunting on a mountain-side when a
+large tiger was routed from his bed. The beast made a rushing attack on the
+man standing nearest to the path of his retreat, and seizing him by the leg
+dragged him into the ravine below. Luckily the man succeeded in grasping a
+small tree whereupon the tiger released his hold, leaving his victim lying
+upon the ground almost paralyzed with pain and fear.
+
+"A group of men were gathering fuel on the hills near Futsing when a tiger
+which had been sleeping in the high grass was disturbed. The enraged beast
+turned upon the peasants, killing two of them instantly and striking
+another a ripping blow with his paw which sent him lifeless to the terrace
+below. The beast did not attempt to drag either of its victims into the
+bush or to attack the other persons near by.
+
+"The strength and vitality of a full grown tiger are amazing. I had
+occasion to spend the night a short time ago in a place where a tiger had
+performed some remarkable feats. Just at dusk one of these marauders
+visited the village and discovered a cow and her six-months-old calf in a
+pen which had been excavated in the side of a hill and adjoined a house.
+There was no possible way to enter the enclosure except by a door opening
+from the main part of the dwelling or to descend from above. The tiger
+jumped from the roof upon the neck of the heifer, killing it instantly, and
+the inmates of the house opened the door just in time to see the animal
+throw the calf out bodily and leap after it himself. I measured the
+embankment and found that the exact height was twelve and a half feet.
+
+"The same tiger one noon on a foggy day attacked a hog, just back of the
+village and carried it into the hills. The villagers pursued the beast and
+overtook it within half a mile. When the hog, which dressed weighed more
+than two hundred pounds, was found, it had no marks or bruises upon it
+other than the deep fang wounds in the neck. This is another instance where
+courage failed a tiger after he had made off with his kill to a safe
+distance. The Chinese declare that when carrying such a load a tiger never
+attempts to drag its prey, but throws it across its back and races off at
+top speed.
+
+"The finest trophy taken from Fukien Province in years I shot in May,
+1910. Two days previous to my hunt this tiger had killed and eaten a
+sixteen-year-old boy. I happened to be in the locality and decided to make
+an attempt to dispose of the troublesome beast. Obtaining a mother goat
+with two small kids, I led them into a ravine near where the boy had been
+killed. The goat was tied to a tree a short distance from the lair, and the
+kids were concealed in the tall grass well in toward the place where the
+tiger would probably be. I selected a suitable spot and kneeled down behind
+a bank of ferns and grass. The fact that one may be stalked by the very
+beast which one is hunting adds to the excitement and keeps one's nerves on
+edge. I expected that the tiger would approach stealthily as long as he
+could not see the goat, as the usual plan of attack, so far as my
+observation goes, is to creep up under cover as far as possible before
+rushing into the open. In any case the tiger would be within twenty yards
+of me before it could be seen.
+
+"For more than two hours I sat perfectly still, alert and waiting, behind
+the little blind of ferns and grass. There was nothing to break the silence
+other than the incessant bleating of the goats and the unpleasant rasping
+call of the mountain jay. I had about given up hope of a shot when suddenly
+the huge head of the man-eater emerged from the bush, exactly where I had
+expected he would appear and within fifteen feet of the kids. The back,
+neck, and head of the beast were in almost the same plane as he moved
+noiselessly forward.
+
+"I had implicit confidence in the killing power of the gun in my hand, and
+at the crack of the rifle the huge brute settled forward with hardly a
+quiver not ten feet from the kids upon which he was about to spring. A
+second shot was not necessary but was fired as a matter of precaution as
+the tiger had fallen behind rank grass, and the bullet passed through the
+shoulder blade lodging in the spine. The beast measured more than nine feet
+and weighed almost four hundred pounds.
+
+"Upon hearing the shots the villagers swarmed into the ravine, each eager
+not so much to see their slain tormentor as to gather up the blood. But
+little attention was paid to the tiger until every available drop was
+sopped up with rags torn from their clothing, whilst men and children even
+pulled up the blood-soaked grass. I learned that the blood of a tiger is
+used for two purposes. A bit of blood-stained cloth is tied about the neck
+of a child as a preventive against either measles or smallpox, and tiger
+flesh is eaten for the same purpose. It is also said that if a handkerchief
+stained with tiger blood is waved in front of an attacking dog the animal
+will slink away cowed and terrified.
+
+"From the Chinese point of view the skin is not the most valuable part of a
+tiger. Almost always before a hunt is made, or a trap is built, the
+villagers burn incense before the temple god, and an agreement is made to
+the effect that if the enterprise be successful the skin of the beast taken
+becomes the property of the gods. Thus it happens that in many of the
+temples handsome tiger-skin robes may be found spread in the chair occupied
+by the noted 'Duai Uong,' or the god of the land. When a hunt is
+successful, the flesh and bones are considered of greatest value, and it
+often happens that a number of cows are killed and their flesh mixed with
+that of the tiger to be sold at the exorbitant price cheerfully paid for
+tiger meat. The bones are boiled for a number of days until a gelatine-like
+product results, and this is believed to be exceptionally efficacious
+medicine.
+
+"Notwithstanding the danger of still-hunting a tiger in the tangle of its
+lair, one cannot but feel richly rewarded for the risk when one begins to
+sum up one's observations. The most interesting result of investigating an
+oft-frequented lair is concerning the animal's food. That a tiger always
+devours its prey upon the spot where it is taken or in the adjacent bush is
+an erroneous idea. This is often true when the kill is too heavy to be
+carried for a long distance, but it is by no means universally so. Not long
+ago the remains of a young boy were found in a grave adjacent to a tiger's
+lair a few miles from Futsing city. No child had been reported missing in
+the immediate neighborhood and everything indicated that the boy had been
+brought alive to this spot from a considerable distance. The sides of the
+grave were besmeared with the blood of the unfortunate victim, indicating
+that the tiger had tortured it just as a cat plays with a mouse as long as
+it remains alive.
+
+"In the lair of a tiger there are certain terraces, or places under
+overhanging trees, which are covered with bones, and are evidently spots to
+which the animal brings its prey to be devoured. On such a terrace one will
+find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine, pangolin, and
+other animals both domestic and wild. A fresh kill shows that with its
+rasp-like tongue the tiger licks off all the hair of its prey before
+devouring it and the hair will be found in a circle around what remains of
+the kill. The Chinese often raid a lair in order to gather up the quills of
+the porcupine and the bony scales of the pangolin which are esteemed for
+medicinal purposes.
+
+"In addition to the larger animals, tigers feed upon reptiles and frogs
+which they find among the rice fields. On the night of April 22, 1914, a
+party of frog catchers were returning from a hunt when the man carrying the
+load of frogs was attacked by a tiger and killed. The animal made no
+attempt to drag the man away and it would appear that it was attracted by
+the croaking of the frogs."
+
+"One often finds trees 'marked' by tigers beside some trail or path in, or
+adjacent to, a lair. Catlike, the tiger measures its full length upon a
+tree, standing in a convenient place, and with its powerful claws rips
+deeply through the bark. This sign is doubly interesting to the sportsman
+as it not only indicates the presence of a tiger in the immediate vicinity
+but serves to give an accurate idea as to the size of the beast. The trails
+leading into a lair often are marked in a different way. In doing this the
+animal rakes away the grass with a forepaw and gathers it into a pile, but
+claw prints never appear."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+THE BLUE TIGER
+
+After one has traveled in a Chinese _sampan_ for several days the prospect
+of a river journey is not very alluring but we had a most agreeable
+surprise when we sailed out of Foochow in a chartered house boat to hunt
+the "blue tiger" at Futsing. In fact, we had all the luxury of a private
+yacht, for our boat contained a large central cabin with a table and chairs
+and two staterooms and was manned by a captain and crew of six men--all for
+$1.50 per day!
+
+In the evening we talked of the blue tiger for a long time before we spread
+our beds on the roof of the boat and went to sleep under the stars. We left
+the boat shortly after daylight at Daing-nei for the six-mile walk to
+Lung-tao. To my great surprise the coolies were considerably distressed at
+the lightness of our loads. In this region they are paid by weight and some
+of the bearers carry almost incredible burdens. As an example, one of our
+men came into camp swinging a 125-pound trunk on each end of his pole,
+laughing and chatting as gayly as though he had not been carrying 250
+pounds for six miles under a broiling sun.
+
+Mr. Caldwell's Chinese hunter, Da-Da, lived at Lung-tao and we found his
+house to be one of several built on the outskirts of a beautiful grove of
+gum and banyan trees. Although it was exceptionally clean for a Chinese
+dwelling, we pitched our tents a short distance away. At first we were
+somewhat doubtful about sleeping outside, but after one night indoors we
+decided that any risk was preferable to spending another hour in the
+stifling heat of the house.
+
+It was probable that a tiger would be so suspicious of the white tents that
+it would not attack us, but nevertheless during the first nights we were
+rather wakeful and more than once at some strange night sound seized our
+rifles and flashed the electric lamp into the darkness.
+
+Tigers often come into this village. Only a few hundred yards from our camp
+site, in 1911, a tiger had rushed into the house of one of the peasants and
+attempted to steal a child that had fallen asleep at its play under the
+family table. All was quiet in the house when suddenly the animal dashed
+through the open door. The Chinese declare that the gods protected the
+infant, for the beast missed his prey and seizing the leg of the table
+against which the baby's head was resting, bolted through the door dragging
+the table into the courtyard.
+
+This was the work of the famous "blue tiger" which we had come to hunt and
+which had on two occasions been seen by Mr. Caldwell. The first time he
+heard of this strange beast was in the spring of 1910. The animal was
+reported as having been seen at various places within an area of a few
+miles almost simultaneously and so mysterious were its movements that the
+Chinese declared it was a spirit of the devil. After several unsuccessful
+hunts Mr. Caldwell finally saw the tiger at close range but as he was armed
+with only a shotgun it would have been useless to shoot.
+
+His second view of the beast was a few weeks later and in the same place. I
+will give the story in his own words:
+
+"I selected a spot upon a hill-top and cleared away the grass and ferns
+with a jack-knife for a place to tie the goat. I concealed myself in the
+bushes ten feet away to await the attack, but the unexpected happened and
+the tiger approached from the rear.
+
+"When I first saw the beast he was moving stealthily along a little trail
+just across a shallow ravine. I supposed, of course, that he was trying to
+locate the goat which was bleating loudly, but to my horror I saw that he
+was creeping upon two boys who had entered the ravine to cut grass. The
+huge brute moved along lizard-fashion for a few yards and then cautiously
+lifted his head above the grass. He was within easy springing distance when
+I raised my rifle, but instantly I realized that if I wounded the animal
+the boys would certainly meet a horrible death.
+
+"Tigers are usually afraid of the human voice so instead of firing I
+stepped from the bushes, yelling and waving my arms. The huge cat, crouched
+for a spring, drew back, wavered uncertainly for a moment, and then slowly
+slipped away into the grass. The boys were saved but I had lost the
+opportunity I had sought for over a year.
+
+"However, I had again seen the animal about which so many strange tales had
+been told. The markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground
+color is of a delicate shade of maltese, changing into light gray-blue on
+the underparts. The stripes are well defined and like those of the ordinary
+yellow tiger."
+
+Before I left New York Mr. Caldwell had written me repeatedly urging me to
+stop at Futsing on the way to Yuen-nan to try with him for the blue tiger
+which was still in the neighborhood. I was decidedly skeptical as to its
+being a distinct species, but nevertheless it was a most interesting animal
+and would certainly be well worth getting.
+
+I believed then, and my opinion has since been strengthened, that it is a
+partially melanistic phase of the ordinary yellow tiger. Black leopards are
+common in India and the Malay Peninsula and as only a single individual of
+the blue tiger has been reported the evidence hardly warrants the
+assumption that it represents a distinct species.
+
+We hunted the animal for five weeks. The brute ranged in the vicinity of
+two or three villages about seven miles apart, but was seen most frequently
+near Lung-tao. He was as elusive as a will o' the wisp, killing a dog or
+goat in one village and by the time we had hurried across the mountains
+appearing in another spot a few miles away, leaving a trail of terrified
+natives who flocked to our camp to recount his depredations. He was in
+truth the "Great Invisible" and it seemed impossible that we should not get
+him sooner or later, but we never did.
+
+Once we missed him by a hair's breadth through sheer bad luck, and it was
+only by exercising almost superhuman restraint that we prevented ourselves
+from doing bodily harm to the three Chinese who ruined our hunt. Every
+evening for a week we had faithfully taken a goat into the "Long Ravine,"
+for the blue tiger had been seen several times near this lair. On the
+eighth afternoon we were in the "blind" at three o'clock as usual. We had
+tied a goat to a tree nearby and her two kids were but a few feet away.
+
+The grass-filled lair lay shimmering in the breathless heat, silent save
+for the echoes of the bleating goats. Crouched behind the screen of
+branches, for three long hours we sat in the patchwork shade,--motionless,
+dripping with perspiration, hardly breathing,--and watched the shadows
+steal slowly down the narrow ravine.
+
+It was a wild place which seemed to have been cut out of the mountain side
+with two strokes of a mighty ax and was choked with a tangle of thorny
+vines and sword grass. Impenetrable as a wall of steel, the only entrance
+was by the tiger tunnels which drove their twisting way through the
+murderous growth far in toward its gloomy heart.
+
+The shadows had passed over us and just reached a lone palm tree on the
+opposite hillside. By that I knew it was six o'clock and in half an hour
+another day of disappointment would be ended. Suddenly at the left and just
+below us there came the faintest crunching sound as a loose stone shifted
+under a heavy weight; then a rustling in the grass. Instantly the captive
+goat gave a shrill bleat of terror and tugged frantically at the rope which
+held it to the tree.
+
+At the first sound Harry had breathed in my ear "Get ready, he's coming." I
+was half kneeling with my heavy .405 Winchester pushed forward and the
+hammer up. The blood drummed in my ears and my neck muscles ached with the
+strain but I thanked Heaven that my hands were steady.
+
+Caldwell sat like a graven image, the stock of his little 22 caliber high
+power Savage nestling against his cheek. Our eyes met for an instant and I
+knew in that glance that the blue tiger would never make another charge,
+for if I missed him, Harry wouldn't. For ten minutes we waited and my heart
+lost a beat when twenty feet away the grass began to move again--but
+rapidly and _up the ravine_.
+
+I saw Harry watching the lair with a puzzled look which changed to one of
+disgust as a chorus of yells sounded across the ravine and three Chinese
+wood cutters appeared on the opposite slope. They were taking a short cut
+home, shouting to drive away the tigers--and they had succeeded only too
+well, for the blue tiger had slipped back to the heart of the lair from
+whence he had come.
+
+He had been nearly ours and again we had lost him! I felt so badly that I
+could not even swear and it wasn't the fact that Harry was a missionary
+which kept me from it, either. Caldwell exclaimed just once, for his
+disappointment was even more bitter than mine; he had been hunting this
+same tiger off and on for six years.
+
+It was useless for us to wait longer that evening and we pushed our way
+through the sword grass to the entrance of the tunnel down which the tiger
+had come. There in the soft earth were the great footprints where he had
+crouched at the entrance to take a cautious survey before charging into the
+open.
+
+As we looked, Harry suddenly turned to me and said: "Roy, let's go into the
+lair. There is just one chance in a thousand that we may get a shot." Now I
+must admit that I was not very enthusiastic about that little excursion,
+but in we went, crawling on our hands and knees up the narrow passage.
+Every few feet we passed side branches from the main tunnel in any one of
+which the tiger might easily have been lying in wait and could have killed
+us as we passed. It was a foolhardy thing to do and I am free to admit that
+I was scared. It was not long before Harry twisted about and said: "Roy, I
+haven't lost any tigers in here; let's get out." And out we came faster
+than we went in.
+
+This was only one of the times when the "Great Invisible" was almost in our
+hands. A few days later a Chinese found the blue tiger asleep under a rice
+bank early in the afternoon. Frightened almost to death he ran a mile and a
+half to our camp only to find that we had left half an hour before for
+another village where the brute had killed two wild cats early in the
+morning.
+
+Again, the tiger pushed open the door of a house at daybreak just as the
+members of the family were getting up, stole a dog from the "heaven's
+well," dragged it to a hillside and partly devoured it. We were in camp
+only a mile away and our Chinese hunters found the carcass on a narrow
+ledge in the sword grass high up on the mountain side. The spot was an
+impossible one to watch and we set a huge grizzly bear trap which had been
+carried with us from New York.
+
+It seemed out of the question for any animal to return to the carcass of
+the dog without getting caught and yet the tiger did it. With his hind
+quarters on the upper terrace he dropped down, stretched his long neck
+across the trap, seized the dog which had been wired to a tree and pulled
+it away. It was evident that he was quite unconscious of the trap for his
+fore feet had actually been placed upon one of the jaws only two inches
+from the pan which would have sprung it.
+
+One afternoon we responded to a call from Bui-tao, a village seven miles
+beyond Lung-tao, where the blue tiger had been seen that day. The natives
+assured us that the animal continually crossed a hill, thickly clothed with
+pines and sword grass just above the village and even though it was late
+when we arrived Harry thought it wise to set the trap that night.
+
+It was pitch dark before we reached the ridge carrying the trap, two
+lanterns, an electric flash-lamp and a wretched little dog for bait. We had
+been engaged for about fifteen minutes making a pen for the dog, and
+Caldwell and I were on our knees over the trap when suddenly a low rumbling
+growl came from the grass not twenty feet away. We jumped to our feet just
+as it sounded again, this time ending in a snarl. The tiger had arrived a
+few moments too early and we were in the rather uncomfortable position of
+having to return to the village by way of a narrow trail through the
+jungle. With our rifles ready and the electric lamp cutting a brilliant
+path in the darkness we walked slowly toward the edge of the sword grass
+hoping to see the flash of the tiger's eyes, but the beast backed off
+beyond the range of the light into an impenetrable tangle where we could
+not follow. Apparently he was frightened by the lantern, for we did not
+hear him again.
+
+After nearly a month of disappointments such as these Mr. Heller joined us
+at Bui-tao with Mr. Kellogg. Caldwell thought it advisable to shift camp to
+the Ling-suik monastery, about twelve miles away, where he had once spent a
+summer with his family and had killed several tigers. This was within the
+blue tiger's range and, moreover, had the advantage of offering a better
+general collecting ground than Bui-tao; thus with Heller to look after the
+small mammals we could begin to make our time count for something if we did
+not get the tiger.
+
+Ling-suik is a beautiful temple, or rather series of temples, built into a
+hillside at the end of a long narrow valley which swells out like a great
+bowl between bamboo clothed mountains, two thousand feet in height. On his
+former visit Mr. Caldwell had made friends with the head priest and we were
+allowed to establish ourselves upon the broad porch of the third and
+highest building. It was an ideal place for a collecting camp and would
+have been delightful except for the terrible heat which was rendered doubly
+disagreeable by the almost continual rain.
+
+The priests who shuffled about the temples were a hard lot. Most of them
+were fugitives from justice and certainly looked the part, for a more
+disreputable, diseased and generally undesirable body of men I have never
+seen.
+
+Our stay at Ling-suik was productive and the temple life interesting. We
+slept on the porch and each morning, about half an hour before daylight,
+the measured strokes of a great gong sounded from the temple just below us.
+_Boom--boom--boom--boom_ it went, then rapidly _bang, bang, bang_. It was a
+religious alarm clock to rouse the world.
+
+A little later when the upturned gables and twisted dolphins on the roof
+had begun to take definite shape in the gray light of the new day, the gong
+boomed out again, doors creaked, and from their cell-like rooms shuffled
+the priests to yawn and stretch themselves before the early service. The
+droning chorus of hoarse voices, swelling in a meaningless half-wild chant,
+harmonized strangely with the romantic surroundings of the temple and
+become our daily _matin_ and evensong.
+
+At the first gong we slipped from beneath our mosquito nets and dressed to
+be ready for the bats which fluttered into the building to hide themselves
+beneath the tiles and rafters. When daylight had fully come we scattered to
+the four winds of heaven to inspect traps, hunt barking deer, or collect
+birds, but gathered again at nine o'clock for breakfast and to deposit our
+spoil. Caldwell and I always spent the afternoon at the blue tiger's lair
+but the animal had suddenly shifted his operations back to Lung-tao and did
+not appear at Ling-suik while we were there.
+
+Our work in Fukien taught us much that may be of help to other naturalists
+who contemplate a visit to this province. We satisfied ourselves that
+summer collecting is impracticable, for the heat is so intense and the
+vegetation so heavy that only meager results can be obtained for the
+efforts expended. Continual tramping over the mountains in the blazing sun
+necessarily must have its effect upon the strongest constitution, and even
+a man like Mr. Caldwell, who has become thoroughly acclimated, is not
+immune.
+
+Both Caldwell and I lost from fifteen to twenty pounds in weight during the
+time we hunted the blue tiger and each of us had serious trouble from
+abscesses. I have never worked in a more trying climate--even that of
+Borneo and the Dutch East Indies where I collected in 1909-10, was much
+less debilitating than Fukien in the summer. The average temperature was
+about 95 degrees in the shade, but the humidity was so high that one felt
+as though one were wrapped in a wet blanket and even during a six weeks'
+rainless period the air was saturated with moisture from the sea-winds.
+
+In winter the weather is raw and damp, but collecting then would be vastly
+easier than in summer, not only on account of climatic conditions, but
+because much of the vegetation disappears and there is an opportunity for
+"still hunting."
+
+Trapping for small mammal is especially difficult because of the dense
+population. The mud dykes and the rice fields usually are covered with
+tracks of civets, mongooses, and cats which come to hunt frogs or fish, but
+if a trap is set it either catches a Chinaman or promptly is stolen.
+Moreover, the small mammals are neither abundant nor varied in number of
+species, and the larger forms, such as tiger, leopard, wild pig and serow
+are exceedingly difficult to kill.
+
+While our work in the province was done during an unfavorable season and in
+only two localities, yet enough was seen of the general conditions to make
+it certain that a thorough zooelogical study of the region would require
+considerable time and hard work and that the results, so far as a large
+collection of mammals is concerned, would not be highly satisfactory. Work
+in the western part of the province among the Bohea Hills undoubtedly would
+be more profitable, but even there it would be hardly worth while for an
+expedition with limited time and money.
+
+Bird life is on a much better footing, but the ornithology of Fukien
+already has received considerable attention through the collections of
+Swinhoe, La Touche, Styan, Ricketts, Caldwell and others, and probably not
+a great number of species remain to be described.
+
+Much work could still be done upon the herpetology of the region, however,
+and I believe that this branch of zooelogy would be well worth investigation
+for reptiles and batrachians are fairly abundant and the natives would
+rather assist than retard one's efforts.
+
+The language of Fukien is a greater annoyance than in any other of the
+Chinese coast provinces. The Foochow dialect (which is one of the most
+difficult to learn) is spoken only within fifty or one hundred miles of the
+city. At Yen-ping Mr. Caldwell, who speaks "Foochow" perfectly, could not
+understand a word of the "southern mandarin" which is the language of that
+region, and near Futsing, where a colony of natives from Amoy have settled,
+the dialect is unintelligible to one who knows only "Foochow."
+
+Travel in Fukien is an unceasing trial, for transport is entirely by
+coolies who carry from eighty to one hundred pounds. The men are paid by
+distance or weight; therefore, when coolies finally have been obtained
+there is the inevitable wrangling over loads so that from one to two hours
+are consumed before the party can start.
+
+But the worst of it is that one can never be certain when one's entire
+outfit will arrive at its new destination. Some men walk much faster than
+others, some will delay a long time for tea, or may give out altogether if
+the day be hot, with the result that the last load will arrive perhaps five
+or six hours after the first one.
+
+As horses are not to be had, if one does not walk the only alternative is
+to be carried in a mountain chair, which is an uncomfortable, trapeze-like
+affair and only to be found along the main highways. On the whole,
+transport by man-power in China is so uncertain and expensive that for a
+large expedition it forms a grave obstacle to successful work, if time and
+funds be limited.
+
+On the other hand, servants are cheap and usually good. We employed a very
+fair cook who received monthly seven dollars Mexican (then about three and
+one-half dollars gold), and "boys" were hired at from five to seven dollars
+(Mexican). As none of the servants knew English they could be obtained at
+much lower wages, but English-speaking cooks usually receive from fifteen
+to twenty dollars (Mexican) a month.
+
+It was hard to leave Fukien without the blue tiger but we had hunted him
+unsuccessfully for five weeks and there was other and more important work
+awaiting us in Yuen-nan. It required thirty porters to transport our baggage
+from the Ling-suik monastery to Daing-nei, twenty-one miles away, where two
+houseboats were to meet us, and by ten o'clock in the evening we were lying
+off Pagoda Anchorage awaiting the flood tide to take us to Foochow. We made
+our beds on the deck house and in the morning opened our eyes to find the
+boat tied to the wharf at the Custom House on the Bund, and ourselves in
+full view of all Foochow had it been awake at that hour.
+
+The week of packing and repacking that followed was made easy for us by
+Claude Kellogg, who acted as our ministering angel. I think there must be a
+special Providence that watches over wandering naturalists and directs them
+to such men as Kellogg, for without divine aid they could never be found.
+When we last saw him, he stood on the stone steps of the water front waving
+his hat as we slipped away on the tide, to board the S.S. _Haitan_ for
+Hongkong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+THE WOMEN OF CHINA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The schools for native girls at Foochow and Yen-ping interested us greatly,
+even when we first came to China, but we could not appreciate then as we
+did later the epoch-making step toward civilization of these institutions.
+
+How much the missionaries are able to accomplish from a religious
+standpoint is a question which we do not wish to discuss, but no one who
+has ever lived among them can deny that the opening of schools and the
+diffusing of western knowledge are potent factors in the development of the
+people. The Chinese were not slow even in the beginning to see the
+advantages of a foreign education for their boys and now, along the coast
+at least, some are beginning to make sacrifices for their daughters as
+well. The Woman's College, which was opened recently in Foochow, is one of
+the finest buildings of the Republic, and when one sees its bright-faced
+girls dressed in their quaint little pajama-like garments, it is difficult
+to realize that outside such schools they are still slaves in mind and body
+to those iron rules of Confucius which have molded the entire structure of
+Chinese society for over 2400 years.
+
+The position of women in China today, and the rules which govern the
+household of every orthodox Chinese, are the direct heritage of
+Confucianism. The following translation by Professor J. Legge from the
+_Narratives of the Confucian School_, chapter 26, is illuminating:
+
+    Confucius said: "Man is the representative of heaven and is supreme
+    over all things. Woman yields obedience to the instructions of man and
+    helps to carry out his principles. On this account she can determine
+    nothing of herself and is subject to the rule of the three obediences.
+
+    "(1) When young she must obey her father and her elder brother;
+
+    "(2) When married, she must obey her husband;
+
+    "(3) When her husband is dead she must obey her son.
+
+    "She may not think of marrying a second time. No instructions or orders
+    must issue from the harem. Women's business is simply the preparation
+    and supplying of drink and food. Beyond the threshold of her apartments
+    she shall not be known for evil or for good. She may not cross the
+    boundaries of a state to attend a funeral. She may take no steps on her
+    own motive and may come to no conclusion on her own deliberation."
+
+    The grounds for divorce as stated by Confucius are:
+
+    "(1) Disobedience to her husband's parents;
+
+    "(2) Not giving birth to a son;
+
+    "(3) Dissolute conduct;
+
+    "(4) Jealousy of her husband's attentions (to the other inmates at his
+    harem);
+
+    "(5) Talkativeness, and
+
+    "(6) Thieving."
+
+A Chinese bride owes implicit obedience to her mother-in-law, and as she is
+often reared by her husband's family, or else married to him as a mere
+child, and is under the complete control of his mother for a considerable
+period of her existence, her life in many instances is one of intolerable
+misery. There is generally little or no consideration for a girl under the
+best of circumstances until she becomes the mother of a male child; her
+condition then improves but she approaches happiness only when she in turn
+occupies the enviable position of mother-in-law.
+
+It is difficult to imagine a life of greater dreariness and vacuity than
+that of the average Chinese woman. Owing to her bound feet and resultant
+helplessness, if she is not obliged to work she rarely stirs from the
+narrow confinement of her courtyard, and perhaps in her entire life she may
+not go a mile from the house to which she was brought a bride, except for
+the periodical visits to her father's home.
+
+It has been aptly said that there are no real homes in China and it is not
+surprising that, ignored and despised for centuries, the Chinese woman
+shows no ability to improve the squalor of her surroundings. She passes her
+life in a dark, smoke-filled dwelling with broken furniture and a mud
+floor, together with pigs, chickens and babies enjoying a limited sphere of
+action under the tables and chairs, or in the tumble-down courtyard
+without. Her work is actually never done and a Chinese bride, bright and
+attractive at twenty, will be old and faded at thirty.
+
+But without doubt the crowning evil which attends woman's condition in
+China is foot binding, and nothing can be offered in extenuation of this
+abominable custom. It is said to have originated one thousand years before
+the Christian era and has persisted until the present day in spite of the
+efforts directed against it. The Empress Dowager issued edicts strongly
+advising its discontinuation, the "Natural Foot Society," which was formed
+about fifteen years ago, has endeavored to educate public opinion, and the
+missionaries refuse to admit girls so mutilated to their schools; but
+nevertheless the reform has made little progress beyond the coast cities.
+"Precedent" and the fear of not obtaining suitable husbands for their
+daughters are responsible for the continuation of the evil, and it is
+estimated that there are still about seventy-four millions of girls and
+women who are crippled in this way.
+
+The feet are bandaged between the ages of five and seven. The toes are bent
+under the sole of the foot and after two or three years the heel and instep
+are so forced together that a dollar can be placed in the cleft; gradually
+also the lower limbs shrink away until only the bones remain.
+
+The suffering of the children is intense. We often passed through streets
+full of laughing boys and tiny girls where others, a few years older, were
+sitting on the doorsteps or curbstones holding their tortured feet and
+crying bitterly. In some instances out-houses are constructed a
+considerable distance from the family dwelling where the girls must sleep
+during their first crippled years in order that their moans may not disturb
+the other members of the family. The child's only relief is to hang her
+feet over the edge of the bed in order to stop the circulation and induce
+numbness, or to seek oblivion from opium.
+
+If the custom were a fad which affected only the wealthy classes it would
+be reprehensible enough, but it curses rich and poor alike, and almost
+every day we saw heavily laden coolie women steadying themselves by means
+of a staff, hobbling stiff-kneed along the roads or laboring in the fields.
+
+Although the agitation against foot binding is undoubtedly making itself
+felt to a certain extent in the coast provinces, in Yuen-nan the horrible
+practice continues unabated. During the year in which we traveled through a
+large part of the province, wherever there were Chinese we saw bound feet.
+And the fact that virtually _every_ girl over eight years old was mutilated
+in this way is satisfactory evidence that reform ideas have not penetrated
+to this remote part of the Republic.
+
+I know of nothing which so rouses one's indignation because of its
+senselessness and brutality, and China can never hope to take her place
+among civilized nations until she has abandoned this barbarous custom and
+liberated her women from their infamous subjection.
+
+There has been much criticism of foreign education because the girls who
+have had its advantages absorb western ideas so completely that they
+dislike to return to their homes where the ordinary conditions of a Chinese
+household exist. Nevertheless, if the women of China are ever to be
+emancipated it must come through their own education as well as that of the
+men.
+
+One of the first results of foreign influence is to delay marriage, and in
+some instances the early betrothal with its attendant miseries. The evil
+which results from this custom can hardly be overestimated. It happens not
+infrequently that two children are betrothed in infancy, the respective
+families being in like circumstances at the time. The opportunity perhaps
+is offered to the girl to attend school and she may even go through
+college, but an inexorable custom brings her back to her parents' home,
+forces her to submit to the engagement made in babyhood and perhaps ruins
+her life through marriage with a man of no higher social status or
+intelligence than a coolie.
+
+Among the few girls imbued with western civilization a spirit of revolt is
+slowly growing, and while it is impossible for them to break down the
+barriers of ages, yet in many instances they waive aside what would seem an
+unsurmountable precedent and insist upon having some voice in the choosing
+of their husbands.
+
+While in Yen-ping we were invited to attend the semi-foreign wedding of a
+girl who had been brought up in the Woman's School and who was qualified to
+be a "Bible Woman" or native Christian teacher. It was whispered that she
+had actually met her betrothed on several occasions, but on their wedding
+day no trace of recognition was visible, and the marriage was performed
+with all the punctilious Chinese observances compatible with a Christian
+ceremony.
+
+Precedent required of this little bride, although she might have been
+radiantly happy at heart, and undoubtedly was, to appear tearful and
+shrinking and as she was escorted up the aisle by her bridesmaid one might
+have thought she was being led to slaughter. White is not becoming to the
+Chinese and besides it is a sign of mourning, so she had chosen pink for
+her wedding gown and had a brilliant pink veil over her carefully oiled
+hair.
+
+After the ceremony the bride and bridegroom proceeded downstairs to the
+joyous strain of the wedding march, but with nothing joyous in their
+demeanor--in fact they appeared like two wooden images at the reception and
+endured for over an hour the stares and loud criticism of the guests. He
+assumed during the ordeal a look of bored indifference while the little
+bride sat with her head bowed on her breast, apparently terror stricken.
+But once she raised her face and I saw a merry twinkle in her shining black
+eyes that made me realize that perhaps it wasn't all quite so frightful as
+she would have us believe. I often wonder what sort of a life she is
+leading in her far away Chinese courtyard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+VOYAGING TO YUeN-NAN
+
+We had a busy week in Hongkong outfitting for our trip to Yuen-nan. Hongkong
+is one of the best cities in the Orient in which to purchase supplies of
+almost any kind, for not only is the selection excellent, but the best
+English goods can be had for prices very little in excess of those in
+London itself.
+
+The system which we used in our commissary was that of the unit food box
+which has been adopted by most large expeditions. The boxes were packed to
+weigh seventy pounds each and contained all the necessary staple supplies
+for three persons for one week; thus only one box needed to be opened at a
+time, and, moreover, if the party separated for a few days a single box
+could be taken without the necessity of repacking and with the assurance
+that sufficient food would be available.
+
+Our supplies consisted largely of flour, butter, sugar, coffee, milk,
+bacon, and marmalade, and but little tinned meat, vegetables, or fruit
+because we were certain to be able to obtain a plentiful supply of such
+food in the country through which we were expecting to travel.
+
+Our tents were brought from New York and were made of light Egyptian cotton
+thoroughly waterproof, but we also purchased in Hongkong a large army tent
+for the servants and two canvas flies to protect loads and specimens. We
+used sleeping bags and folding cots, tables and chairs, for when an
+expedition expects to remain in the field for a long time it is absolutely
+necessary to be as comfortable as possible and to live well; otherwise one
+cannot work at one's highest efficiency.
+
+For clothing we all wore khaki or "Dux-back" suits with flannel shirts and
+high leather shoes for mountain climbing, and we had light rubber
+automobile shirts and rubber caps for use in rainy weather. The auto shirt
+is a long, loose robe which slips over the head and fastens about the neck
+and, when one is sitting upon a horse, can be so spread about as to cover
+all exposed parts of the body; it is especially useful and necessary, and
+hip rubber boots are also very comfortable during the rainy season.
+
+Our traps for catching small mammals were brought from New York. We had two
+sizes of wooden "Out of Sight" for mice and rats, and four or five sizes of
+Oneida steel traps for catching medium sized animals such as civets and
+polecats. We also carried a half dozen No. 5 wolf traps. Mr. Heller had
+used this size in Africa and found that they were large enough even to hold
+lions.
+
+Mr. Heller carried a 250-300 Savage rifle, while I used a 6-1/2 mm.
+Mannlicher and a .405 Winchester. All of these guns were eminently
+satisfactory, but the choice of a rifle is a very personal matter and every
+sportsman has his favorite weapon. We found, however, that a flat
+trajectory high-power rifle such as those with which we were armed was
+absolutely essential for many of our shots were at long range and we
+frequently killed gorals at three hundred yards or over.
+
+The camera equipment consisted of two 3A Kodaks, a Graphic 4 x 5 tripod
+camera, and Graflex 4 x 5 for rapid work. We have found after considerable
+field experience that the 4 x 5 is the most convenient size to handle, for
+the plate is large enough and can be obtained more readily than any other
+in different parts of the world. The same applies to the 3A Kodak
+"post-card" size film, for there are few places where foreign goods are
+carried that 3A films cannot be purchased.
+
+All of our plates and films were sealed in air-tight tin boxes before we
+left America, and thus the material was in perfect condition when the cans
+were opened. We used plates almost altogether in the finer photographic
+work, for although they are heavier and more difficult to handle than
+films, nevertheless the results obtained are very superior. A collapsible
+rubber dark room about seven feet high and four feet in diameter was an
+indispensable part of the camera equipment. This tent was made for us by
+the Abercrombie & Fitch Company, of New York, and could be hung from the
+limb of a tree or the rafters of a building and be ready for use in five
+minutes.
+
+The motion pictures were taken with a Universal camera, and like all other
+negatives were developed in the field by means of a special apparatus which
+had been designed by Mr. Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural
+History. This work required a much larger space than that of the portable
+dark room and we consequently had a tent made of red cloth which could be
+tied inside of our ordinary sleeping tent.
+
+Our equipment was packed in fiber army trunks and in wooden boxes with
+sliding tops. The latter arrangement is especially desirable in Yuen-nan,
+for the loads can be opened without being untied from the saddle, thus
+saving a considerable amount of time and trouble.
+
+It was by no means an easy matter to get our supplies together, but the
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong pushed the making and packing of our
+boxes in a remarkably efficient manner; as the manager of one of their
+departments expressed it, "the one way to hurry a Chinaman is to get more
+Chinamen," and they put a small army at work upon our material, which was
+ready for shipment in just a week.
+
+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. Gary, when the
+latter was Commissioner of Customs in Teng-yueh, Yuen-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 zooelogical 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 lotos 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 3 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 dejeuner_, remarkable especially for
+its "petitness," is served, and a real _dejeuner_ comes later anywhere from
+10 to 12:30.
+
+About 6 o'clock in the evening the open _cafes_ 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. Chemein Dupontes, 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. Dupontes was especially helpful.
+
+Some time before our arrival a tunnel on the railroad from Hanoi to Yuen-nan
+Fu had caved in and for almost a month trains had not been running. It was
+now in operation, however, but all luggage had to be transferred by hand at
+the broken tunnel and consequently must not exceed eighty-five pounds in
+weight. This meant repacking our entire equipment and three days of hard
+work. M. Dupontes arranged to have our 4000 pounds of baggage put in a
+special third class carriage with our "boys" in attendance and in this way
+saved the expedition a considerable amount of money. He personally went
+with us to the station to arrange for our comfort with the _chef de gare_,
+telegraphed ahead at every station upon the railroad, and gave us an open
+letter to all officials; in fact there was nothing which he left undone.
+
+The railroad is a remarkable engineering achievement for it was constructed
+in great haste through a difficult mountainous range. Yuen-nan is an
+exceedingly rich province and the French were quick to see the advantages
+of drawing its vast trade to their own seaports. The British were already
+making surveys to construct a railroad from Bhamo on the headwaters of the
+Irawadi River across Yuen-nan to connect with the Yangtze, and the French
+were anxious to have their road in operation some time before the rival
+line could be completed.
+
+Owing to its hasty construction and the heavy rainfall, or perhaps to both,
+the tunnels and bridges frequently cave in or are washed away and the
+railroad is chiefly remarkable for the number of days in the year in which
+it does not operate; nevertheless the French deserve great credit for their
+enterprise in extending their line to Yuen-nan Fu over the mountains where
+there is a tunnel or bridge almost every mile of the way. While it was
+being built through the fever-stricken jungles of Tonking the coolies died
+like flies, and it was necessary to suspend all work during the summer
+months.
+
+The scenery along the railroad is marvelous and the traveling is by no
+means uncomfortable, but the hotels in which one stops at night are
+wretched. One of our friends in Hongkong related an amusing experience
+which he had at Lao-kay, the first hotel on the railroad. He asked for a
+bath and discovered that a tub of hot water had been prepared. He wished a
+cold bath, and seeing a large tank filled with cold water in the corner of
+the room he climbed in and was enjoying himself when the hotel proprietor
+suddenly rushed upstairs exclaiming, "Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, you are in the
+tank of drinking water."
+
+When we arrived at Yuen-nan Fu we found a surprisingly cosmopolitan
+community housed within its grim old walls; some were consuls, some
+missionaries, some salt, telegraph, or customs officials in the Chinese
+employ, and others represented business firms in Hongkong, but all received
+us with open handed hospitality characteristic of the East.
+
+We thought that after leaving Hongkong our evening clothes would not again
+be used, but they were requisitioned every night for we were guests at
+dinners given by almost everyone of the foreign community. Mr. Howard Page,
+a representative of the Standard Oil Company, proved a most valuable
+friend, and through him we were able to obtain a caravan and make other
+arrangements for the transportation of our baggage. M. Henry Wilden, the
+French Consul, an ardent sportsman and a charming gentleman, took an active
+interest in our affairs and arranged a meeting for us with the Chinese
+Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, he later transported our trunks
+to Hongkong with his personal baggage and assisted us in every possible
+way.
+
+We went to the Foreign Office at half past ten and were ushered into a
+large room where a rather imposing lunch had already been spread. The
+Commissioner, a fat, jolly little man, who knew a few words of French but
+none of English, received us in the most cordial way and immediately opened
+several bottles of champagne in our honor. He asked why our passports had
+not been vised in Peking, and we pleased him greatly by replying that at
+the time we were in the capital Yuen-nan was an independent province and
+consequently the Peking Government had not the temerity to put their stamp
+upon our passports.
+
+Inasmuch as Yuen-nan was infested with brigands we had expected some
+opposition to our plans for traveling in the interior, but none was
+forthcoming, and with the exception of an offer of a guard of soldiers for
+our trip to Ta-li Fu which we knew it would be impolitic to refuse, we left
+the Foreign Office with all the desired permits.
+
+The Chinese Government appeared to be greatly interested in our zooelogical
+study of Yuen-nan, offered to assist us in every way we could suggest, and
+telegraphed to every mandarin in the north and west of the province,
+instructing them to receive us with all honor and to facilitate our work in
+every way. None of the opposition which we had been led to expect
+developed, and it is difficult to see how we could have been more cordially
+received.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+ON THE ROAD TO TA-LI FU
+
+On August 6, we dispatched half our equipment to Ta-li Fu, and three days
+later we ourselves left Yuen-nan Fu at eleven o'clock in the morning after
+an interminable wait for our caravan. Through the kindness of Mr. Page, a
+house boat was put at our disposal and we sailed across the upper end of
+the beautiful lake which lies just outside the city, and intercepted the
+caravan twenty-five _li_ [Footnote: A _li_ in this province equals
+one-third of an English mile.] from Yuen-nan Fu.
+
+On the way we passed a number of cormorant fishers, each with ten or a
+dozen birds sitting quietly upon the boat with outspread wings drying their
+feathers. Every bird has a ring about its neck, and is thus prevented from
+swallowing the fish which it catches by diving into the water.
+
+After waiting an hour for our caravan we saw the long train of mules and
+horses winding up the hill toward us. There were seventeen altogether, and
+in the midst of them rode the cook clinging desperately with both hands to
+a diminutive mule, his long legs dangling and a look of utter wretchedness
+upon his face. Just before the caravan reached us it began to rain, and the
+cook laboriously pulled on a suit of yellow oilskins which we had purchased
+for him in Yuen-nan Fu. These, together with a huge yellow hat, completed a
+picture which made us roar with laughter; Heller gave the caption for it
+when he shouted, "Here comes the 'Yellow Peril.'"
+
+We surveyed the tiny horses with dismay. As Heller vainly tried to get his
+girth tight enough to keep the saddle from sliding over the animal's tail
+he exclaimed, "Is this a horse or a squirrel I'm trying to ride?" But it
+was not so bad when we finally climbed aboard and found that we did not
+crush the little brutes.
+
+A seventy-pound box on each side of the saddle with a few odds and ends on
+top made a pack of at least one hundred and sixty pounds. This is heavy
+even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility,
+but it is the usual weight, and the businesslike way in which they moved
+off showed that they were not overloaded.
+
+The Yuen-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. The load is
+strapped with a rawhide to a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over
+a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place by its own
+weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it can be easily
+removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. It has the great
+disadvantage, however, of giving the horses serious back sores which
+receive but scanty attention from the _mafus_ (muleteers).
+
+When we were fairly started upon our long ride to Ta-li Fu the time slipped
+by in a succession of delightful days. Since this was the main caravan
+route the _mafus_ had regular stages beyond which they would not go. If we
+did not stop for luncheon the march could be ended early in the afternoon
+and we could settle ourselves for the night in a temple which always proved
+a veritable "haven of rest" after a long day in the saddle. A few pages
+from my wife's "Journal" of September fifteenth describes our camp at
+Lu-ho-we and our life on the road to Ta-li Fu.
+
+    We are sitting on the porch of an old, old temple. It is on a hilltop
+    in a forest grove with the gray-walled town lying at our feet. The sun
+    is flooding the flower-filled courtyard and throwing bars of golden
+    light through the twisted branches of a bent old pine, over the stone
+    well, and into the dim recesses behind the altar where a benevolent
+    idol grins down upon us.
+
+    We have been in the saddle for eight hours and it is enchanting to rest
+    in this peaceful, aged temple. Outside children are shouting and
+    laughing but all is quiet here save for the drip of water in the well,
+    and the chatter of a magpie on the pine tree. Today we made the stage
+    in one long march and now we can rest and browse among our books or
+    wander with a gun along the cool, tree-shaded paths.
+
+    The sun is hot at midday, although the mornings and evenings are cold,
+    and tonight we shall build a fragrant fire of yellow pine, and talk for
+    an hour before we go to sleep upon the porch where we can see the moon
+    come up and the stars shining so low that they seem like tiny lanterns
+    in the sky.
+
+    It is seven days since we left Yuen-nan Fu and each night we have come
+    to temples such as this. There is an inexpressible charm about them,
+    lying asleep, as it were, among the trees of their courtyards, with
+    stately, pillared porches, and picturesque gables upturned to the sky.
+    They seem so very, very old and filled with such great calm and peace.
+
+    Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride
+    through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged women,
+    filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the dilapidated
+    entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close the huge gates
+    and are in another world.
+
+    We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn. As
+    we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted against
+    the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and the
+    contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans.
+
+    Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we have
+    fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the remotest
+    corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal is
+    awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean white cloth. While we
+    are eating, the beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a
+    running fire of exhortations to the _mafus_ who cause us endless
+    trouble.
+
+    They are a hard lot, these _mafus_. Force seems to be the only thing
+    they understand and kindness produces no results. If the march is long
+    and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to get them started
+    within three hours without the aid of threats. Once after a long halt
+    when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to wait by the roadside for
+    hours before the caravan arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they
+    had begun to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage
+    until long after dark.
+
+    In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses we
+    ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling line of
+    mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones of the road.
+    It is delightful in the early morning for the air is fresh and brisk
+    like that of October at home, but later in the day when the sun is
+    higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade
+    where we can rest until the caravan arrives.
+
+    The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which says: "A road
+    is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this applies most
+    excellently to those of Yuen-nan. The main caravan highways are paved
+    with huge stones to make them passable during the rainy season, but
+    after a few years' wear the blocks become broken and irregular, the
+    earth is washed from between them and they are upturned at impossible
+    angles. The result is a chaotic mass which by no stretch of imagination
+    can be called a road. Where the stones are still in place they have
+    been worn to such glasslike smoothness by the thousands of passing
+    mules that it is well-nigh impossible to walk upon them. As a result a
+    caravan avoids the paving whenever it can find a path and sometimes
+    dozens of deeply-cut trails wind over the hills beside the road.
+
+    We are seldom on level ground, for ten per cent of the entire province
+    is mountainous and we soon lost count of the ranges which we crossed.
+    It is slow, hard work, toiling up the steep mountain-sides, but once on
+    the ridges where the country is spread out below us like a great, green
+    relief map, there is a wonderful exhilaration, and we climb higher with
+    a joyous sense of freedom.
+
+    Yuen-nan means "south of the cloud" and every morning the peaks about us
+    are shrouded in fog. Sometimes the veil-like mists still float about
+    the mountain tops when we climb into them, and we are suddenly
+    enveloped in a wet gray blanket which sends us shivering into the coats
+    tied to our saddles.
+
+For centuries this road has been one of the main trade arteries through the
+province, and with the total lack of conservation ideas so characteristic
+of the Chinese, every available bit of natural forest has been cut away. As
+a result the mountains are desert wastes of sandstone alternating with
+grass-covered hills sometimes clothed with groves of pines or spruces.
+These trees have all been planted, and ere they have reached a height of
+fifteen or twenty feet will yield to the insistent demand for wood which is
+ever present with the Chinese.
+
+The ignorance of the need of forest conservation is an illuminating
+commentary on Chinese education. Mr. William Hanna, a missionary of Ta-li
+Fu, told us that one day he was riding over this same road with a Chinese
+gentleman, a deep scholar, who was considered one of the best educated men
+of the province. Pointing to the barren hills washed clean of soil and
+deeply worn by countless floods, Mr. Hanna remarked that all this could
+have been prevented, and that instead of a rocky waste there might have
+been a fertile hillside, had the trees been left to grow.
+
+The Chinese scholar listened in amazement to facts which every western
+schoolboy has learned ere he is twelve years old, but of which he was
+ignorant because they are not a part of Confucius' teachings. To study
+modern science is considered a waste of time by the orthodox Chinese for
+"everything good must be old," and all his life he delves into the past
+utterly neglectful of the present.
+
+Every valley along the road was green with rice fields and this, together
+with the deforestation of the mountains, is responsible for the almost
+total lack of animal life. Night after night we set traps about our temple
+camps only to find them untouched in the morning. There were no mammals
+with the exception of a few red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus
+erythraeus_ sub sp.) and now and then a tree shrew (_Tupaia belangeri
+chinensis_).
+
+
+The latter is an interesting species. Although it is an Insectivore, and a
+relative of the tiny shrews which live in holes and under logs, it has
+squirrel-like habits and in appearance is like a squirrel to which it is
+totally unrelated. Instead of the thinly haired mouselike tails of the
+ordinary shrews the tupaias have developed long bushy tails and in fact
+look and act so much like squirrels that it is difficult to convince the
+white residents of Yuen-nan, who are accustomed to see them run about the
+hedges and walls of their courtyards that the two are quite unrelated.
+
+The tree shrews are found only in Asia and are one of the most remarkable
+instances of a superficial resemblance between unrelated animals with
+similar habits. A study of their anatomy has revealed the fact that they
+represent a distinct group which is connected with the monkeys (lemurs).
+
+Although birds were fairly abundant the species were not varied. We were
+about a month too early for the ducks and geese, which during the winter
+swarm into Yuen-nan from the north, and without a dog, pheasants are
+difficult to get. In fact we were greatly disappointed in the game birds,
+for we had expected good pheasant shooting even along the road and
+virtually none were to be found.
+
+The main caravan roads of Yuen-nan held little of interest for us as
+naturalists, but as students of native customs they were fascinating, for
+the life of the province passed before us in panoramic completeness.
+Chinese villages wherever we have seen them are marvels of utter and
+abandoned filth and although those of Yuen-nan are no exception to the rule,
+they are considerably better than the coast cities.
+
+Pigs, chickens, horses and cows live in happy communion with the human
+inmates of the houses, the pigs especially being treated as we favor dogs
+at home. On the door steps children play with the swine, patting and
+pounding them, and one of my friends said that he had actually seen a
+mother bring her baby to be nursed by a sow with her family of piglets.
+
+The natives were pleasant and friendly and seemed to be industrious.
+Wherever the deforestation had left sufficient soil on the lower hillsides
+patches of corn took the place of the former poppy fields for opium. In
+1906, the Empress Dowager issued an edict prohibiting the growing of opium,
+and gave guarantees to the British that it would be entirely stamped out
+during the next ten years. Strangely enough these promises have been
+faithfully kept, and in Yuen-nan the hillsides, which were once white with
+poppy blossoms, are now yellow with corn. In all our 2000 miles of riding
+over unfrequented trails and in the most out-of-the-way spots we found only
+one instance where opium was being cultivated.
+
+The mandarin of each district accompanied by a guard of soldiers makes
+periodical excursions during the seasons when the poppy is in blossom, cuts
+down the plants if any are found, and punishes the owners. China deserves
+the greatest credit for so successfully dealing with a question which
+affects such a large part of her four hundred millions of people and which
+presents such unusual difficulties because of its economic importance.
+
+Just across the frontier in Burma, opium is grown freely and much is
+smuggled into Yuen-nan. Therefore its use has by no means been abandoned,
+especially in the south of the province, and in some towns it is smoked
+openly in the tea houses. In August, 1916, just before we reached Yuen-nan
+Fu there was an _expose_ of opium smuggling which throws an illuminating
+side light on the corruption of some Chinese officials.
+
+Opium can be purchased in Yuen-nan Fu for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce,
+while in Shanghai it is worth ten dollars (Mexican). Tang (the Military
+Governor), the Minister of Justice, the Governor's brother and three
+members of Parliament had collected six hundred pounds of opium which they
+undertook to transfer to Shanghai.
+
+Their request that no examination of their baggage be made by the French
+during their passage through Tonking was granted, and a similar favor was
+procured for them at Shanghai. Thus the sixty cases were safely landed, but
+a few hours later, through the opium combine, foreign detectives learned of
+the smuggling and the boxes were seized.
+
+The Minister of Justice denied all knowledge of the opium, as did the three
+Parliament members, and Governor Tang was not interrogated as that would be
+quite contrary to the laws of Chinese etiquette; however, he will not
+receive reappointment when his official term expires.
+
+As we neared Ta-li Fu, and indeed along the entire road, we were amazed at
+the prevalence of goitre. At a conservative estimate two out of every five
+persons were suffering from the disease, some having two, or even three,
+globules of uneven size hanging from their throats. In one village six out
+of seven adults were affected, but apparently children under twelve or
+fourteen years are free from it as we saw no evidences in either sex.
+Probably the disease is in a large measure due to the drinking water, for
+it is most prevalent in the limestone regions and seems to be somewhat
+localized.
+
+Every day we passed "chairs," or as we named them, "mountain schooners," in
+each of which a fat Chinaman sprawled while two or four sweating coolies
+bore him up hill. The chair is rigged between a pair of long bamboo poles
+and consists of two sticks swung by ropes on which is piled a heap of
+bedding. Overhead a light bamboo frame supports a piece of yellow oilcloth,
+which completely shuts in the occupant, except from the front and rear.
+
+The Chinese consider it undignified to walk, or even to ride, and if one is
+about to make an official visit nothing less than a four-man chair is
+required. Haste is just as much tabooed in the "front families" as physical
+exertion, and is utterly incomprehensible to the Chinese. Major Davies says
+that while he was in Tonking before the railroad to Yuen-nan Fu had been
+constructed, M. Doumer, the Governor-General of French Indo-China, who was
+a very energetic man, rode to Yuen-nan Fu in an extraordinarily short time.
+While the Europeans greatly admired his feat, the Chinese believed he must
+be in some difficulty from which only the immediate assistance of the
+Viceroy of Yuen-nan could extricate him.
+
+In Yuen-nan it is necessary to carry one's own bedding for the inns supply
+nothing but food, and consequently when a Chinaman rides from one city to
+another he piles a great heap of blankets on his horse's back and climbs on
+top with his legs astride the animal's neck in front. The horses are
+trained to a rapid trot instead of a gallop, and I know of no more
+ridiculous sight than a Chinaman bouncing along a road on the summit of a
+veritable mountain of bedding with his arms waving and streamers flying in
+every direction. He is assisted in keeping his balance by broad brass
+stirrups in which he usually hooks his heels and guides his horse by means
+of a rawhide bridle decorated with dozens of bangles which make a
+comforting jingle whenever he moves.
+
+On the sixth day out when approaching the city of Chu-hsuing Fu we took a
+short cut through the fields leaving the caravan to follow the main road.
+The trail brought us to a river about forty feet wide spanned by a bridge
+made from two narrow planks, with a wide median fissure. We led our horses
+across without trouble and Heller started to follow. He had reached the
+center of the bridge when his horse shied at the hole, jumped to one side,
+hung suspended on his belly for a moment, and toppled off into the water.
+
+The performance had all happened behind Heller's back and when he turned
+about in time to see his horse diving into the river, he stood looking down
+at him with a most ludicrous expression of surprise and disgust, while the
+animal climbed out and began to graze as quietly as though nothing had
+happened.
+
+Chu-hsuing was interesting as being the home of Miss Cordelia Morgan, a
+niece of Senator Morgan of Virginia. We found her to be a most charming and
+determined young woman who had established a mission station in the city
+under considerable difficulties. The mandarin and other officials by no
+means wished to have a foreign lady, alone and unattended, settle down
+among them and become a responsibility which might cause them endless
+trouble, and although she had rented a house before she arrived, the owner
+refused to allow her to move in.
+
+She could get no assistance from the mandarin and was forced to live for
+two months in a dirty Chinese inn, swarming with vermin, until they
+realized that she was determined not to be driven away. She eventually
+obtained a house and while she considers herself comfortable, I doubt if
+others would care to share her life unless they had an equal amount of
+determination and enthusiasm.
+
+At that time she had not placed her work under the charge of a mission
+board and was carrying it on independently. Until our arrival she had seen
+but one white person in a year and a half, was living entirely upon Chinese
+food, and had tasted no butter or milk in months.
+
+We had a delightful dinner with Miss Morgan and the next morning as our
+caravan wound down the long hill past her house she stood at the window to
+wave good-by. She kept her head behind the curtains, and doubtless if we
+could have seen her face we would have found tears upon it, for the evening
+with another woman of her kind had brought to her a breath of the old life
+which she had resolutely forsaken and which so seldom penetrated to her
+self-appointed exile.
+
+On our ninth day from Yuen-nan Fu we had a welcome bit of excitement. We
+were climbing a long mountain trail to a pass over eight thousand feet high
+and were near the summit when a boy dashed breathlessly up to the caravan,
+jabbering wildly in Chinese. It required fifteen minutes of questioning
+before we finally learned that bandits had attacked a big caravan less than
+a mile ahead of us and were even then ransacking the loads.
+
+He said that there were two hundred and fifty of them and that they had
+killed two _mafus_; almost immediately a second gesticulating Chinaman
+appeared and gave the number as three hundred and fifty and the dead as
+five. Allowing for the universal habit of exaggeration we felt quite sure
+that there were not more than fifty, and subsequently learned that forty
+was the correct number and that no one had been killed.
+
+Our caravan was in a bad place to resist an attack but we got out our
+rifles and made for a village at the top of the pass. There were not more
+than a half dozen mud houses and in the narrow street between them perfect
+bedlam reigned. Several small caravans had halted to wait for us, and men,
+horses, loads, and chairs were packed and jammed together so tightly that
+it seemed impossible ever to extricate them. Our arrival added to the
+confusion, but leaving the _mafus_ to scream and chatter among themselves,
+we scouted ahead to learn the true condition of affairs.
+
+Almost within sight we found the caravan which had been robbed. Paper and
+cloth were strewn about, loads overturned, and loose mules wandered over
+the hillside. The frightened _mafus_ were straggling back and told us that
+about forty bandits had suddenly surrounded the caravan, shooting and
+brandishing long knives. Instantly the _mafus_ had run for their lives
+leaving the brigands to rifle the packs unmolested. The goods chiefly
+belonged to the retiring mandarin of Li-chiang, and included some five
+thousand dollars worth of jade and gold dust, all of which was taken.
+
+Yuen-nan, like most of the outlying provinces of China, is infested with
+brigands who make traveling very unsafe. There are, of course, organized
+bands of robbers at all times, but these have been greatly augmented since
+the rebellion by dismissed soldiers or deserters who have taken to
+brigandage as the easiest means to avoid starvation.
+
+The Chinese Government is totally unable to cope with the situation and
+makes only half-hearted attempts to punish even the most flagrant
+robberies, so that unguarded caravans carrying valuable material which
+arrive at their destination unmolested consider themselves very lucky.
+
+So far as our expedition was concerned we did not feel great apprehension
+for it was generally known that we carried but little money and our
+equipment, except for guns, could not readily be disposed of. Throughout
+the entire expedition we paid our _mafus_ and servants a part of their
+wages in advance when they were engaged, and arranged to have money sent by
+the mandarins or the British American Tobacco Co., to some large town which
+would be reached after several months. There the balance on salaries was
+paid and we carried with us only enough money for our daily needs.
+
+Before we left Yuen-nan Fu we were assured by the Foreign Office that we
+would be furnished with a guard of soldiers--an honor few foreigners
+escape! The first day out we had four, all armed with umbrellas! These
+accompanied us to the first camp where they delivered their official
+message to the _yamen_ and intrusted us to the care of others for our next
+day's journey.
+
+Sometimes they were equipped with guns of the vintage of 1872, but their
+cartridges were seldom of the same caliber as the rifles and in most cases
+the ubiquitous umbrella was their only weapon. Just what good they would be
+in a real attack it is difficult to imagine, except to divert attention by
+breaking the speed limits in running away.
+
+Several times in the morning we believed we had escaped them but they
+always turned up in an hour or two. They were not so much a nuisance as an
+expense, for custom requires that each be paid twenty cents (Mexican) a day
+both going and returning. They are of some use in lending an official
+aspect to an expedition and in requisitioning anything which may be needed;
+also they act as an insurance policy, for if a caravan is robbed a claim
+can be entered against the government, whereas if the escort is refused the
+traveler has no redress.
+
+It is amusing and often irritating to see the cavalier way in which these
+men treat other caravans or the peasants along the road. Waving their arms
+and shouting oaths they shoo horses, mules or chairs out of the way
+regardless of the confusion into which the approaching caravan may be
+thrown. They must also be closely watched for they are none too honest and
+are prone to rely upon the moral support of foreigners to take whatever
+they wish without the formality of payment.
+
+We were especially careful to respect the property on which we camped and
+to be just in all our dealings with the natives, but it was sometimes
+difficult to prevent the _mafus_ or soldiers from tearing down fences for
+firewood or committing similar depredations. Wherever such acts were
+discovered we made suitable payment and punished the offenders by deducting
+a part of their wages. Foreigners cannot respect too carefully the rights
+of the peasants, for upon their conduct rests the reception which will be
+accorded to all others who follow in their footsteps.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+TA-LI FU
+
+On Friday, September 23, we were at Chou Chou and camped in a picturesque
+little temple on the outskirts of the town. As the last stage was only six
+hours we spent half the morning in taking moving pictures of the caravan
+and left for Ta-li at eleven-thirty after an early _tiffin_.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we reached Hsia-kuan, a large commercial
+town at the lower end of the lake. Its population largely consists of
+merchants and it is by all means the most important business place of
+interior Yuen-nan; Ta-li, eight miles away, is the residence and official
+city.
+
+At Hsia-kuan we called upon the salt commissioner, Mr. Lui, to whom Mr.
+Bode, the salt inspector at Yuen-nan Fu, had very kindly telegraphed money
+for my account, and after the usual tea and cigarettes we went on to Ta-li
+Fu over a perfectly level paved road, which was so slippery that it was
+well-nigh impossible for either horse or man to move over it faster than a
+walk.
+
+This was the hottest day of our experience in Northern Yuen-nan, the
+thermometer registering 85 deg.+ in the shade, which is the usual mid-summer
+temperature, but the moment the sun dropped behind the mountains it was
+cool enough for one to enjoy a fire. Even in the winter it is never very
+cold and its delightful summer should make Northern Yuen-nan a wonderful
+health resort for the residents of fever-stricken Burma and Tonking.
+
+We rode toward Ta-li with the beautiful lake on our right hand and on the
+other the Ts'ang Shan mountains which rise to a height of fourteen thousand
+feet. As we approached the city we could see dimly outlined against the
+foothills the slender shafts of three ancient pagodas. They were erected to
+the _feng-shui_, the spirits of the "earth, wind, and water," and for
+fifteen hundred years have stood guard over the stone graves which, in
+countless thousands, are spread along the foot of the mountains like a vast
+gray blanket. In the late afternoon sunlight the walls of the city seemed
+to recede before us and the picturesque gate loomed shadowy and unreal even
+when we passed through its gloomy arch and clattered up the stone-paved
+street.
+
+We soon discovered the residence of Mr. H.G. Evans, agent of the British
+American Tobacco Company, to whose care our first caravan had been
+consigned, and he very hospitably invited us to remain with him while we
+were in Ta-li Fu. This was only the beginning of Mr. Evans' assistance to
+the Expedition, for he acted as its banker throughout our stay in Yuen-nan,
+cashing checks and transferring money for us whenever we needed funds.
+
+The British American Tobacco Company and the Standard Oil Company of New
+York are veritable "oases in the desert" for travelers because their
+agencies are found in the most out-of-the-way spots in Asia and their
+employees are always ready to extend the cordial hospitality of the East to
+wandering foreigners.
+
+Besides Mr. Evans the white residents of Ta-li Fu include the Reverend
+William J. Hanna, his wife and two other ladies, all of the China Inland
+Mission. Mr. Hanna is doing a really splendid work, especially along
+educational and medical lines. He has built a beautiful little chapel, a
+large school, and a dispensary in connection with his house, where he and
+his wife are occupied every morning treating the minor ills of the natives,
+Christian and heathen alike.
+
+Ta-li Fu was the scene of tremendous slaughter at the time of the
+Mohammedan war, when the Chinese captured the city through the treachery of
+its commander and turned the streets to rivers of blood. The Mohammedans
+were almost exterminated, and the ruined stone walls testify to the
+completeness of the Chinese devastation.
+
+The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt. He
+called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately asked if
+we had any shotgun cartridges. He remarked that he had a gun but no shells,
+and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to hint broadly at
+every opportunity.
+
+The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what they
+can make in "squeeze" from the natives of their district for reimbursement
+and a profit on their investment. In almost every case which is brought to
+them for adjustment the decision is withheld until the magistrate has
+learned which of the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a
+settlement in his favor. The Chinese peasant, accepting this as the
+established custom, pays the bribe without a murmur if it is not too
+exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly surprised if "justice" were
+dispensed in any other way.
+
+My personal relations with the various mandarins whom I was constantly
+required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and I was
+treated with great courtesy. It was apparent wherever we were in China that
+there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant and
+official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the law,
+undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the
+republic. Before my first official visit Wu gave me a lesson in etiquette.
+The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary to conform to
+their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse,
+the fact that Western customs differ from their own.
+
+At the end of the reception room in every _yamen_ is a raised platform on
+which the visitor sits at the _left hand_ of the mandarin; it would be
+exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand. Tea
+is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted until the
+official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to the lips with both
+hands. Usually when the magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the
+interview is ended. When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor to the
+doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually bows and protests
+asking him not to come so far.
+
+Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time
+investigating the shops. One important find was the panda (_Aelurus
+fulgens_). The panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but looks
+rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the "fire fox" because of
+its beautiful, red fur. Pandas were supposed to be exceedingly rare and we
+could hardly believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made from
+their skins hanging in the fur shops.
+
+Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, _Petaruista yunnanensis_, were
+also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was almost as great
+a surprise as the finding of the pandas. This is often true in the case of
+supposedly rare species. A few specimens may be obtained from the extreme
+limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for
+years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the
+proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant.
+
+We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (_Felis temmicki_) which, with
+the snow leopard (_Felis uncia_), it was said came from Tibet. Civets,
+bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and
+pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops. The scales of the
+pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of certain
+diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of
+deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows.
+
+Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in China by
+foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops. If a Chinaman discovers
+a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold mine
+to him. The bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed with an acid, and a
+phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain value as a tonic. When a
+considerable amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added its efficacy
+assumes double proportions.
+
+Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan from the southern
+part of the province along the Tonking border, but the good ones are
+quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).
+Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.
+
+Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century and, among other
+things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province. We
+were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and more
+heavily built than those of Yuen-nan Fu and appear to be better in every
+way. A good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five dollars
+(Mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because
+they are considered better pack animals.
+
+On the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of Yuen-nan we
+hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them outright, and
+subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course. Saddle ponies,
+which are used only for short trips about the city, cannot endure continual
+traveling over the execrable roads of the interior where often it is
+impossible to feed them properly. If an entire caravan were purchased the
+leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble with the _mafus_ to
+insure even ordinary care of the animals, an opportunity would be given for
+endless "squeeze" in the purchase of food, and there are other reasons too
+numerous to mention why in this province the plan is impracticable.
+
+However, the caravan ponies do try one's patience to the limit. They are
+trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind another
+horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass. Beat or kick the
+beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the horse in
+front. On the first day out Heller, who was on a particularly bad animal,
+when trying to pass one of us began to cavort about like a circus rider,
+prancing from side to side and backward but never going forward. We shouted
+that we would wait for him to go on but he replied helplessly, "I can't,
+this horse isn't under my management," and we found very soon that our
+animals were not under our management either!
+
+In a town near Ta-li Fu we were in front of the caravan with Wu and Heller:
+Wu stopped to buy a basket of mushrooms but his horse refused to move
+ahead. Beat as he would, the animal only backed in a circle, ours followed,
+and in a few moments we were packed together so tightly that it was
+impossible even to dismount. There we sat, helpless, to the huge delight of
+the villagers until rescued by a _mafu_. As soon as he led Wu's horse
+forward the others proceeded as quietly as lambs.
+
+We paid forty cents (Mexican) a day for each animal while traveling, and
+fifteen or twenty cents when in camp, but the rate varies somewhat in
+different parts of the province, and in the west and south, along the Burma
+border fifty cents is the usual price. When a caravan is engaged the
+necessary _mafus_ are included and they buy food for themselves and beans
+and hay for the animals.
+
+Ever since leaving Yuen-nan Fu the cook we engaged at Paik-hoi had been a
+source of combined irritation and amusement. He was a lanky, effeminate
+gentleman who never before had ridden a horse, and who was physically and
+mentally unable to adapt himself to camp life. After five months in the
+field he appeared to be as helpless when the caravan camped for the night
+as when we first started, and he would stand vacantly staring until someone
+directed him what to do. But he was a good cook, when he wished to exert
+himself, and had the great asset of knowing a considerable amount of
+English. While we were in Ta-li Fu Mr. Evans overheard him relating his
+experiences on the road to several of the other servants. "Of course," said
+the cook, "it is a fine way to see the country, but the riding! My
+goodness, that's awful! After the third day I didn't know whether to go on
+or turn back--I was so sore I couldn't sit down even on a chair to say
+nothing of a horse!"
+
+He had evidently fully made up his mind not to "see the country" that way
+for the day after we left Ta-li Fu _en route_ to the Tibetan frontier he
+became violently ill. Although we could find nothing the matter with him he
+made such a good case for himself that we believed he really was quite sick
+and treated him accordingly. The following morning, however, he sullenly
+refused to proceed, and we realized that his illness was of the mind rather
+than the body. As he had accepted two months' salary in advance and had
+already sent it to his wife in Paik-hoi, we were in a position to use a
+certain amount of forceful persuasion which entirely accomplished its
+object and illness did not trouble him thereafter.
+
+The loss of a cook is a serious matter to a large expedition. Good meals
+and varied food must be provided if the personnel is to work at its highest
+efficiency and cooking requires a vast amount of thought and time. In
+Yuen-nan natives who can cook foreign food are by no means easy to find and
+when our Paik-hoi gentleman finally left us upon our return to Ta-li Fu we
+were fortunate in obtaining an exceedingly competent man to take his place
+through the good offices of Mr. Hanna.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+LI-CHIANG AND "THE TEMPLE OF THE FLOWERS"
+
+We left a part of our outfit with Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu and with a new
+caravan of twenty-five animals traveled northward for six days to Li-chiang
+Fu. By taking a small road we hoped to find good collecting in the pine
+forests three days from Ta-li, but instead there was a total absence of
+animal life. The woods were beautiful, parklike stretches which in a
+country like California would be full of game, but here were silent and
+deserted. During the fourth and fifth days we were still in the forests,
+but on the sixth we crossed a pass 10,000 feet high and descended abruptly
+into a long marshy plain where at the far end were the gray outlines of
+Li-chiang dimly visible against the mountains.
+
+Wu and I galloped ahead to find a temple for our camp, leaving Heller and
+my wife to follow. A few pages from her journal tell of their entry into
+the city.
+
+    We rode along a winding stone causeway and halted on the outskirts of
+    the town to wait until the caravan arrived. Neither Roy nor Wu was in
+    sight but we expected that the _mafus_ would ask where they had gone
+    and follow, for of course we could not speak a word of the language.
+    Already there was quite a sensation as we came down the street, for our
+    sudden appearance seemed to have stupefied the people with amazement.
+    One old lady looked at me with an indescribable expression and uttered
+    what sounded exactly like a long-drawn "Mon Dieu" of disagreeable
+    surprise.
+
+    I tried smiling at them but they appeared too astonished to appreciate
+    our friendliness and in return merely stared with open mouths and eyes.
+    We halted and immediately the street was blocked by crowds of men,
+    women, and children who poured out of the houses, shops, and
+    cross-streets to gaze in rapt attention. When the caravan arrived we
+    moved on again expecting that the _mafus_ had learned where Roy had
+    gone, but they seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the narrow
+    winding streets. Even though we did not find a camping place we
+    afforded the natives intense delight.
+
+    I felt as though I were the chief actor in a circus parade at home, but
+    the most remarkable attraction there could not have equaled our
+    unparalleled success in Li-chiang. On the second excursion through the
+    town we passed down a cross-street, and suddenly from a courtyard at
+    the right we heard feminine voices speaking English.
+
+    "It's a girl. No, it's a boy. No, no, can't you see her hair, it's a
+    girl!" Just then we caught sight of three ladies, unmistakably
+    foreigners although dressed in Chinese costume. They were Mrs. A. Kok,
+    wife of the resident Pentecostal Missionary, and two assistants, who
+    rushed into the street as soon as they had determined my sex and
+    literally "fell upon my neck." They had not seen a white woman since
+    their arrival there four years ago and it seemed to them that I had
+    suddenly dropped from the sky.
+
+    While we were talking Wu appeared to guide us to the camp. They had
+    chosen a beautiful temple with a flower-filled courtyard on the summit
+    of a hill overlooking the city. It was wonderfully clean and when our
+    beds, tables, and chairs were spread on the broad stone porch it seemed
+    like a real home.
+
+    The next days were busy ones for us all, Roy and Heller setting traps,
+    and I working at my photography. We let it be known that we would pay
+    well for specimens, and there was an almost uninterrupted procession of
+    men and boys carrying long sticks, on which were strung frogs, rats,
+    toads, and snakes. They would simply beam with triumph and enthusiasm.
+    Our fame spread and more came, bringing the most ridiculous tame
+    things--pigeons, maltese cats, dogs, white rabbits, caged birds, and I
+    even believe we might have purchased a girl baby or two, for mothers
+    stood about with little brown kiddies on their backs as though they
+    really would like to offer them to us but hardly dared.
+
+    The temple priest was a good looking, smooth-faced chap, and hidden
+    under his coat he brought dozens of skins. I believe that his religious
+    vows did not allow him to handle animals--openly--and so he would
+    beckon Roy into the darkness of the temple with a most mysterious air,
+    and would extract all sorts of things from his sleeves just like a
+    sleight-of-hand performer. He was a rich man when we left!
+
+    The people are mostly tribesmen--Mosos, Lolos, Tibetans, and many
+    others. The girls wear their hair "bobbed off" in front and with a long
+    plait in back. They wash their hair once--on their wedding day--and
+    then it is wrapped up in turbans for the rest of their lives. The
+    Tibetan women dress their hair in dozens of tiny braids, but I don't
+    believe there is any authority that they ever wash it, or themselves
+    either.
+
+Li-chiang was our first collecting camp and we never had a better one. On
+the morning after our arrival Heller found mammals in half his traps, and
+in the afternoon we each put out a line of forty traps which brought us
+fifty mammals of eleven species. This was a wonderful relief after the many
+days of travel through country devoid of animal life.
+
+Our traps contained shrews of two species, meadow voles, Asiatic
+white-footed mice, spiny mice, rats, squirrels, and tree shrews. The small
+mammals were exceedingly abundant and easy to catch, but after the first
+day we began to have difficulty with the natives who stole our traps. We
+usually marked them with a bit of cotton, and the boys would follow an
+entire line down a hedge, taking every one. Sometimes they even brought
+specimens to us for sale which we knew had been caught in our stolen traps!
+
+The traps were set under logs and stumps and in the grass where we found
+the "runways" or paths which mice, rats and voles often make. These animals
+begin to move about just after dark, and we usually would inspect our traps
+with a lantern about nine o'clock in the evening. This not only gave the
+trap a double chance to be filled but we also secured perfect specimens,
+for such species as mice and shrews are cannibalistic, and almost every
+night, if the specimens were not taken out early in the evening, several
+would be partly eaten.
+
+Small mammals are often of much greater interest and importance
+scientifically than large ones, for, especially among the Insectivores,
+there are many primitive forms which are apparently of ancestral stock and
+throw light on the evolutionary history of other living groups.
+
+Li-chiang is a fur market of considerable importance for the Tibetans bring
+down vast quantities of skins for sale and trade. Lambs, goats, foxes,
+cats, civets, pandas, and flying squirrels hang in the shops and there are
+dozens of fur dressers who do really excellent tanning.
+
+This city is a most interesting place especially on market day, for its
+inhabitants represent many different tribes with but comparatively few
+Chinese. By far the greatest percentage of natives are the Mosos who are
+semi-Tibetan in their life and customs. They were originally an independent
+race who ruled a considerable part of northern Yuen-nan, and Li-chiang was
+their ancient capital. To the effeminate and "highly civilized" Chinese
+they are "barbarians," but we found them to be simple, honest and wholly
+delightful people. Many of those whom we met later had never seen a white
+woman, and yet their inherent decency was in the greatest contrast to that
+of the Chinese who consider themselves so immeasurably their superior.
+
+The Mosos have large herds of sheep and cattle, and this is the one place
+in the Orient except in large cities along the coast, where we could obtain
+fresh milk and butter. As with the Tibetans, buttered tea and _tsamba_
+(parched oatmeal) are the great essentials, but they also grow quantities
+of delicious vegetables and fruit. Buttered tea is prepared by churning
+fresh butter into hot tea until the two have become well mixed. It is then
+thickened with finely ground _tsamba_ until a ball is formed which is eaten
+with the fingers. The combination is distinctly good when the ingredients
+are fresh, but if the butter happens to be rancid the less said of it the
+better.
+
+The natives of this region are largely agriculturists and raise great
+quantities of squash, turnips, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, corn,
+peas, beans, oranges, pears, persimmons and nuts. While traveling we filled
+our saddle pockets with pears and English walnuts or chestnuts and could
+replenish our stock at almost any village along the road.
+
+Everything was absurdly cheap. Eggs were usually about eight cents
+(Mexican) a dozen, and we could always purchase a chicken for an empty tin
+can, or two for a bottle. In fact, the latter was the greatest desideratum
+and when offers of money failed to induce a native to pose for the camera a
+bottle nearly always would decide matters in our favor.
+
+In Li-chiang we learned that there was good shooting only twelve miles
+north of the city on the Snow Mountain range, the highest peak of which
+rises 18,000 feet above the sea. We left a part of our outfit at Mr. Kok's
+house and engaged a caravan of seventeen mules to take us to the hunting
+grounds. Mr. Kok assisted us in numberless ways while we were in the
+vicinity of Li-chiang and in other parts of the country. He took charge of
+all our mail, sending it to us by runners, loaned us money when it was
+difficult to get cash from Ta-li Fu and helped us to engage servants and
+caravans.
+
+It had rained almost continually for five days and a dense gray curtain of
+fog hung far down in the valley, but on the morning of October 11 we awoke
+to find ourselves in another world. We were in a vast amphitheater of
+encircling mountains, white almost to their bases, rising ridge on ridge,
+like the foamy billows of a mighty ocean. At the north, silhouetted against
+the vivid blue of a cloudless sky, towered the great Snow Mountain, its
+jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning sun had kissed their
+summits. We rode toward it across a level rock-strewn plain and watched the
+fleecy clouds form, and float upward to weave in and out or lose themselves
+in the vast snow craters beside the glacier. It was an inspiration, that
+beautiful mountain, lying so white and still in its cradle of dark green
+trees. Each hour it seemed more wonderful, more dominating in its grandeur,
+and we were glad to be of the chosen few to look upon its sacred beauty.
+
+In the early afternoon we camped in a tiny temple which nestled into a
+grove of spruce trees on the outskirts of a straggling village. To the
+north the Snow Mountain rose almost above us, and on the east and south a
+grassy rock-strewn plain rolled away in gentle undulations to a range of
+hills which jutted into the valley like a great recumbent dragon.
+
+A short time after our camp was established we had a visit from an Austrian
+botanist, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti, who had been in the village for two
+weeks. He had come to Yuen-nan for the Vienna Museum before the war,
+expecting to remain a year, but already had been there three. Surrounded as
+he was by Tibet, Burma, and Tonking, his only possible exit was by way of
+the four-month overland journey to Shanghai. He had little money and for
+two years had been living on Chinese food. He dined with us in the evening,
+and his enjoyment of our coffee, bread, kippered herring, and other canned
+goods was almost pathetic.
+
+A week after our arrival Baron Haendel-Mazzetti left for Yuen-nan Fu and
+eventually reached Shanghai which, however, became a closed port to him
+upon China's entry into the European war. It is to be hoped that his
+collections, which must be of great scientific value and importance, have
+arrived at a place of safety long ere this book issues from the press.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+CAMPING IN THE CLOUDS
+
+We hired four Moso hunters in the Snow Mountain village. They were
+picturesque fellows, supposedly dressed in skins, but their garments were
+so ragged and patched that it was difficult to determine the original
+material of which they were made.
+
+One of them was armed with a most extraordinary gun which, it was said,
+came from Tibet. Its barrel was more than six feet long, and the stock was
+curved like a golf stick. A powder fuse projected from a hole in the side
+of the barrel, and just behind it on the butt was fastened a forked spring.
+At his waist the man carried a long coil of rope, the slowly burning end of
+which was placed in the crotched spring. When about to shoot the native
+placed the butt of the weapon against his cheek, pressed the spring so that
+the burning rope's end touched the powder fuse, and off went the gun.
+
+The three other hunters carried crossbows and poisoned arrows. They were
+remarkably good shots and at a distance of one hundred feet could place an
+arrow in a six-inch circle four times out of five. We found later that
+crossbows are in common use throughout the more remote parts of Yuen-nan and
+were only another evidence that we had suddenly dropped back into the
+Middle Ages and, with our high-power rifles and twentieth century
+equipment, were anachronisms.
+
+The natives are able to obtain a good deal of game even with such primitive
+weapons for they depend largely upon dogs which bring gorals and serows to
+bay against a cliff and hold them until the men arrive. The dogs are a
+mongrel breed which appears to be largely hound, and some are really
+excellent hunters. White is the usual color but a few are mixed black and
+brown, or fox red. Hotenfa, one of our Mosos, owned a good pack and we all
+came to love its big red leader. This fine dog could be depended upon to
+dig out game if there was any in the mountains, but his life with us was
+short for he was killed by our first serow. Hotenfa was inconsolable and
+the tears he shed were in sincere sorrow for the loss of a faithful friend.
+
+Almost every family owns a dog. Some of those we saw while passing through
+Chinese villages were nauseating in their unsightliness, for at least
+thirty per cent of them were more or less diseased. Barely able to walk,
+they would stagger across the street or lie in the gutter in indescribable
+filth. One longed to put them out of their misery with a bullet but,
+although they seemed to belong to nobody, if one was killed an owner
+appeared like magic to quarrel over the damages.
+
+The dogs of the non-Chinese tribes were in fairly good condition and there
+seemed to be comparatively little disease among them. Our hunters treated
+their hounds kindly and fed them well, but the animals themselves, although
+loyal to their masters, manifested but little affection. In Korea dogs are
+eaten by the natives, but none of the tribes with which we came in contact
+in Yuen-nan used them for food.
+
+On our first day in the temple Heller went up the Snow Mountain for a
+reconnoissance and the party secured a fine porcupine. It is quite a
+different animal from the American tree porcupines and represents a genus
+(_Hystrix_) which is found in Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. This
+species lives in burrows and, when hunting big game, we were often greatly
+annoyed to find that our dogs had followed the trail of one of these
+animals. We would arrive to see the hounds dancing about the burrow yelping
+excitedly instead of having a goral at bay as we had expected.
+
+Some of the beautiful black and ivory white quills are more than twelve
+inches long and very sharp. A porcupine will keep an entire pack of dogs at
+bay and is almost sure to drive its murderous weapons into the bodies of
+some of them unless the hunters arrive in a short time. The Mosos eat the
+flesh which is white and fine.
+
+Although we were only twelve miles from Li-chiang the traps yielded four
+shrews and one mouse which were new to our collection. The natives brought
+in three bats which we had not previously seen and began a thriving
+business in toads and frogs with now and then a snake.
+
+The temple was an excellent place for small mammals but it was evident that
+we would have to move high up on the slopes of the mountain if gorals and
+other big game were to be obtained. Accordingly, while Heller prepared a
+number of bat skins we started out on horseback to hunt a camp site.
+
+It was a glorious day with the sun shining brilliantly from a cloudless sky
+and just a touch of autumn snap in the air. We crossed the sloping
+rock-strewn plain to the base of the mountain, and discovered a trail which
+led up a forested shoulder to the right of the main peaks. An hour of
+steady climbing brought us to the summit of the ridge where we struck into
+the woods toward a snow-field on the opposite slope. The trail led us along
+the brink of a steep escarpment from which we could look over the valley
+and away into the blue distance toward Li-chiang. Three thousand feet below
+us the roof of our temple gleamed from among the sheltering pine trees, and
+the herds of sheep and cattle massed themselves into moving patches on the
+smooth brown plain.
+
+We pushed our way through the spruce forest with the glistening snow bed as
+a beacon and suddenly emerged into a flat open meadow overshadowed by the
+ragged peaks. "What a perfectly wonderful place to camp," we both
+exclaimed. "If we can only find water, let's come tomorrow."
+
+The hunters had assured us that there were no streams on this end of the
+mountain but we hoped to find a snow bank which would supply our camp for a
+few days at least. We rode slowly up the meadow reveling in the grandeur of
+the snow-crowned pinnacles and feeling very small and helpless amid
+surroundings where nature had so magnificently expressed herself.
+
+At the far end of the meadow we discovered a dry creek bed which led upward
+through the dense spruce forest. "Where water has been, water may be
+again," we argued and, leading the horses, picked our way among the trees
+and over fallen logs to a fairly open hill slope where we attempted to
+ride, but our animals were nearly done. After climbing a few feet they
+stood with heaving sides and trembling legs, the breath rasping through
+distended nostrils. We felt the altitude almost as badly as the horses for
+the meadow itself was twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea and
+the air was very thin.
+
+There seemed to be no hope of finding even a suitable snow bank when it was
+slowly borne in upon us that the subdued roaring in our ears was the sound
+of water and not the effect of altitude as we both imagined. Above and to
+the left was a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet in height, and as we toiled
+upward and emerged beyond timber line we caught a glimpse of a silver
+ribbon streaming down its face. It came from a melting snow crater and we
+could follow its course with our eyes to where it swung downward along a
+rock wall not far from the upper end of the meadow. It was so hidden by the
+trees that had we not climbed above timber line, it never would have been
+discovered.
+
+This solved the question of our camp and we looked about us happily. On the
+way through the forest we had noticed small mammal runways under almost
+every log and, when we stood above the tree limit, the grassy slope was cut
+by an intricate network of tiny tunnels. These were plainly the work of a
+meadow vole (_Microtus_) and at this altitude it certainly would prove to
+be a species new to our collection.
+
+The sun had already dropped behind the mountain and the meadow was in
+shadow when we reached it again on our homeward way. By five o'clock we
+were in the temple eating a belated tiffin and making preparations for an
+early start. But our hopes were idle, for in the morning three of the mules
+had strayed, and we did not arrive at the meadow until two o'clock in the
+afternoon.
+
+Our camp was made just at the edge of the spruce forest a few hundred yards
+from the snow stream. As soon as the tents were up we climbed to the grassy
+slope above timber line, with Heller, to set a string of traps in the vole
+runways and under logs and stumps in the forest.
+
+The hunters made their camp beside a huge rock a short distance away and
+slept in their ragged clothes without a blanket or shelter of any kind. It
+was delightfully warm, even at this altitude, when the sun was out, but as
+soon as it disappeared we needed a fire and the nights were freezing cold;
+yet the natives did not seem to mind it in the slightest and refused our
+offer of a canvas tent fly.
+
+We never will forget that first night on the Snow Mountain. As we sat at
+dinner about the campfire we could see the somber mass of the forest losing
+itself in the darkness, and felt the unseen presence of the mighty peaks
+standing guard about our mountain home. We slept, breathing the strong,
+sweet perfume of the spruce trees and dreamed that we two were wandering
+alone through the forest opening the treasure boxes of the Wild.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+THE FIRST GORAL
+
+We were awakened before daylight by Wu's long drawn call to the hunters,
+"_L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o, L-a-o-u H-o_." The steady drum of rain on our
+tent shot a thrill of disappointment through me as I opened my eyes, but
+before we had crawled out of our sleeping-bags and dressed it lessened to a
+gentle patter and soon ceased altogether. It left a cold, gray morning with
+dense clouds weaving in and out among the peaks but, nevertheless, I
+decided to go out with the hunters to try for goral.
+
+Two of the men took the dogs around the base of a high rock shoulder
+sparsely covered with scrub spruce while I went up the opposite slope
+accompanied by the other two. We had not been away from camp half an hour
+when the dogs began to yelp and almost immediately we heard them coming
+around the summit of the ridge in our direction. The hunters made frantic
+signs for me to hurry up the steep slope but in the thin air with my heart
+pounding like a trip hammer I could not go faster than a walk.
+
+We climbed about three hundred yards when suddenly the dogs appeared on the
+side of the cliff near the summit. Just in front of them was a bounding
+gray form. The mist closed in and we lost both dogs and animals but ten
+minutes later a blessed gust of wind drifted the fog away and the goral was
+indistinctly visible with its back to a rock ledge facing the dogs. The big
+red leader of the pack now and then dashed in for a nip at the animal's
+throat but was kept at bay by its vicious lunges and sharp horns.
+
+It was nearly three hundred yards away but the cloud was drifting in again
+and I dropped down for a shot. The hunters were running up the slope,
+frantically waving for me to come on, thinking it madness to shoot at that
+distance. I could just see the gray form through the sights and the first
+two shots spattered the loose rock about a foot low. For the third I got a
+dead rest over a stone and as the crash of the little Mannlicher echoed up
+the gorge, the goral threw itself into the air whirling over and over onto
+the rocks below.
+
+The hunters, mad with excitement, dashed up the hill and down into the
+stream bed, and when I arrived the goral lay on a grassy ledge beside the
+water. The animal was stone dead, for my bullet had passed through its
+lungs, and, although the front teeth had been smashed on the rocks, its
+horns were uninjured and the beautiful gray coat was in perfect condition.
+It so happened that this ram was the largest which we killed on the entire
+trip.
+
+When the hunters were carrying the goral to camp we met Yvette and Heller
+on their way to visit the traps just below snow line, and she returned with
+me to photograph the animal and to watch the ceremonies which I knew would
+be performed. One of the natives cut a leafy branch, placed the goral upon
+it and at the first cut chanted a prayer. Then laying several leaves one
+upon the other he sliced off the tip of the heart, wrapped it carefully in
+the leaves and placed it in a nearby tree as an offering to the God of the
+Hunt.
+
+I have often seen the Chinese and Korean hunters perform similar ceremonies
+at the death of an animal, and the idea that it is necessary to propitiate
+the God of the Hunt is universal. When I was shooting in Korea in 1912, and
+also in other parts of China, if luck had been against us for a few days
+the hunters would invariably ask me to buy a chicken, or some animal to
+sacrifice for "good joss."
+
+After each dog had had a taste of the goral's blood we again climbed the
+cliff at the end of the meadow. When we were nearly 2,000 feet above camp
+the clouds shut in and, as the impenetrable gray curtain wrapped itself
+about us, we could only sit quietly and wait for it to drift away.
+
+After an hour the fog began to thin and the men sent the hounds toward a
+talus slope at the base of the highest peak. Almost immediately the big red
+dog picked up a trail and started across the loose rock with the pack
+yelping at his heels. We followed as rapidly as possible over such hard
+going but before we reached the other side the dogs had rounded a sharp
+pinnacle and disappeared far below us. Expecting that the goral would swing
+about the base of the peak the hunters sent me back across the talus to
+watch for a shot, but the animal ran down the valley and into a heavily
+wooded ravine where the dogs lost his trail only a short distance above
+camp.
+
+I returned to find that Heller had secured a rich haul from the traps. As
+we supposed, the runways which Yvette and I had discovered above timber
+line were made by a meadow vole (_Microtus_) and in the forest almost every
+trap had caught a white-footed mouse (_Apodemus_). He also had several new
+shrews and we caught eight different species of these important little
+animals at this one camp.
+
+Wu, the interpreter, hearing us speak of shrews, came to me one day in
+great perplexity with his Anglo-Chinese dictionary. He had looked up the
+word "shrew" and found that it meant "a cantankerous woman!"
+
+The following day Heller went out with the hunters and saw two gorals but
+did not get a shot. In the meantime Yvette and I ran the traps and prepared
+the small mammals. While we were far up on the mountain-side, Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti appeared armed with ropes and an alpine snow ax. He was
+about to attempt to climb the highest peak which had never been ascended
+but the drifts turned him back several hundred feet from the summit. He
+dined at our camp and as all of us carefully refrained from "war talk" we
+spent a very pleasant evening. During his three years in Yuen-nan he had
+explored and mapped many sections of the province which had not been
+visited previously by foreigners and from him we obtained much valuable
+information.
+
+On the third morning we were up before daylight and I left with the hunters
+in the gray dawn. We climbed steadily for an hour after leaving camp and,
+when well up on the mountain-side, skirted the base of a huge peak through
+a dense forest of spruce and low bamboo thickets, emerging upon a steep
+grassy meadow; this abutted on a sheer rock wall at the upper end, and
+below ran into a thick evergreen forest.
+
+As we entered the meadow the big red leading dog, trotted off by himself
+toward the rock wall above us, and in a few moments we heard his sharp
+yelps near the summit. Instantly the pack was off stringing out in a long
+line up the hillside.
+
+We had nearly crossed the open slope and were standing on the edge of a
+deep gully when the dogs gave tongue and as soon as the hunters were sure
+they were coming in our direction we hurried to the bottom of the gorge and
+began the sharp ascent on the other side. It was almost straight up and
+before we had gone a hundred feet we were all gasping for breath and my
+legs seemed like bars of lead, but the staccato yelps of the dogs sounding
+closer and closer kept us going.
+
+When we finally dropped on the summit of the hill I was absolutely done. I
+lay flat on my back for a few minutes and got to my knees just as the goral
+appeared on the opposite cliff. The sight of the magnificent animal
+bounding like rubber from ledges which his feet seemed hardly to touch down
+the face of a sheer wall, will remain in my memory as long as I live. He
+seemed the very spirit of the mountains, a thing born of peaks and crags,
+vibrant with the breath of the clouds. Selecting a spot which he must touch
+in the next flying leap, I waited until his body darkened the sights and
+then pulled the trigger.
+
+The game little brute collapsed, then struggled to his feet, and with a
+tremendous leap landed on a projecting shelf of rock four yards below.
+Instantly I fired again and he sank down in a crumpled gray mass not two
+feet from the edge of the precipice which fell away in a dizzy drop of six
+hundred feet.
+
+The dogs were on him long before we had worked our way down the canon and
+up to the shelf where he lay. He was a fine ram nearly as large as the
+first one I had killed. I wanted to rest the dogs for they were very tired
+from their two days of hunting, so I decided to return to camp with the
+men. On the way a second goral was started but it swung about the summit of
+the wooded ridge instead of coming in my direction, giving one of the
+hunters a shot with his crossbow, which he missed.
+
+It was a beautiful day. Above us the sky was clear and blue but the clouds
+still lay thickly over the meadow and the camp was invisible. The billowy
+masses clung to the forest line, but from the slopes above them we could
+look far across the valley into the blue distance where the snow-covered
+summits of range after range of magnificent mountains lay shining in the
+sun like beaten silver. There was a strange fascination about those
+mountains, and I thrilled with the thought that for twelve long months I
+was free to roam where I willed and explore their hidden mysteries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+MORE GORALS
+
+Both gorals were fine old rams with perfect horns. Their hair was thick and
+soft, pale olive-buff tipped with brownish, and the legs on the "cannon
+bones" were buff-yellow like the margins of the throat patches. Their color
+made them practically invisible against the rocks and when I killed the
+second goral my only distinct impression as he dashed down the face of the
+precipice, was of four yellowish legs entirely separated from a body which
+I could hardly see.
+
+This invisibility, combined with the fact that the Snow Mountain gorals
+lived on almost inaccessible cliffs thickly covered with scrub spruce
+forest, made "still hunting" impossible. In fact, Baron Haendel-Mazzetti,
+who had explored this part of the Snow Mountains fairly thoroughly in his
+search for plants, had never seen a goral, and did not know that such an
+animal existed there.
+
+Heller hunted for two days in succession and, although he saw several
+gorals, he was not successful in getting one until we had been in camp
+almost a week. His was a young male not more than a year old with horns
+about an inch long. It was a valuable addition to our collection for I was
+anxious to obtain specimens of various ages to be mounted as a "habitat
+group" in the Museum and we lacked only a female.
+
+The preparation of the group required the greatest care and study. First,
+we selected a proper spot to reproduce in the Museum, and Yvette took a
+series of natural color photographs to guide the artist in painting the
+background. Next she made detail photographs of the surroundings. Then we
+collected portions of the rocks and typical bits of vegetation such as moss
+and leaves, to be either dried or preserved in formalin. In a large group,
+perhaps several thousand leaves will be required, but the field naturalist
+need select typical specimens of only five or six different sizes from each
+of which a plaster mold can be made at the Museum and the leaves reproduced
+in wax.
+
+After two days of rain during which I had a hard and unsuccessful hunt for
+serows we decided to return to the temple at the foot of the mountain which
+was nearer to the forests inhabited by these animals. We had already been
+in our camp on the meadow for nine days and, besides the gorals, had
+gathered a large and valuable collection of small mammals. The shrews were
+especially varied in species and, besides a splendid series of meadow
+voles, Asiatic mice and rats, we obtained a new weasel and a single
+specimen of a tiny rock-cony or little chief hare, an Asiatic genus
+(_Ochotona_) which is also found in the western part of North America on
+the high slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Although we set dozens of traps
+among the rocks we did not get another on the entire expedition nor did we
+see indications of their presence in other localities.
+
+The almost complete absence of carnivores at this camp was a great
+surprise. Except for weasels we saw no others and the hunters said that
+foxes or civets did not occur on this side of the mountain even though food
+was abundant.
+
+On the day before we went to the temple I had a magnificent hunt. We left
+camp at daylight in a heavy fog and almost at once the dogs took up a serow
+trail. We heard them coming toward us as we stood at the upper edge of a
+little meadow and expected the animal to break cover any moment, but it
+turned down the mountain and the hounds lost the trail in the thick spruce
+woods.
+
+We climbed slowly toward the cliffs until we were well above the clouds,
+which lay in a thick white blanket over the camp, and headed for the canon
+where I had shot my second goral. Hotenfa wished to go lower down into the
+forests but I prevailed upon him to stay along the open slopes and, while
+we were resting, the big red dog suddenly gave tongue on a ridge above and
+to the right of us. It was in the exact spot where my second goral had been
+started and we were on the _qui vive_ when the rest of the pack dashed up
+the mountain-side to join their leader.
+
+In a few moments they all gave tongue and we heard them swinging about in
+our direction. Just then the clouds, which had been lying in a solid bank
+below us, began to drift upward in a long, thin finger toward the canon. On
+and on it came, and closer sounded the yelps of the dogs. I was trembling
+with impatience and swearing softly as the gray vapor streamed into the
+gorge. The cloud thickened, sweeping rapidly up the ravine, until we were
+enveloped so completely that I could hardly see the length of my gun
+barrel. A moment later we heard the goral leaping down the cliff not a
+hundred yards away.
+
+With the rifle useless in my hands I listened to each hoof beat and the
+stones which his flying feet sent rattling into the gorge. Then the dogs
+came past, and we heard them follow down the rocks, their yelps growing
+fainter and fainter in the valley far below. The goral was lost, and as
+though the Fates were laughing at us, ten minutes later a puff of wind
+sucked the cloud out of the canon as swiftly as it had come, and above us
+shone a sky as clear and blue as a tropic sea.
+
+Hotenfa's disgust more than equaled my own for I had loaned him my
+three-barrel gun (12 gauge and .303 Savage) and he was as excited as a
+child with a new toy. He was a remarkably intelligent man and mastered the
+safety catches in a short time even though he had never before seen a
+breach-loading gun.
+
+There was nothing to do but hurry down the mountain for the dogs might
+bring the goral to bay on one of the cliffs below us, and in twenty minutes
+we stood on a ridge which jutted out from the thick spruce forest. One of
+the hunters picked his way down the rock wall while Hotenfa and I circled
+the top of the spur.
+
+We had not gone a hundred yards when the hunter shouted that a goral was
+running in our direction. Hotenfa reached the edge of the ridge before me,
+and I saw him fire with the three-barrel gun at a goral which disappeared
+into the brush. His bullet struck the dirt only a few feet behind the
+animal although it must have been well beyond a hundred yards and almost
+straight below us.
+
+Hardly had we drawn back when a yell from the other hunter brought us again
+to the edge of the cliff just in time to see a second goral dash into the
+forest a good three hundred yards away in the very bottom of the gorge.
+
+Rather disappointed we continued along the ridge and Hotenfa made signs
+which said as plainly as words, "I told you so. The gorals are not on the
+peaks but down in the forest. We ought to have come here first."
+
+There were not many moments for regret, however, for this was "our busy
+day." Suddenly a burst of frantic yelps from the red dog turned us off to
+the left and we heard him nearing the summit of the spur which we had just
+left. One of the other hunters was standing there and his crossbow twanged
+as the goral passed only a few yards from him, but the wicked little
+poisoned dart stuck quivering into a tree a few inches above the animal's
+back.
+
+The goral dashed over the ridge almost on top of the second hunter who was
+too surprised to shoot and only yelled that it was coming toward us on the
+cliff below. Hotenfa leaped from rock to rock, almost like a goat himself,
+and dashed through the bushes toward a jutting shelf which overhung the
+gorge.
+
+We reached the rim at the same moment and saw a huge ram standing on a
+narrow ledge a hundred yards below. I fired instantly and the noble animal,
+with feet wide spread, and head thrown back, launched himself into space
+falling six hundred feet to the rocks beneath us.
+
+As the goral leaped Hotenfa seemed suddenly to go insane. Yelling with joy,
+he threw his arms about my neck, rubbing my face with his and pounding me
+on the back until I thought he would throw us both off the cliff. I was
+utterly dumfounded but seized his three-barrel gun to unload it for in his
+excitement there was imminent danger that he would shoot either himself or
+me.
+
+Then I realized what it was all about. We had both fired simultaneously and
+neither had heard the other's shot. By mistake Hotenfa had discharged a
+load of buckshot and it was my bullet which had killed the goral but his
+joy was so great that I would not for anything have disillusioned him.
+
+It was a half hour's hard work to get to the place where the goral had
+fallen. The dogs were already there lying quietly beside the animal when we
+arrived. My bullet had entered the back just in front of the hind leg and
+ranged forward through the lungs flattening itself against the breast bone;
+the jacket had split, one piece tearing into the heart, so that the ram was
+probably dead before it struck the rocks.
+
+I photographed the goral where it lay and after it had been eviscerated,
+and the hunters had performed their ceremonies to the God of the Hunt, I
+sent one of them back with it while Hotenfa and I worked toward the bottom
+of the canon in the hope of finding the other animals.
+
+It was a delightfully warm day and Hotenfa told me in his vivid sign
+language that the gorals were likely to be asleep on the sunny side of the
+ravine; therefore we worked up the opposite slope.
+
+It was the hardest kind of climbing and for two hours we plodded steadily
+upward, clinging by feet and hands to bushes and rocks, and were almost
+exhausted when we reached a small open patch of grass about two thirds of
+the way to the summit.
+
+We rested for half an hour and, after a light tiffin, toiled on again. I
+had not gone thirty feet, and Hotenfa was still sitting down, when I saw
+him wave his arm excitedly and throw up his gun to shoot. I leaped down to
+his side just as he fired at a big female goral which was sound asleep in
+an open patch of grass on the mountain-side.
+
+Hotenfa's bullet broke the animal's foreleg at the knee but without the
+slightest sign of injury she dashed down the cliff. I fired as she ran,
+striking her squarely in the heart, and she pitched headlong into the
+bushes a hundred feet below.
+
+How Hotenfa managed to pack that animal to the summit of the ridge I never
+can understand, for with a light sack upon my back and a rifle it was all I
+could do to pull myself up the rocks. He was completely done when we
+finally threw ourselves on the grass at the edge of the meadow which we had
+left in the morning. Hotenfa chanted his prayer when we opened the goral,
+but the God of the Hunt missed his offering for my bullet had smashed the
+heart to a pulp.
+
+On our way back to camp the red dog, although dead tired, disappeared alone
+into the heavy forest below us. Suddenly we heard his deep bay coming up
+the hill in our direction. Hotenfa and I dropped our burdens and ran to an
+opening in the forest where we thought the animal must pass.
+
+Instead of coming out where we expected, the dog appeared higher up at the
+heels of a crested muntjac (_Elaphodus_), which was bounding along at full
+speed, its white flag standing straight up over its dark bluish back. I had
+one chance for a shot at about one hundred and fifty yards as the pair
+crossed a little opening in the trees, but it was too dangerous to shoot
+for, had I missed the deer, the dog certainly would have been killed.
+
+I was heart-broken over losing this animal, for it is an exceedingly rare
+species, but a few days later a shepherd brought in another which had been
+wounded by one of our Lolo hunters and had run down into the plains to die.
+
+When we reached the hill above camp Yvette ran out to meet us, falling over
+logs and bushes in her eagerness to see what we were carrying. No dinner
+which I have ever eaten tasted like the one we had of goral steak that
+night and after a smoke I crawled into my sleeping bag, dead tired in body
+but with a happy heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+THE SNOW MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
+
+On October 22, we moved to the foot of the mountain and camped in the
+temple which we had formerly occupied. This was directly below the forests
+inhabited by serow, and we expected to devote our efforts exclusively
+toward obtaining a representative series of these animals.
+
+Unfortunately I developed a severe infection in the palm of my right hand
+almost immediately, and had it not been for the devoted care of my wife I
+should not have left China alive. Through terrible nights of delirium when
+the poison was threatening to spread over my entire body, she nursed me
+with an utter disregard of her own health and slept only during a few
+restless hours of complete exhaustion. For three weeks I could do no work
+but at last was able to bend my "trigger finger" and resume hunting
+although I did not entirely recover the use of my hand for several months.
+
+However, the work of the expedition by no means ceased because of my
+illness. Mr. Heller continued to collect small mammals with great energy
+and the day after we arrived at the temple we engaged eight new native
+hunters. These were Lolos, a wandering unit from the independent tribe of
+S'suchuan and they proved to be excellent men.
+
+The first serow was killed by Hotenfa's party on our third day in the
+temple. Heller went out with the hunters but in a few hours returned alone.
+A short time after he had left the natives the dogs took up the trail of a
+huge serow and followed it for three miles through the spruce forest. They
+finally brought the animal to bay against a cliff and a furious fight
+ensued. One dog was ripped wide open, another received a horn-thrust in the
+side, and the big red leader was thrown over a cliff to the rocks below.
+More of the hounds undoubtedly would have been killed had not the hunters
+arrived and shot the animal.
+
+The men brought the serow in late at night but our joy was considerably
+dampened by the loss of the red dog. Hotenfa carried him in his arms and
+laid him gently on a blanket in the temple but the splendid animal died
+during the night. His master cried like a child and I am sure that he felt
+more real sorrow than he would have shown at the loss of his wife; for
+wives are much easier to get in China than good hunting dogs.
+
+The serow was an adult male, badly scarred from fighting, and had lost one
+horn by falling over a cliff when he was killed. He was brownish black,
+with rusty red lower legs and a whitish mane. His right horn was nine and
+three-quarters inches in length and five and three-quarters inches in
+circumference at the base and the effectiveness with which he had used his
+horns against the dogs demonstrated that they were by no means only for
+ornaments. In the next chapter the habits and relationships of the gorals
+and serows will be considered more fully.
+
+On the morning following the capture of the first serow the last rain of
+the season began and continued for nine days almost without ceasing. The
+weather made hunting practically impossible for the fog hung so thickly
+over the woods that one could not see a hundred feet and Heller found that
+many of his small traps were sprung by the raindrops. The Lolos had
+disappeared, and we believed that they had returned to their village, but
+they had been hunting in spite of the weather and on the fifth day arrived
+with a fine male serow in perfect condition. It showed a most interesting
+color variation for, instead of red, the lower legs were buff with hardly a
+tinge of reddish.
+
+November 2, the sun rose in an absolutely cloudless sky and during the
+remainder of the winter we had as perfect weather as one could wish.
+Yvette's constant nursing and efficient surgery combined with the devotion
+of our interpreter, Wu, had checked the spread of the poison in my hand and
+my nights were no longer haunted with the strange fancies of delirium, but
+I was as helpless as a babe. I could do nothing but sit with steaming
+cloths wrapped about my arm and rail at the fate which kept me useless in
+the temple.
+
+The Lolos killed a third serow on the mountain just above our camp but the
+animal fell into a rock fissure more than a hundred feet deep and was
+recovered only after a day's hard work. The men wove a swinging ladder from
+tough vines, climbed down it, and drew the serow bodily up the cliff; as it
+weighed nearly three hundred pounds this was by no means an easy
+undertaking.
+
+Our Lolo hunters were tall, handsome fellows led by a slender young chief
+with patrician features who ruled his village like an autocrat with
+absolute power of life and death. The Lolos are a strange people who at one
+time probably occupied much of the region south of the Yangtze River but
+were pushed south and west by the Chinese and, except in one instance, now
+exist only in scattered units in the provinces of Kwei-chau and Yuen-nan.
+
+In S'suchuan the Lolos hold a vast territory which is absolutely closed to
+the Chinese on pain of death and over which they exercise no control.
+Several expeditions have been launched against the Lolos but all have ended
+in disaster.
+
+Only a few weeks before we arrived in Yuen-nan a number of Chinese soldiers
+butchered nearly a hundred Lolos whom they had encountered outside the
+independent territory, and in reprisal the Lolos burned several villages
+almost under the walls of a fortified city in which were five hundred
+soldiers, massacred all the men and boys, and carried off the women as
+slaves.
+
+The pure blood Lolos "are a very fine tall race, with comparatively fair
+complexions, and often with straight features, suggesting a mixture of
+Mongolian with some more straight-featured race. Their appearance marks
+them as closely connected by race with the eastern Tibetans, the latter
+being, if anything, rather the bigger men of the two." [Footnote: "Yuen-nan,
+the Link between India and the Yangtze," by Major H.R. Davies, 1909, p.
+389.] They are great wanderers and over a very large part of Yuen-nan form
+the bulk of the hill population, being the most numerous of all the
+non-Chinese tribes in the province.
+
+
+Like almost every race which has been conquered by the Chinese or has come
+into continual contact with them for a few generations, the Lolos of
+Yuen-nan, where they are in isolated villages, are being absorbed by the
+Chinese. We found, as did Major Davies, that in some instances they were
+giving up their language and beginning to talk Chinese even among
+themselves. The women already had begun to tie up their feet in the Chinese
+fashion and even disliked to be called Lolos.
+
+Those whom we employed were living entirely by hunting and, although we
+found them amiable enough, they were exceedingly independent. They
+preferred to hunt alone, although they recognized what an increased chance
+for game our high-power rifles gave them, and eventually left us while I
+was away on a short trip, even though we still owed them considerable
+money.
+
+The Lolos are only one of the non-Chinese tribes of Yuen-nan. Major Davies
+has considered this question in his valuable book to which I have already
+referred, and I cannot do better than quote his remarks here.
+
+    The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western
+    China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in
+    that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the
+    world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are
+    to be heard in the country which lies between Assam and the eastern
+    border of Yuen-nan and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of
+    this region.
+
+    The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical
+    characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges and the
+    deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the differences in
+    customs and language, and the innumerable tribal distinctions, which
+    are so perplexing to the enquirer into Indo-Chinese ethnology.
+
+    A tribe has entered Yuen-nan from their original Himalayan or Tibetan
+    home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land they have
+    settled on not equal to their wants. The natural result has been the
+    emigration of part of the colony. The emigrants, having surmounted
+    pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts,
+    have found a new place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to
+    undertake such a journey again to revisit their old home.
+
+    Being without a written character in which to preserve their
+    traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside world,
+    and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support themselves, the
+    recollection of their connection with their original ancestors has died
+    out. It is not then surprising that they should now consider themselves
+    a totally distinct race from the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and
+    the practice of slave raiding so common among the wilder members of the
+    Indo-Chinese family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In
+    fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for
+    hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the
+    languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to each
+    other the marked general resemblance which is still to be found.
+
+    The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good means
+    of communication have also naturally militated against the formation of
+    any large kingdoms with effective control over the mountainous
+    districts. Directly we get to a flat country with good roads and
+    navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions disappear, and the
+    whole of the inhabitants are welded into a homogeneous people under a
+    settled government, speaking one language.
+
+    Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the same
+    everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo will find one language
+    spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same length in
+    the hilly country to the east or to the west of the Irrawaddy valley
+    would bring him into contact with twenty mutually unintelligible
+    tongues.
+
+    The same state of things applies to Siam and Tong-king--one nation
+    speaking one language in the flat country and a Tower of Babel in the
+    hills (_loc. cit._, pp. 332-333).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+GORALS AND SEROWS
+
+Gorals and serows belong to the subfamily _Rupicaprinae_ which is an early
+mountain-living offshoot of the _Bovidae_; it also includes the chamois,
+takin, and the so-called Rocky Mountain goat of America. The animals are
+commonly referred to as "goat-antelopes" in order to express the
+intermediate position which they apparently hold between the goats and
+antelopes. They are also sometimes called the Rupicaprine antelopes from
+the scientific name of the chamois (_Rupicapra_).
+
+The horns of all members of the group are finely ridged, subcylindrical and
+are present in both sexes, being almost as long in the female as in the
+male. Although no one would suspect that the gorals are more closely
+related to the takins than to the serows, which they resemble
+superficially, such seems to be the case, but the cranial differences
+between the two genera are to a certain extent bridged over by the skull of
+the small Japanese serow (_Capricornulus crispus_). This species is most
+interesting because of its intermediate position. In size it is larger than
+a goral but smaller than a serow; its long coat and its horns resemble
+those of a goral but it has the face gland and short tail of a serow. It is
+found in Japan, Manchuria and southern Siberia.
+
+The principal external difference between the gorals and serows, besides
+that of size, is in the fact that the serows have a short tail and a well
+developed face gland, which opens in front of the eyes by a small orifice,
+while the gorals have a long tail and no such gland.
+
+In the cylindrical form of their horns the serows are similar to some
+of the antelopes but in their clumsy build, heavy limbs and stout
+hoofs as well as in habits they resemble goats. The serow has a long,
+melancholy-looking face and because of its enormous ears the Chinese in
+Fukien Province refer to it as the "wild donkey" but in Yuen-nan it is
+called "wild cow."
+
+The specific relationships of the serows are by no means satisfactorily
+determined. Mr. Pocock, Superintendent of the London Zooelogical Society's
+Gardens, has recently devoted considerable study to the serows of British
+India and considers them all to be races of the single species _Capricornis
+sumatrensis_. With this opinion I am inclined to agree, although I have not
+yet had sufficient time in which to thoroughly study the subject in the
+light of our new material.
+
+These animals differ most strikingly in external coloration, and fall into
+three groups all of which partake more or less of the characters of each
+other. Chinese serows usually have the lower legs rusty red, while in
+Indian races they are whitish, and black in the southern Burma and Malayan
+forms.
+
+The serows which we killed upon the Snow Mountain can probably be referred
+to _Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_, those of Fukien obtained by
+Mr. Caldwell represent the white-maned serow _Capricornis sumatrensis
+argyrochaetes_ and one which I shot in May, 1917, near Teng-yueh, not far
+from the Burma frontier, is apparently an undescribed form.
+
+Our specimens have brought out the fact that a remarkable individual
+variation exists in the color of the legs of these animals; this character
+was considered to be of diagnostic value, and probably is in some degree,
+but it is by no means as reliable as it was formerly supposed to be.
+
+Two of the serows killed on the Snow Mountain have the lower legs rusty
+red, while in two others these parts are buff colored. The animals, all
+males of nearly the same age, were taken on the same mountain, and
+virtually at the same time. Their skulls exhibit no important differences
+and there is no reason to believe that they represent anything but an
+extreme individual variation.
+
+The two specimens obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping are even more
+surprising. The old female is coal black, but the young male is distinctly
+brownish-black with a chestnut stripe from the mane to the tail along the
+mid-dorsal line where the hairs of the back form a ridge. The horns of the
+female are nearly parallel for half their extent and approach each other at
+the tips; their surfaces are remarkably smooth. The horns of the young male
+diverge like a V from the skull and are very heavily ridged. The latter
+character is undoubtedly due to youth.
+
+These serows are an excellent example of the necessity for collecting a
+large number of specimens from the same locality. Only by this means is it
+possible to learn how the species is affected by age, sex and individual
+variation and what are its really important characters. In the case of the
+gorals, our Expedition obtained at Hui-yao such a splendid series of all
+ages that we have an unequaled opportunity for intelligent study. Serows
+are entirely Asian and found in China, Japan, India, Sumatra and the Malay
+Peninsula.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found them living singly at altitudes of from 9,000
+to 13,000 feet in dense spruce forests, among the cliffs. The animals
+seemed to be fond of sleeping under overhanging rocks, and we were
+constantly finding beds which gave evidence of very extensive use.
+Apparently serows seldom come out into the open, but feed on leaves and
+grass while in the thickest cover, so that it is almost impossible to kill
+them without the aid of dogs or beaters.
+
+Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs for three or four miles, and
+eventually lose them or it may turn at bay and fight the pack after only a
+short chase; a large serow is almost certain to kill several of the hounds
+if in a favorable position with a rock wall at its back. The animal can use
+its strong curved horns with deadly effect for it is remarkably agile for a
+beast of its size.
+
+In Fukien we hunted serows on the summit of a high mountain clothed with a
+dense jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was in quite different country from that
+which the animals inhabit in Yuen-nan for although the cover was exceedingly
+thick it was without such high cliffs and there were extensive grassy
+meadows. We did not see any serows in Fukien because of the ignorance of
+our beaters, although the trails were cut by fresh tracks. The natives said
+that in late September the animals could often be found in the forests of
+the lower mountain slopes when they came to browse upon the new grown
+mushrooms.
+
+Mr. Caldwell purchased for us in the market the skin of a splendid female
+serow and a short time later obtained a young male. The latter was seen
+swimming across the river just below the city wall and was caught alive by
+the natives. The female weighed three hundred and ten pounds and the male
+two hundred and ninety pounds.
+
+Serows are rare in captivity and are said to be rather dangerous pets
+unless tamed when very young. We are reproducing a photograph taken and
+kindly loaned by Mr. Herbert Lang, of one formerly living in the Berlin
+Zooelogical Garden; we saw a serow in the Zooelogical Park at Calcutta and
+one from Darjeeling is owned by the London Zooelogical Society.
+
+Gorals are pretty little animals of the size of the chamois. The species
+which we killed on the Snow Mountain can probably be referred to
+_Naemorhedus griseus_, but I have not yet had an opportunity to study our
+specimens carefully. Unlike the serows these gorals have blackish brown
+tails which from the roots to the end of the hairs measure about 10 inches
+in length. The horns of both sexes are prominently ridged for the basal
+half of their length and perfectly smooth distally. The male horns are
+strongly recurved and are thick and round at the base but narrow rapidly to
+the tips; the female horns are straighter and more slender. The longest
+horns in the series which we received measured six inches in length and
+three and three-quarters inches in circumference at the base. Like the
+serows, gorals are confined to Asia and are found in northern India, Burma,
+and China, and northwards through Korea and southern Manchuria.
+
+We hunted gorals with dogs on the Snow Mountain for in this particular
+region they could be killed in no other way. There was so much cover, even
+at altitudes of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet and the rocks were so
+precipitous, that a man might spend a month "still hunting" and never see a
+goral. They are vicious fighters, and often back up to a cliff where they
+can keep the dogs at a distance. One of our best hounds while hunting
+alone, brought a goral to bay and was found dead next day by the hunters
+with its side ripped open.
+
+On the Snow Mountain we found the animals singly but at Hui-yao, not far
+from the Burma frontier, where we hunted another species in the spring,
+they were almost universally in herds of from six to seven or eight. It was
+at the latter place that we had our best opportunity to observe gorals and
+learn something of their habits. We were camping on the banks of a branch
+of the Shwelie River, which had cut a narrow gorge for itself; on one side
+this was seven or eight hundred feet deep. A herd of about fifty gorals had
+been living for many years on one of the mountain sides not far from the
+village, and although they were seen constantly the natives had no weapons
+with which to kill them; but with our high-power rifles it was possible to
+shoot across the river at distances of from two hundred to four hundred
+yards.
+
+We could scan every inch of the hillside through our field glasses and
+watch the gorals as they moved about quite unconscious of our presence. At
+this place they were feeding almost exclusively upon the leaves of low
+bushes and the new grass which had sprung up where the slopes had been
+partly burned over. We found them browsing from daylight until about nine
+o'clock, and from four in the afternoon until dark. They would move slowly
+among the bushes, picking off the new leaves, and usually about the middle
+of the morning would choose a place where the sun beat in warmly upon the
+rocks, and go to sleep.
+
+Strangely enough they did not lie down on their sides, as do many hoofed
+animals, but doubled their forelegs under them, stretched their necks and
+hind legs straight out, and rested on their bellies. It was a most
+uncomfortable looking attitude, and the first time I saw an animal resting
+thus I thought it had been wounded, but both Mr. Heller and myself saw them
+repeatedly at other times, and realized that this was their natural
+position when asleep.
+
+When frightened, like our own mountain sheep or goats, they would run a
+short distance and stop to look back. This was usually their undoing, for
+they offered excellent targets as they stood silhouetted against the sky.
+They were very difficult to see when lying down among the rocks, but our
+native hunters, who had most extraordinary eyesight, often would discover
+them when it was almost impossible for me to find them even with the field
+glasses. We never could be sure that there were no gorals on a
+mountainside, for they were adepts at hiding, and made use of a bunch of
+grass or the smallest crevice in a rock to conceal themselves, and did it
+so completely that they seemed to have vanished from the earth.
+
+Like all sheep and goats, they could climb about where it seemed impossible
+for any animal to move. I have seen a goral run down the face of a cliff
+which appeared to be almost perpendicular, and where the dogs dared not
+venture. As the animal landed on a projecting rock it would bounce off as
+though made of rubber, and leap eight or ten feet to a narrow ledge which
+did not seem large enough to support a rabbit.
+
+The ability to travel down such precipitous cliffs is largely due to the
+animal's foot structure. Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn has investigated
+this matter in the mountain goat and as his remarks apply almost equally
+well to the goral, I cannot do better than quote them here:
+
+    The horny part of the foot surrounds only the extreme front. Behind
+    this crescentic horn is a shallow concavity which gives the horny hoof
+    a chance to get its hold. Both the main digits and the dewclaws
+    terminate in black, rubber-like, rounded and expanded soles, which are
+    of great service in securing a firm footing on the shelving rocks and
+    narrow ledges on which the animal travels with such ease. This sole,
+    Smith states, softens in the spring of the year, when the snow is
+    leaving the ground, a fresh layer of the integument taking its place.
+    The rubber-like balls with which the dewclaws are provided are by no
+    means useless; they project back below the horny part of the hoof, and
+    Mr. Smith has actually observed the young captive goats supporting
+    themselves solely on their dewclaws on the edge of a roof. It is
+    probable that they are similarly used on the rocks and precipices,
+    since on a very narrow ledge they would serve favorably to alter the
+    center of gravity by enabling the limb to be extended somewhat farther
+    forward. [Footnote: "Mountain Goat Hunting with the Camera," by Henry
+    Fairfield Osborn. Reprinted from the tenth _Annual Report of the New
+    York Zooelogical Society_, 1906, pp. 13-14.]
+
+There were certain trails leading over the hill slopes at Hui-yao which the
+gorals must have used continually, judging by the way in which these were
+worn. We also found much sign beneath overhanging rocks and on projecting
+ledges to indicate that these were definite resorts for numbers of the
+animals. Many which we saw were young or of varying ages running with the
+herds, and it was interesting to see how perfectly they had mastered the
+art of self-concealment even when hardly a year old. Although at Hui-yao
+almost all were on the east side of the river, they did not seem to be
+especially averse to water, and several times I watched wounded animals
+swim across the stream.
+
+Gorals are splendid game animals, for the plucky little brutes inspire the
+sportsman with admiration, besides leading him over peaks which try his
+nerve to the utmost, and I number among the happiest hours of my life the
+wonderful hunts in Yuen-nan, far above the clouds, at the edge of the snow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+THE "WHITE WATER"
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+October had slipped into November when we left the temple and shifted camp
+to the other side of the Snow Mountain at the "White Water." It was a
+brilliant day and the ride up the valley could not have been more
+beautiful. Crossing the _gangheisa_ or "dry sea," a great grassy plain
+which was evidently a dry lake basin, we followed the trail into the forest
+and down the side of a deep canon to a mountain stream where the waters
+spread themselves in a thin, green veil over a bed of white stones.
+
+We pitched our tents on a broad terrace beside the stream at the edge of
+the spruce forest. Above us towered the highest peak of the mountain, with
+a glacier nestling in a basin near its summit, and the snow-covered slopes
+extending in a glorious shining crescent about our camp. The moon was full,
+and each night as we sat at dinner before the fire, the ragged peaks turned
+crimson in the afterglow of the sun, and changed to purest silver at the
+touch of the white moonlight. We have had many camps in many lands but none
+more beautiful than the one at the "White Water."
+
+The weather was perfect. Every day the sun shone in a cloudless blue sky
+and in the morning the ground was frozen hard and covered with snowlike
+frost, but the air was marvelously stimulating. We felt that we could be
+happy at the "White Water" forever, but it did not prove to be as good a
+hunting ground as that on the other side of the mountain. The Lolos killed
+a fine serow on the first day and Hotenfa brought in a young goral a short
+time later, but big game was by no means abundant. At the "White Water" we
+obtained our first Lady Amherst's pheasant (_Thaumalea amherstiae_) one of
+the most remarkable species of a family containing the most beautiful birds
+of the world. The rainbow colored body and long tail of the male are made
+more conspicuous by a broad white and green ruff about the neck. The first
+birds brought alive to England were two males which had been presented to
+the Countess Amherst after whom the species was named. We found this
+pheasant inhabiting thick forests where it is by no means easy to discover
+or shoot. It is fairly abundant in Yuen-nan, Eastern Tibet and S'suchuan but
+its habits are not well known. Although the camp yielded several small
+mammals new to our collection, we decided to go into Li-chiang to engage a
+new caravan for our trip across the Yangtze River while Heller remained in
+camp.
+
+The direct road to Li-chiang was considerably shorter than by way of the
+Snow Mountain village and at three o'clock in the afternoon our beloved
+"Temple of the Flowers" was visible on the hilltop overlooking the city. As
+we rode up the steep ascent we saw a picturesque gathering on the porch and
+heard the sound of many voices laughing and talking. The beautiful
+garden-like courtyard was filled with women and children of every age and
+description, and all the doors from one side of the temple had been
+removed, leaving a large open space where huge caldrons were boiling and
+steaming.
+
+We sat down irresolutely on the inner porch but the young priest was
+delighted to see us and insisted that we wait until Wu arrived. We were
+glad that we did not seek other quarters for we were to witness an
+interesting ceremony, which is most characteristic of Chinese life. It
+seemed that about five years before a gentleman of Li-chiang had "shuffled
+off this mortal coil." His soul may have found rest, but "his mortal coil"
+certainly did not. Unfortunately his family inherited a few hundred dollars
+several years later and the village "astrologer" informed them that
+according to the _feng-shui_, or omnipotent spirits of the earth, wind, and
+water, the situation of the deceased gentleman's grave was ill-chosen and
+that if they ever hoped to enjoy good fortune again they must dig him up,
+give the customary feast in his honor and have another burial site chosen.
+
+Every village has a "wise man" who is always called upon to select the
+resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to two
+thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's
+relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether or not the spot
+will prove a propitious one and if the family later sell any property,
+receive a legacy, or are known to have obtained money in other ways, the
+astrologer usually finds that the _feng-shui_ do not favor the original
+place and he will exact another fee for choosing a second grave.
+
+The dead are never buried until the astrologer has named an auspicious day
+as well as an appropriate site, with the result that unburied coffins are
+to be seen in temples, under roadside shelters, in the fields and in the
+back yards of many houses.
+
+Any interference by foreigners with this custom is liable to bring about
+dire results as in the case of the rioting in Shanghai in 1898. A number of
+French residents objected to a temple near by being used to store a score
+or more of bodies until a convenient time for burial and the result was the
+death of many people in the fighting which ensued. Mr. Tyler Dennet cites
+an amusing anecdote regarding the successful handling of the problem by a
+native mandarin in Yen-ping where we visited Mr. Caldwell:
+
+    The doctor pointed out how dangerous to public health was the presence
+    of these coffins in Yen-ping. The magistrate had a census taken of the
+    coffins above ground in the city and found that they actually numbered
+    sixteen thousand. The city itself is estimated to have only about
+    twenty thousand inhabitants.
+
+    It was a difficult problem for the magistrate. He might easily move in
+    such a way as to bring the whole city down about his head. But the
+    Chinese are clever in such situations, perhaps the cleverest people on
+    earth. He finally devised a way out. A proclamation was issued levying
+    a tax of fifty cents on every unburied coffin. The Chinese may be
+    superstitious, but they are even more thrifty. For a few weeks Yen-ping
+    devoted itself to funerals, a thousand a week, and now this little
+    city, one of the most isolated in China, can truly be said to be on the
+    road to health. [Footnote: "Doctoring China," by Tyler Dennet, _Asia_,
+    February, 1918, p. 114.]
+
+There are very few such progressive cities in China, however, and a
+missionary told us that recently a young child and his grandfather were
+buried on the same day although their deaths had been nearly fifty years
+apart. The funeral rites are in themselves fairly simple, but it is the
+great ambition of every Chinese to have his resting place as near as
+possible to those of his ancestors. That is one of the reasons why they are
+so loath to emigrate.
+
+We often passed eight or ten coolies staggering under the load of a heavy
+coffin, transporting a body sometimes a month's journey or more to bury it
+at the dead man's birthplace. A rooster usually would be fastened to the
+coffin for, according to the Yuen-nan superstition, the spirit of the man
+enters the bird and is conveyed by it to his home.
+
+There is a strange absence of the fear of death among the Chinese. One
+often sees large planks of wood stored in a corner of a house and one is
+told that these are destined to become the coffins of the man's father or
+mother, even though his parents may at the time be enjoying the most robust
+health. Indeed, among the poorer classes, a coffin is considered a most
+fitting gift for a son to present to his father.
+
+We established our camp on the porch of the temple at Li-chiang and from
+its vantage point could watch the festivities going on about us. The
+feasting continued until after dark and at daylight the kettles were again
+steaming to prepare for the second day's celebration.
+
+By ten o'clock the court was crowded and a hour later there came a partial
+stillness which was broken by a sudden burst of music (?) from Chinese
+violins and pipes. Going outside we found most of the guests standing about
+an improvised altar. The foot of the coffin was just visible in the midst
+of the paper decorations and in front of it were set half a dozen dishes of
+tempting food. These were meant as an offering to the spirit of the
+departed one, but we knew this would not prevent the sorrowing relatives
+from eating the food with much relish later on.
+
+In a few moments a group of women approached, supporting a figure clothed
+in white with a hood drawn over her face. She was bent nearly to the ground
+and muffled shrieks and wails came from the depths of her veil as she
+prostrated herself in front of the altar. For more than an hour this chief
+mourner, the wife of the deceased, lay on her face, her whole figure
+shaking with what seemed the most uncontrollable anguish. This same lady,
+however, moved about later among her guests an amiable hostess, with
+beaming countenance, the gayest of the gay. But every morning while the
+festivities lasted, promptly at eleven o'clock she would prostrate herself
+before the coffin and display heartrending grief in the presence of the
+unmoved spectators in order to satisfy the demands of "custom."
+
+Custom and precedent have grown to be divinities with the Chinese, and such
+a display of feigned emotion is required on certain prescribed occasions.
+As one missionary aptly described it "the Chinese are all face and no
+heart." Mr. Caldwell told us that one night while passing down a deserted
+street in a Chinese village he was startled to hear the most piercing
+shrieks issuing from a house nearby. Thinking someone was being murdered,
+he rushed through the courtyard only to find that a girl who was to be
+married the following day, according to Chinese custom, was displaying the
+most desperate anguish at the prospect of leaving her family, even though
+she probably was enchanted with the idea.
+
+On the third day of the celebration in the temple at Li-chiang the feasting
+ended in a burst of splendor. From one o'clock until far past sundown the
+friends and relatives of the departed one were fed. Any person could
+receive an invitation by bringing a small present, even if it were only a
+bowl of rice or a few hundred cash (ten or fifteen cents).
+
+All during the morning girls and women flocked up the hill with trays of
+gifts. There were many Mosos and other tribesmen among them as well as
+Chinese. The Moso girls wore their black hair cut short on the sides and
+hanging in long narrow plaits down their backs. They wore white leather
+capes (at least that was the original shade) and pretty ornaments of silver
+and coral at their throats, and as they were young and gay with glowing red
+cheeks and laughing eyes they were decidedly attractive. The guests were
+seated in groups of six on the stones of the temple courtyard. Small boys
+acted as waiters, passing about steaming bowls of vegetables and huge straw
+platters heaped high with rice. As soon as each guest had stuffed himself
+to satisfaction he relinquished his place to someone else and the food was
+passed again. We were frequently pressed to eat with them and in the
+evening when the last guest had departed the "chief mourner" brought us
+some delicious fruit candied in black sugar. She told Wu that they had fed
+three hundred people during the day and we could well believe it. The next
+morning the coffin was carried down the hill to the accompaniment of
+anguished wails and we were left once more to the peace and quiet of our
+beautiful temple courtyard.
+
+Sometimes a family will plunge itself into debt for generations to come to
+provide a suitable funeral for one of its members, because to bury the dead
+without the proper display would not only be to "lose face" but subject
+them to the possible persecution of the angered spirits. This is only one
+of the pernicious results of ancestor worship and it is safe to say that
+most of the evils in China's social order today can be traced, directly or
+indirectly, to this unfortunate practice.
+
+A man's chief concern is to leave male descendants to worship at his grave
+and appease his spirit. The more sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons who
+walk in his funeral procession, the more he is to be envied. As a
+missionary humorously says "the only law of God that ever has been obeyed
+in China is to be fruitful and multiply." Craving for progeny has brought
+into existence thousands upon thousands of human beings who exist on the
+very brink of starvation. Nowhere in the civilized world is there a more
+sordid and desperate struggle to maintain life or a more hopeless poverty.
+But fear and self-love oblige them to continue their blind breeding. The
+apparent atrophy of the entire race is due to ancestor worship which binds
+it with chains of iron to its dead and to its past, and not until these
+bonds are severed can China expect to take her place among the progressive
+nations of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+ACROSS THE YANGTZE GORGE
+
+In mid-November we left the White Water with a caravan of twenty-six mules
+and horses. Following the road from Li-chiang to the Yangtze, we crossed
+the "Black Water" and climbed steadily upward over several tremendous
+wooded ridges, each higher than the last, to the summit of the divide.
+
+The descent was gradual through a magnificent pine and spruce forest. Some
+of the trees were at least one hundred and fifty feet high, and were draped
+with beautiful gray moss which had looped itself from branch to branch and
+hung suspended in delicate streamers yards in length. The forest was choked
+with underbrush and a dense growth of dwarf bamboo, and the hundreds of
+fallen logs, carpeted with bronze moss, made ideal conditions for small
+mammal collecting. However, as all the species would probably be similar to
+those we had obtained on the Snow Mountain, we did not feel that it was
+worth while stopping to trap.
+
+At four-thirty in the afternoon we camped upon a beautiful hill in a pine
+forest which was absolutely devoid of underbrush, and where the floor was
+thinly overlaid with brown pine needles. Although the Moso hunter, who
+acted as our guide, assured us that the river was only three miles away, it
+proved to be more than fifteen, and we did not reach the ferry until half
+past one the next afternoon.
+
+We were continually annoyed, as every traveler in China is, by the
+inaccuracy of the natives, and especially of the Chinese. Their ideas of
+distance are most extraordinary. One may ask a Chinaman how far it is to a
+certain village and he will blandly reply, "Fifteen _li_ to go, but thirty
+_li_ when you come back." After a short experience one learns how to
+interpret such an answer, for it means that when going the road is down
+hill and that the return uphill will require double the time.
+
+Caravans are supposed to travel ten _li_ an hour, although they seldom do
+more than eight, and all calculations of distance are based upon time so
+far as the _mafus_ are concerned. If the day's march is eight hours you
+invariably will be informed that the distance is eighty _li_, although in
+reality it may not be half as great.
+
+In "Chinese Characteristics," Dr. Arthur H. Smith gives many illuminating
+observations on the inaccuracy of the Chinese. In regard to distance he
+says:
+
+    It is always necessary in land travel to ascertain, when the distance
+    is given in "miles" (_li_), whether the "miles" are "large" or not!
+    That there is _some_ basis for estimates of distances we do not deny,
+    but what we do deny is that these estimates or measurements are either
+    accurate or uniform.
+
+    It is, so far as we know, a universal experience that the moment one
+    leaves a great imperial highway the "miles" become "long." If 120 _li_
+    constitute a fair day's journey on the main road, then on country roads
+    it will take fully as long to go 100 _li_, and in the mountains the
+    whole day will be spent in getting over 80 _li_ (p. 51).
+
+    In like manner, a farmer who is asked the weight of one of his oxen
+    gives a figure which seems much too low, until he explains that he has
+    omitted to estimate the bones! A servant who was asked his height
+    mentioned a measure which was ridiculously inadequate to cover his
+    length, and upon being questioned admitted that he had left out of
+    account all above his shoulders! He had once been a soldier, where the
+    height of the men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of
+    burdens. And since a Chinese soldier is to all practical purposes
+    complete without his head, this was omitted.
+
+    Of a different sort was the measurement of a rustic who affirmed that
+    he lived "ninety _li_ from the city," but upon cross-examination he
+    consented to an abatement, as this was reckoning both to the city and
+    back, the real distance being as he admitted, only "forty-five _li_ one
+    way!" (p. 49) ...
+
+    The habit of reckoning by "tens" is deep-seated, and leads to much
+    vagueness. A few people are "ten or twenty," a "few tens," or perhaps
+    "ever so many tens," and a strictly accurate enumeration is one of the
+    rarest of experiences in China.... An acquaintance told the writer that
+    two men had spent "200 strings of cash" on a theatrical exhibition,
+    adding a moment later, "It was 173 strings, but that is the same as
+    200--is it not?" (p. 54).
+
+    A man who wished advice in a lawsuit told the writer that he himself
+    "lived" in a particular village, though it was obvious from his
+    narrative that his abode was in the suburbs of a city. Upon inquiry, he
+    admitted that he did not _now_ live in the village, and further
+    investigation revealed the fact that the removal took place nineteen
+    generations ago! "But do you not almost consider yourself a resident of
+    the city now?" he was asked. "Yes," he replied simply, "we do live
+    there now, but the old root is in that village."
+
+    ...The whole Chinese system of thinking is based on a line of
+    assumptions different from those to which we are accustomed, and they
+    can ill comprehend the mania which seems to possess the Occidental to
+    ascertain everything with unerring exactness. The Chinese does not know
+    how many families there are in his native village, and he does not wish
+    to know. What any human being can want to know this number for is to
+    him an insoluble riddle. It is "a few hundred," "several hundreds," or
+    "not a few," but a fixed and definite number it never was and never
+    will be. (p. 55.)
+
+After breaking camp on the day following our departure from the "White
+Water" we rode along a broad trail through a beautiful pine forest and in
+the late morning stood on an open summit gazing on one of the most
+impressive sights which China has to offer. At the left, and a thousand
+feet below, the mighty Yangtze has broken through the mountains in a gorge
+almost a mile deep; a gorge which seems to have been carved out of the
+solid rock, sharp and clean, with a giant's knife. A few miles to the right
+the mountains widen, leaving a flat plain two hundred feet above the river.
+Every inch of it, as well as the finger-like valleys which stretch upward
+between the hills, is under cultivation, giving support for three villages,
+the largest of which is Taku.
+
+The ferry is in a bad place but it is the only spot for miles where the
+river can be crossed. The south bank is so precipitous that the trail from
+the plain twists and turns like a snake before it emerges upon a narrow
+sand and gravel beach. The opposite side of the river is a vertical wall of
+rock which slopes back a little at the lower end to form a steep hillside
+covered with short grass. The landing place is a mass of jagged rocks
+fronting a small patch of still water and the trail up the face of the
+cliff is so steep that it cannot be climbed by any loaded animal; therefore
+all the packs must be unstrapped and laboriously carted up the slope on the
+backs of the _mafus_.
+
+At two-thirty in the afternoon we were loading the boat, which carried only
+two animals and their packs, for the first trip across the river. It was
+difficult to get the mules aboard for they had to be whipped, shoved and
+actually lifted bodily into the dory. One of the ferrymen first drew the
+craft along the rocks by a long rope, then climbed up the face of what
+appeared to be an absolutely flat wall, and after pulling the boat close
+beneath him, slid down into it. In this way the dory was worked well up
+stream and when pushed into the swift current was rowed diagonally to the
+other side.
+
+After four loads had been taken over, the boatmen decided to stop work
+although there was yet more than an hour of daylight and they could not be
+persuaded to cross again by either threats or coaxing. It was an
+uncomfortable situation but there was nothing to do but camp where we were
+even though the greater part of our baggage was on the other side, with
+only the _mafus_ to guard it, and therefore open to robbery.
+
+About a third of a mile from the ferry we found a sandy cornfield on a
+level shelf just above the water, and pitched our tents. A slight wind was
+blowing and before long we had sand in our shoes, sand in our beds, sand in
+our clothes, and we were eating sand. Heller went down the river with a bag
+of traps while we set forty on the hills above camp, and after a supper of
+goral steak, which did much to allay the irritation of the day, we crawled
+into our sandy beds.
+
+At daylight Hotenfa visited the ferry and reported that the loads were safe
+but that one of the boatmen had gone to the village and no one knew when he
+would return. We went to the river with Wu as soon as breakfast was over
+and spent an aggravating hour trying by alternate threats and cajoling to
+persuade the remaining ferryman to cross the river to us. But it was
+useless, for the louder I swore the more frightened he became and he
+finally retired into a rock cave from which the _mafus_ had to drag him out
+bodily and drive him into the boat.
+
+The second boatman ambled slowly in about ten o'clock and we felt like
+beating them both, but Wu impressed upon us the necessity for patience if
+we ever expected to get our caravan across and we swallowed our wrath;
+nevertheless, we decided not to leave until the loads and mules were on the
+other side, and we ate a cold tiffin while sitting on the sand.
+
+Heller employed his time by skinning the twenty small mammals (one of which
+was a new rat) that our traps had yielded. We took a good many photographs
+and several rolls of "movie" film showing the efforts of the _mafus_ to get
+the mules aboard. Some of them went in quietly enough but others absolutely
+refused to step into the boat. One of the _mafus_ would pull, another push,
+a third twist the animal's tail and a fourth lift its feet singly over the
+side. With the accompaniment of yells, kicks, and Chinese oaths the
+performance was picturesque to say the least.
+
+By five o'clock the entire caravan had been taken across the racing green
+water and we had some time before dark in which to investigate the caverns
+with which the cliffs above the river are honeycombed. They were of two
+kinds, gold quarries and dwelling caves. The latter consist of a long
+central shaft, just high enough to allow a man to stand erect; this widens
+into a circular room. Along the sides of the corridor shallow nests have
+been scooped out to serve as beds and all the cooking is done not far from
+the door. The caves, although almost dark, make fairly comfortable living
+quarters and are by no means as dirty or as evil smelling as the ordinary
+native house. The mines are straight shafts dug into the cliffs where the
+rock is quarried and crushed by hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+THROUGH UNMAPPED COUNTRY
+
+We left the Taku ferry by way of a steep trail through an open pine and
+spruce forest along the rim of the Yangtze gorge where the view was
+magnificent. Someone has said that when a tourist sees the Grand Canon for
+the first time he gasps "Indescribable" and then immediately begins to
+describe it. Thus it was with us, but no words can picture the grandeur of
+this titanic chasm. In places the rocks were painted in delicate tints of
+blue and purple; in others, the sides fell away in sheer drops of hundreds
+of feet to the green torrent below rushing on to the sea two thousand five
+hundred miles away.
+
+The caravan wound along the edge of the gorge all day and we were left far
+behind, for at each turn a view more beautiful than the last opened out
+before us, and until every color plate and negative in the holders had been
+exposed we worked steadily with the camera.
+
+We were traveling northwestward through an unmapped region which Baron
+Haendel-Mazzetti had skirted and reported to be one of vast forests and
+probably rich in game. After six hours of riding over almost bare
+mountain-sides we passed through a parklike spruce forest and reached
+Habala, a long thin village of mud and stone houses scattered up the sides
+of a narrow valley.
+
+Above and to the left of the village rose ridge after ridge of dense spruce
+forest overshadowed by a snow-crowned peak and cut by deep ravines, the
+gloomy depths of which yielded fascinating glimpses of rocky cliffs--a
+veritable paradise for serow and goral. Our camping place was a grassy lawn
+as flat and smooth as the putting green of a golf course. Just below the
+tents a streamlet of ice-cold water murmured comfortably to itself and a
+huge dead tree was lying crushed and broken for the camp fire.
+
+The boys turned the beautiful spot into "home" in half an hour and, after
+setting a line of traps, we wandered slowly back through the darkness
+guided by the brilliant flames of the fires which threw a warm yellow glow
+over our little table spread for dinner.
+
+We sent men to the village to bring in hunters and after dinner four or
+five picturesque Mosos appeared. They said that there were many serow,
+goral, muntjac and some wapiti in the forests above the village, and we
+could well believe it, for there was never a more "likely looking" spot.
+Although the men did not claim to be professional hunters, nevertheless
+they said that they had good dogs and had killed many muntjac and other
+animals.
+
+They agreed to come at daylight and arrived about two hours late, which was
+doing fairly well for natives. It was a brilliant day just warm enough for
+comfort in the sun and we left camp with high hopes. However it did not
+take many hours to demonstrate that the men knew almost nothing about
+hunting and that their dogs were useless. Because of the dense cover "still
+hunting" was out of the question and, after a hard climb, we returned to
+camp to spend the remainder of the afternoon developing photographs and
+preparing small mammals.
+
+Our traps had yielded three new shrews and a silver mole as well as a
+number of mice, rats, and meadow voles of species identical with those
+taken on the Snow Mountain. It was evident, therefore, that the Yangtze
+River does not act as an effective barrier to the distribution of even the
+smallest forms and that the region in which we were now working would not
+produce a different fauna. This was an important discovery from the
+standpoint of our distribution records but was also somewhat disappointing.
+
+The photographic work already had yielded excellent results. The Paget
+color plates were especially beautiful and the fact that everything was
+developed in the field gave us an opportunity to check the quality of each
+negative.
+
+For this work the portable dark room was invaluable. It could be quickly
+erected and suspended from a tree branch or the rafters of a temple and
+offered an absolutely safe place in which to develop or load plates. The
+moving-picture film required special treatment because of its size and we
+usually fastened in the servants' tent the red lining which had been made
+for this purpose in New York. Even then the space was so cramped that we
+were dead tired at the end of a few hours' work.
+
+One who sits comfortably in a theater or hall and sees moving-picture film
+which has been obtained in such remote parts of the world does not realize
+the difficulties in its preparation. The water for developing almost
+invariably was dirty and in order to insure even a moderately clear film it
+always had to be strained. For washing the negative pailful after pailful
+had to be carried sometimes from a very long distance, and the film exposed
+for hours to the carelessness or curiosity of the natives. In our cramped
+quarters perhaps a corner of the tent would be pushed open admitting a
+stream of light; the electric flash lamp might refuse to work, leaving us
+in complete darkness to finish the developing "by guess and by gosh," or
+any number of other accidents occur to ruin the film. At most we could not
+develop more than three hundred feet in an afternoon and we never breathed
+freely until it finally was dried and safely stored away in the tin cans.
+
+We left Habala, on November 23, for a village called Phete where the
+natives had assured us we would find good hunters with dogs. For almost the
+entire distance the road skirted the rim of the Yangtze gorge and there the
+view of the great chasm was even more magnificent than that we had left.
+While its sides are not fantastically sculptured and the colors are softer
+than those of the Grand Canon of the Colorado, nevertheless its grandeur is
+hardly less imposing and awe-inspiring. If Yuen-nan is ever made accessible
+by railroads this gorge should become a Mecca for tourists, for it is
+without doubt one of the most remarkable natural sights in the world.
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon we saw three clusters of houses on a
+tableland which juts into a chasm cut by a tributary of the great river.
+One of them was Phete and it seemed that we would reach the village in half
+an hour at least, but the road wound so tortuously around the hillside,
+down to the stream and up again that it was an hour and a half before we
+found a camping place on a narrow terrace a short distance from the nearest
+houses.
+
+Next day we could not go to the village to find hunters until mid-forenoon
+because the natives of this region are very late risers and often have not
+yet opened their doors at ten o'clock. This is quite contrary to the custom
+in many other parts of China where the inhabitants are about their work in
+the first light of dawn.
+
+The hills above Phete are bare or thinly forested and every available inch
+of level ground is under cultivation with corn and a few rice paddys near
+the creek; the latter were a great surprise, for we had not expected to
+find rice so far north. The village itself was exceedingly picturesque but
+never have we met people of such utter and hopeless stupidity as its
+inhabitants. They were pleasant enough and always greeted us with a smile
+and salutation, but their brains seemed not to have kept pace with their
+bodies and when asked the simplest question they would only stare stupidly
+without the slightest glimmering of intelligence.
+
+It required an hour's questioning of a dozen or more people to glean that
+there were no hunters in the village where they had lived all their lives,
+but Wu, our interpreter, finally discovered a Chinese who told us of a
+hunter in the mountains. He asked how far and the answer was "Not very
+far."
+
+"Well, is it ten _li_?"
+
+"I don't know how many _li_."
+
+"Have you ever been there?"
+
+"Yes; it is only a few steps."
+
+"How long will it take to get there?"
+
+"About the time of one meal."
+
+We were not to be deceived, for we had had experience with native ideas of
+distance, and we ate our tiffin before starting out on the "few steps." A
+steep trail led up the valley and after three hours of steady riding we
+reached the hunter's village of three large houses on a flat strip of
+cleared ground in the midst of a dense forest.
+
+The people looked much like those of Phete but were rather anemic
+specimens, and five out of eight had enormous goiters. They were
+exceedingly shy at first, watching us with side glances and through cracks
+in the wall. Wu learned that we were the first white persons they had ever
+seen. I imagine that much of their unhealthiness was due to too close
+intermarriage, for these families had little intercourse with the people in
+Phete who were only "a few steps" away.
+
+As we were leaving they began to eat their supper in the courtyard. The
+principal dish consisted of mixed cornmeal and rice, boiled squash and
+green vegetables. All the women were busy husking corn which was hung to
+dry on great racks about the house. These racks we had noticed in every
+village since leaving Li-chiang and they seemed to be in universal use in
+the north.
+
+The hunter had a flock of sheep and we purchased one for $4.40 (Mexican)
+but there was considerable difficulty in paying for it since these people
+had never seen Chinese money even though living in China itself. For
+currency they used chunks of silver the size of a walnut and worth about
+one dollar (Mexican). The Chinese guide finally persuaded the people of the
+genuineness of our money and we purchased a few eggs and a little very
+delicious wild honey besides the sheep. These people as well as those of
+Phete spoke the Li-chiang dialect but with such variation that even our
+_mafus_ could understand them only with the greatest difficulty.
+
+When we returned to camp we found that the coolie who had been engaged to
+carry the motion-picture camera and tripod had left without the formality
+of saying "good-by" or asking for the money which was due him. We had had
+considerable trouble with the camera coolies since leaving Li-chiang. The
+first one carried the camera to the Taku ferry with many groans, and there
+engaged a huge Chinaman to take his place, for he thought the load too
+heavy. It only weighed fifty pounds, and in the Fukien Province where men
+seldom carry less than eighty pounds and sometimes as much as one hundred
+and fifty, it would have been considered as only half a burden. In Yuen-nan,
+however, animals do most of the pack carrying, and coolies protest at even
+an ordinary load.
+
+We left Phete in the early morning and camped about five hundred feet above
+the hunter's cabin in a beautiful little meadow. It was surrounded with
+splendid pine trees, and a clear spring bubbled up from a knoll in the
+center and spread fan-shaped in a dozen little streams over the edge of a
+deep ravine where a mountain torrent rushed through a tangled bamboo
+jungle. The gigantic fallen trees were covered inches deep with green moss,
+and altogether it was an ideal spot for small mammals. Our traps, however,
+yielded no new species, although we secured dozens of specimens every
+night.
+
+There were a few families of Lolos about two miles away and these were
+engaged as hunters. They told us that serow and muntjac were abundant and
+that wapiti were sometimes found on the mountains several miles to the
+northward. Although the men had a large pack of good dogs they were such
+unsatisfactory hunters that we gave up in disgust after three days. They
+never would appear until ten or eleven o'clock in the morning when the sun
+had so dried the leaves that the scent was lost and the dogs could not
+follow a trail even if one were found. Moreover, the camp was a very
+uncomfortable one, due to the wind which roared through the trees night and
+day.
+
+We were rejoined here by Hotenfa, who had left us at the Taku ferry to see
+if he could get together a pack of dogs. He brought three hounds with him
+which he praised exuberantly, but we subsequently found that they did not
+justify our hopes. Nevertheless, we were glad to have Hotenfa back, for he
+was one of the most intelligent, faithful, and altogether charming natives
+whom we met in all Yuen-nan. He was an uncouth savage when he first came to
+us, but in a very short time he had learned our camp ways and was as good a
+servant as any we had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD TIBET
+
+Since the hunters at the "Windy Camp" had proved so worthless and the traps
+had yielded no small mammals new to our collection, we decided to cross the
+mountains toward the Chung-tien road which leads into Tibet.
+
+The head _mafu_ explored the trail and reported that it was impassable but,
+after an examination of some of the worst barriers, we decided that they
+could be cleared away and ordered the caravan to start at half past seven
+in the morning.
+
+Before long we found that the _mafus_ were right. The trail was a mass of
+tangled underbrush and fallen logs and led straight up a precipitous
+mountain through a veritable jungle of dwarf bamboo. It was necessary to
+stop every few yards to lift the loads over a barrier or cut a passage
+through the bamboo thickets, and had it not been for the adjustable pack
+saddles we never could have taken the caravan over the trail.
+
+Late in the afternoon the exhausted men and animals dragged themselves to
+the summit of the mountain, for it was not a pass. In a few hours we had
+come from autumn to mid-winter where the ground was frozen and covered with
+snow. We were at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet and far above all
+timber except the rhododendron forest which spread itself out in a low gray
+mass along the ridges. It was difficult to make the slightest exertion in
+the thin air and a bitterly cold wind swept across the peaks so that it was
+impossible to keep warm even when wrapped in our heaviest coats.
+
+The servants and _mafus_ suffered considerably but it was too late to go on
+and there was no alternative but to spend the night on the mountain. As
+soon as the tents were up the men huddled disconsolately about the fire,
+but we started out with a bag of traps while Heller went in the opposite
+direction. We expected to catch some new mammals during the night, for
+there were great numbers of runways on the bare hillsides. The ground was
+frozen so solidly that it was necessary to cut into the little _Microtus_
+tunnels with a hatchet in order to set the traps and we were almost frozen
+before the work was completed. The next morning we had caught twenty
+specimens of a new white-bellied meadow vole and a remarkable shrew with a
+long curved proboscis.
+
+Everyone had spent an uncomfortable night, for it was bitterly cold even in
+our sleeping bags and the men had sat up about the fire in order to keep
+from freezing. There was little difficulty in getting the caravan started
+in the gray light of early dawn and after descending abruptly four thousand
+feet on a precipitous trail to a Lolo village strung out along a beautiful
+little valley we were again in the pleasant warmth of late autumn.
+
+The natives here had never before seen a white person and in a few moments
+our tents were surrounded by a crowd of strange-looking men and boys. The
+chief of the village presented us with an enormous rooster and we made him
+happy by returning two tins of cigarettes. The Lolo women, the first we had
+seen, were especially surprising because of their graceful figures and
+handsome faces. Their flat turbans, short jackets, and long skirts with
+huge flounces gave them a rather old-fashioned aspect, quite out of harmony
+with the metal neck-bands, earrings, and bracelets which they all wore.
+
+The men were exceedingly pleasant and made a picturesque group in their
+gray and brown felt capes which they gather about the neck by a draw string
+and, to the Lolos and Mosos alike, are both bed and clothing. We collected
+all the men for their photographs, and although they had not the slightest
+idea what we were about they stood quietly after Hotenfa had assured them
+that the strange-looking instrument would not go off. But most interesting
+of all was their astonishment when half an hour later they saw the negative
+and were able to identify themselves upon it.
+
+The Lolos are apparently a much maligned race. They are exceedingly
+independent, and although along the frontier of their own territory in
+S'suchuan they wage a war of robbery and destruction it is not wholly
+unprovoked. No one can enter their country safely unless he is under the
+protection of a chief who acts as a sponsor and passes him along to others.
+Mr. Brooke, an Englishman, was killed by the Lolos, but he was not properly
+"chaperoned," and Major D'Ollone of the French expedition lived among them
+safely for some time and gives them unstinted praise.
+
+Whenever we met tribesmen in Yuen-nan who had not seen white persons they
+behaved much like all other natives. They were, of course, always greatly
+astonished to see our caravan descend upon them and were invariably
+fascinated by our guns, tents, and in fact everything about us, but were
+generally shy and decidedly less offensive in their curiosity than the
+Chinese of the larger inland towns to whom foreigners are by no means
+unknown. As a matter of fact we have found that our white skins, light
+eyes, and hair are a never failing source of interest and envy to almost
+all Orientals.
+
+Yvette usually excited the most curiosity, especially among the women, and
+as she wore knickerbockers and a flannel shirt there were times when the
+determination of her sex seemed to call forth the liveliest discussion. Her
+long hair, however, usually settled the matter, and when the women had
+decided the question of gender satisfactorily they often made timid, and
+most amusing, advances. One woman said she greatly admired her fair
+complexion and asked how many baths she took to keep her skin so white.
+Another wondered whether it was necessary to ever comb her hair and almost
+everyone wished to feel her clothes and shoes. She always could command
+more attention than anyone else by her camera operations, and a group would
+stand in speechless amazement to see her dodge in and out of the portable
+dark room when she was developing photographs or loading plates.
+
+We made arrangements to go with a number of the Lolos to a spot fifteen
+miles away on the Chung-tien road to hunt wapiti (probably _Cervus
+macneilli_) which the natives call _maloo_. Our American wapiti, or elk, is
+a migrant from Asia by way of the Bering Strait and is probably a relative
+of the wapiti which is found in Central Asia, China, Manchuria and Korea.
+
+At present these deer are abundant in but few places. Throughout the
+Orient, and especially in China, the growing horns when they are soft, or
+in the "velvet," are considered of great medicinal value and, during the
+summer, the animals are trapped and hunted relentlessly by the natives. In
+Yuen-nan, when we were there, a pair of horns were worth $100 (Mexican).
+
+Thanksgiving morning dawned gray and raw with occasional flurries of
+haillike snow, but we did not heed the cold, for the trail led over two
+high ridges and along the rim of a tremendous gorge. To the south the white
+summits of the Snow Mountain range towered majestically above the
+surrounding peaks and, in the gray light, the colors were beautiful beyond
+description. To the north we could see heavily wooded mountain slopes
+interspersed with open parklike meadows--splendid wapiti country.
+
+Our tents were pitched two hundred yards from the Chung-tien road just
+within the edge of a stately, moss-draped forest. That night we celebrated
+with harmless bombs from the huge fires of bamboo stalks which exploded as
+they filled with steam and echoed among the trees like pistol shots. Marco
+Polo speaks of the same phenomenon which he first witnessed in this region
+over six hundred and thirty years ago.
+
+About nine o'clock in the evening we ran our traps with a lantern and
+besides several mice (_Apodemus_) found two rare shrews and a new mole
+(_Blarina_). I went out with the hunters at dawn but saw nothing except an
+old wapiti track and a little sign. All during the following day a dense
+fog hung close to the ground so that it was impossible to hunt, and, on the
+night of December 2, it snowed heavily. The morning began bright and clear
+but clouded about ten o'clock and became so bitterly cold that the Lolos
+would not hunt. They really suffered considerably and that night they all
+left us to return to their homes. We were greatly disappointed, for we had
+brilliant prospects of good wapiti shooting but without either men or dogs
+and in an unknown country there was little possibility of successful still
+hunting.
+
+The _mafus_ were very much worried and refused to go further north. They
+were certain that we would not be able to cross the high passes which lay
+between us and the Mekong valley far to the westward and complained
+unceasingly about the freezing cold and the lack of food for their animals.
+It was necessary to visit the Mekong River, for even though it might not be
+a good big game region it would give us a cross-section, as it were, of the
+fauna and important data on the distribution of small mammals. Therefore we
+decided to leave for the long ride as soon as the weather permitted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+STALKING TIBETANS WITH A CAMERA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The road near which we were camped was one of the great trade routes into
+Tibet and over it caravans were continually passing laden with tea or pork.
+Many of them had traveled the entire length of Yuen-nan to S'su-mao on the
+Tonking frontier where a special kind of tea is grown, and were hurrying
+northward to cross the snow-covered passes which form the gateways to the
+"Forbidden Land."
+
+The caravans sometimes stopped for luncheon or to spend the night near our
+camp. As the horses came up, one by one the loads were lifted off, the
+animals turned loose, and after their dinner of buttered tea and _tsamba_
+[Footnote: _Tsamba_ is parched oats or barley, ground finely.] each man
+stretched out upon the ground without shelter of any kind and heedless of
+the freezing cold. It is truly the life of primitive man and has bred a
+hardy, restless, independent race, content to wander over the boundless
+steppes and demanding from the outside world only to be let alone.
+
+They are picturesque, wild-looking fellows, and in their swinging walk
+there is a care-free independence and an atmosphere of the bleak Tibetan
+steppes which are strangely fascinating. Every Tibetan is a study for an
+artist. He wears a fur cap and a long loose coat like a Russian blouse
+thrown carelessly off one shoulder and tied about the waist, blue or red
+trousers, and high boots of felt or skin reaching almost to the knees. A
+long sword, its hilt inlaid with bright-colored bits of glass or stones, is
+half concealed beneath his coat, and he is seldom without a gun or a
+murderous looking spear.
+
+In the breast of his loose coat, which acts as a pocket, he carries a
+remarkable assortment of things; a pipe, tobacco, tea, _tsamba_, cooking
+pots, a snuff box and, hanging down in front, a metal charm to protect him
+from bullets or sickness.
+
+The eastern Tibetans are men of splendid physique and great strength, and
+are frequently more than six feet in height. They have brick-red
+complexions and some are really handsome in a full-blooded masculine way.
+Their straight features suggest a strong mixture of other than Mongolian
+stock and they are the direct antithesis of the Chinese in every
+particular. Their strength and virility and the dashing swing of their walk
+are very refreshing after contact with the ease-loving, effeminate Chinaman
+whom one sees being carried along the road sprawled in a mountain chair.
+
+Of all natives whom we tried to photograph the Tibetans were the most
+difficult. It was almost impossible to bribe them with money or tin cans to
+stand for a moment and when they saw the motion picture camera set up
+beside the trail they would make long detours to avoid passing in front of
+it.
+
+What we could not get by bribery we tried to do by stealth and concealed
+ourselves behind bushes with the camera focused on a certain spot upon the
+road. The instant a Tibetan discovered it he would run like a frightened
+deer and in some mysterious way they seemed to have passed the word along
+that our camp was a spot to be avoided. Sometimes a bottle was too great a
+temptation to be resisted, and one would stand timidly like a bird with
+wings half spread, only to dash away as though the devil were after him,
+when he saw my head disappear beneath the focusing hood.
+
+Wu and a _mafu_ who could speak a little Tibetan finally captured one
+picturesque looking fellow. He carefully tucked the tin cans, given for
+advance payment, inside his coat, and with a great show of bravery allowed
+me to place him where I wished. But the instant the motion picture camera
+swung in his direction he dodged aside, and jumped behind it. Wu tried to
+hold him but the Tibetan drew his sword, waved it wildly about his head and
+took to his heels, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was well-nigh
+frightened to death and when he disappeared from sight at a curve in the
+road he was still "going strong" with his coat tails flapping like a sail
+in the wind.
+
+One caravan came suddenly upon the motion picture camera unawares. There
+were several women in the party and, as soon as the men realized that there
+was no escape, each one dodged behind a woman, keeping her between him and
+the camera. They were taking no chances with their precious selves, for the
+women could be replaced easily enough if necessary.
+
+The trouble is that the Tibetan not unnaturally has the greatest possible
+suspicion and dislike for strangers. The Chinese he loathes and despises,
+and foreigners he knows only too well are symptoms of missionaries and
+punitive expeditions or other disturbances of his immemorial peace. He is
+confirmed in his attitude by the Church which throughout Tibet has the
+monopoly of all the gold in the country. And the Church utterly declines to
+believe that any foreigner can come so far for any end less foolish than
+the discovery of gold and the infringing of the ecclesiastical monopoly.
+
+Major Davies, who saw much of the Yuen-nan Tibetans, has remarked that it is
+curious how little impression the civilization and customs of the Chinese
+have produced on the Tibetans. Elsewhere, one of the principal
+characteristics of Chinese expansion is its power of absorbing other races,
+but with the Tibetans exactly the reverse takes place. The Chinese become
+Tibetanized and the children of a Chinaman married to a Tibetan woman are
+usually brought up in the Tibetan customs.
+
+Probably the great cause which keeps the Tibetan from being absorbed is the
+cold, inhospitable nature of his country. There is little to tempt the
+Chinese to emigrate into Tibet and consequently they never are there in
+sufficient numbers to influence the Tibetans around them. A similar cause
+has preserved some of the low-lying Shan states from absorption, the heat
+in this case being the reason that the Chinese do not settle there.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+WESTWARD TO THE MEKONG RIVER
+
+During the night of December 4, there was a heavy fall of snow and in the
+morning we awoke to find ourselves in fairyland. We were living in a great
+white palace, with ceiling and walls of filmy glittering webs. The long,
+delicate strands of gray moss which draped themselves from tree to tree and
+branch to branch were each one converted into threads of crystal, forming a
+filigree lacework, infinitely beautiful.
+
+It was hard to break camp and leave that silver palace, for every vista
+through the forest seemed more lovely than the one before, but we knew that
+another fall of snow would block the passes and shut us out from the Mekong
+valley. The _mafus_ even refused to try the direct route across the
+mountains to Wei-hsi and insisted on going southward to the Shih-ku ferry
+and up the Yangtze River on the main caravan route.
+
+It was a long trip and we looked forward with no pleasure to eight days of
+hard riding. The difficulty in obtaining hunters since leaving the Snow
+Mountain had made our big game collecting negligible although we had
+traveled through some excellent country. The Mekong valley might not be
+better but it was an unknown quantity and, whether or not it yielded
+specimens, the results from a survey of the mammal distribution would be
+none the less important, and we felt that it must be done; otherwise we
+should have turned our backs on the north and returned to Ta-li Fu.
+
+As we rode down the mountain trail we passed caravan after caravan of
+Tibetans with heavily loaded horses, all bound for that land of mystery
+beyond the snow-capped barriers. Often we tried to stop some of the
+red-skinned natives and persuade them to pose for a color photograph, but
+usually they only shook their heads stubbornly and hurried past with
+averted faces. We finally waylaid a Chinese and a Tibetan who were walking
+together. The Chinaman was an amiable fellow and by giving each of them a
+glass jam tumbler they halted a moment. As soon as the photograph had been
+taken the Chinese indicated that he expected us to produce one and was
+thoroughly disgusted when we showed him that it was impossible.
+
+Repassing the Lolo village, we followed the river gorge at the upper end of
+which Chung-tien is located and left the forests when we emerged on the
+main road. From the top of a ten thousand foot pass there was a magnificent
+view down the canon to the snow-capped mountains, which were beautiful
+beyond description in their changing colors of purple and gold.
+
+Just after leaving the pass we met a caravan of several hundred horses each
+bearing two whole pigs bent double and tied to the saddles. The animals had
+been denuded of hair, salted, and sewn up, and soon would be distributed
+among the villages somewhere in the interior of Tibet.
+
+On the second day we saw before us seven snow-crowned peaks as sharp and
+regular as the teeth of a saw rising above the mouth of the stream where it
+spreads like a fan over a sandy delta and empties into the Yangtze. Here
+the mighty river, flowing proudly southward from its home in the wind-blown
+steppes of the "Forbidden Land," countless ages ago found the great Snow
+Mountain range barring its path. Thrust aside, it doubled back upon itself
+along the barrier's base, still restlessly seeking a passage through the
+wall of rock. Far to the north it bit hungrily into the mountain's side
+again, broke through, and swung south gathering strength and volume from
+hundreds of tributaries as it rushed onward to the sea.
+
+For two days we rode along the river bank and crossed at the Shih-ku ferry.
+There was none of the difficulty here which we had experienced at Taku, for
+the river is wide and the current slow. It required only two hours to
+transport our entire caravan while at the other ferry we had waited a day
+and a half. Strangely enough, although there are dozens of villages along
+the Yangtze and the valley is highly cultivated, we saw no sign of fishing.
+Moreover, we passed but three boats and five or six rafts and it was
+evident that this great waterway, which for fifteen hundred miles from its
+mouth influences the trade of China so profoundly, is here used but little
+by the natives.
+
+On the ride down the river we had good sport with the huge cranes (probably
+_Grus nigricollis_) which, in small flocks, were feeding along the river
+fields. The birds stood about five feet high and we could see their great
+black and white bodies and black necks farther than a man was visible. It
+was fairly easy to stalk them to within a hundred yards, but even at that
+distance they offered a rather small target, for they were so largely
+wings, neck, legs, and tail. We were never within shotgun range and indeed
+it would be difficult to kill the birds with anything smaller than BB or
+buckshot unless they were very near.
+
+Heller shot our first cranes with his .250-.300 Savage rifle. He stole upon
+five which were feeding in a meadow and fired while two were "lined up."
+One of the huge birds flapped about on the ground for a few moments and lay
+still, but the larger was only wing-tipped and started off at full speed
+across the fields. Two _mafus_ left the caravan, yelling with excitement,
+and ran for nearly half a mile before they overtook the bird. Then they
+were kept at bay for fifteen minutes by its long beak which is a really
+formidable weapon. As food the cranes were perfectly delicious when stuffed
+with chestnut dressing and roasted. Each one provided two meals for three
+of us with enough left over for hash and our appetites were by no means
+birdlike.
+
+Although the natives attempt to kill cranes they are not often successful,
+for the birds are very watchful and will not allow a man within a hundred
+yards. Such a distance for primitive guns or crossbows might as well be a
+hundred miles, but with our high-power rifles we were able to shoot as many
+as were needed for food.
+
+The birds almost invariably followed the river when flying and fed in the
+rice, barley, and corn fields not far from the water. It was an inspiring
+sight to see a flock of the huge birds run for a few steps along the ground
+and then launch themselves into the air, their black and white wings
+flashing in the sunlight. They formed into orderly ranks like a company of
+soldiers or strung out in a long thin line across the sky.
+
+When we disturbed a flock from especially desirable feeding grounds they
+would sometimes whirl and circle above the fields, ascending higher and
+higher in great spirals until they were lost to sight, their musical voices
+coming faintly down to us like the distant shouts of happy children.
+
+When we returned to Ta-li Fu in early January, cranes were very abundant in
+the fields about the lake. They had arrived in late October and would
+depart in early spring, according to Mr. Evans. We often saw the birds on
+sand banks along the Yangtze, but they were usually resting or quietly
+walking about and were not feeding; apparently they eat only rice, barley,
+corn, or other grain.
+
+This species was discovered by the great traveler and naturalist,
+Lieutenant Colonel Prjevalsky, who found it in the Koko-nor region of
+Tibet, and it was later recorded by Prince Henri d'Orleans from Tsang in
+the Tibetan highlands. Apparently specimens from Yuen-nan have not been
+preserved in museums and the bird was not known to occur in this portion of
+China.
+
+Along the Yangtze on our way westward we shot a good many mallard ducks
+(_Anas boscas_) and ruddy sheldrakes (_Casarca casarca_); the latter are
+universally known as "brahminy ducks" by the foreigners in Burma and
+Yuen-nan, but they are not true ducks. The name is derived from the bird's
+beautiful buff and rufous color which is somewhat like that of the robes
+worn by the Brahmin priests. In America the name "sheldrake" is applied
+erroneously to the fish-eating mergansers, and much confusion has thus
+arisen, for the two are quite unrelated and belong to perfectly distinct
+groups. The mergansers have narrow, hooked, saw-toothed beaks quite unlike
+those of the sheldrakes, and their habits are entirely dissimilar.
+
+The brahminy ducks, although rather tough, are not bad eating. We usually
+found them feeding in fields not far from the river or in flooded rice
+dykes, and very often sitting in pairs on the sand banks near the water.
+They have a bisyllabic rather plaintive note which is peculiarly
+fascinating to me and, like the honk of the Canada goose, awakens memories
+of sodden, wind-blown marshes, bobbing decoys, and a leaden sky shot
+through with V-shaped lines of flying birds.
+
+Mallards were frequently to be found with the sheldrakes, and we had good
+shooting along the river and in ponds and rice fields. We also saw a few
+teal but they were by no means abundant. Pheasants were scarce. We shot a
+few along the road and near some of our camps, but we found no place in
+Yuen-nan where one could have even a fair day's shooting without the aid of
+a good dog. This is strikingly different from Korea where in a walk over
+the hillsides a dozen or more pheasants can be flushed within an hour.
+
+After two and one-half days' travel up the Yangtze we turned westward
+toward Wei-hsi and camped on a beautiful flat plain beside a tree-bordered
+stream. It was a cold clear night and after dinner and a smoke about the
+fire we all turned in.
+
+Both of us were asleep when suddenly a perfect bedlam of angry exclamations
+and Chinese curses roused the whole camp. In a few moments Wu came to our
+tent, almost speechless with rage and stammered, "Damn fool soldiers come
+try to take our horses; say if _mafu_ no give them horses they untie loads.
+Shall I tell _mafu_ break their heads?" We did not entirely understand the
+situation but it seemed quite proper to give the _mafus_ permission to do
+the head-breaking, and they went at it with a will. After a volley of
+blows, there was a scamper of feet on the frozen ground and the soldiers
+retired considerably the worse for wear.
+
+When the battle was over, Wu explained matters more fully. It appeared
+that a large detachment of soldiers had recently passed up this road to
+A-tun-tzu and four or five had remained behind to attend to the transport
+of certain supplies. Seeing an opportunity for "graft" the soldiers were
+stopping every caravan which passed and threatening to commandeer it unless
+the _mafus_ gave a sufficient bribe to buy their immunity. Our _mafus_,
+with the protection which foreigners gave them, had paid off a few old
+scores with interest. That they had neglected no part of the reckoning was
+quite evident when next morning two of the soldiers came to apologize for
+their "mistake." One of them had a black and swollen eye and the other was
+nursing a deep cut on his forehead; they were exceedingly humble and did
+not venture into camp until they had been assured that we would not again
+loose our terrible _mafus_ upon them.
+
+Such extortions are every day occurrences in many parts of China and it is
+little wonder that the military is cordially hated and feared by the
+peasants. The soldiers, taking advantage of their uniform, oppress the
+villagers in numberless ways from which there is no redress. If a complaint
+is made a dozen soldiers stand ready to swear that the offense was
+justified or was never committed, and the poor farmer is lucky if he
+escapes without a beating or some more severe punishment. It is a disgrace
+to China that such conditions are allowed to exist, and it is to be hoped
+that ere many years have passed the country will awake to a proper
+recognition of the rights of the individual. Until she does there never can
+be a national spirit of patriotism in China and without patriotism the
+Republic can be one in name only.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+DOWN THE MEKONG VALLEY
+
+On December 11, we had tiffin on the summit of a twelve thousand foot pass
+in a beautiful snow-covered meadow, from which we could see the glistening
+peaks of the vast mountain range which forms the Mekong-Salween divide. In
+the afternoon we reached Wei-hsi and camped in a grove of splendid pine
+trees on a hill overlooking the city. The place was rather disappointing
+after Li-chiang. The shops were poor and it was difficult to buy rice even
+though the entire valley was devoted to paddy fields, but we did get
+quantities of delicious persimmons.
+
+Wu told us that seven different languages were spoken in the city, and we
+could well believe it, for we recognized Mosos, Lolos, Chinese, and
+Tibetans. This region is nearly the extreme western limit of the Moso tribe
+which appears not to extend across the Mekong River.
+
+The mandarin at Wei-hsi received us hospitably and proved to be one of the
+most courteous officials whom we met in Yuen-nan. We were sorry to learn
+that he was killed in a horrible way only a few weeks after our visit.
+Trouble arose with the peasants over the tax on salt and fifteen hundred
+rebelled, attacked the city, and captured it after a sharp fight. It was
+reported that they immediately beheaded the mandarin's wives and children,
+and boiled him alive in oil.
+
+Although the magistrate offered to assist us in every way we could obtain
+no information concerning either hunting grounds or routes of travel. The
+flying squirrels which we had hoped to find near the city were reported to
+come from a mountain range beyond the Mekong in Burma, and Wei-hsi was
+merely a center of distribution for the skins. Moreover, the natives said
+it would be impossible to obtain squirrels at that time of the year, for
+the mountain passes were so heavily covered with snow that neither men nor
+caravans could cross them.
+
+It was desirable, however, to descend to the Mekong River in order to
+determine whether there would be a change in fauna, and on Major Davies'
+map a small road was marked down the valley. A stiff climb of a day and a
+half over a thickly forested mountain ridge, frozen and snow-covered,
+brought us in sight of the green waters of the Mekong which has carved a
+gorge for itself in an almost straight line from the bleak Tibetan plateaus
+through Yuen-nan and Indo-China to the sea.
+
+Our second camp was on the river at the mouth of a deep valley, near a
+small village. Wu said that the natives were Lutzus and I was inclined to
+believe he was right, although Major Davies indicates this region to be
+inhabited by Lisos. At any rate these people both in physical appearance
+and dress were quite distinct from the Lisos whom we met later.
+
+They were exceedingly pleasant and friendly and the chief, accompanied by
+four venerable men, brought a present of rice. I gave him two tins of
+cigarettes and the natives returned to the village wreathed in smiles.
+
+The garments of the Lutzus were characteristic and quite unlike those of
+the Mosos, Lisos or Tibetans. The women wore a long coat or jacket of blue
+cloth, trousers, and a very full pleated skirt. The men were dressed in
+plum colored coats and trousers.
+
+The natives said that monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_) were often seen when
+the corn was ripe and that even yet they might be found in the forest
+across the river. Heller spent a day hunting them, but found none and we
+obtained only one new mammal in our traps. It was a tiny mouse (_Micromys_)
+but the remainder of the fauna was essentially the same as that of the
+Yangtze valley and the intervening country.
+
+For three days we traveled down the Mekong River. Although the natives said
+that the trail was good, we discovered when it was too late that it was too
+narrow and difficult to make it practicable for a caravan such as ours. It
+was necessary to continually remove the loads in order to lift them around
+sharp corners or over rocks, and the _mafus_ sometimes had to cut away
+great sections of the bank. Usually only six or seven miles could be
+traversed after eight or nine hours of exhausting work, and we were glad
+when we could leave the river.
+
+The Mekong, on an average, is not more than a hundred yards wide in this
+region and, like the Yangtze, the water is very green from the Tibetan
+snows. The prevailing rock is red slate or sandstone instead of limestone,
+as in the country to the eastward, and the sides of the valley are so
+precipitous that it seems impossible for a human being to walk over them,
+and yet they are patched with brown corn fields from the summit to the
+water. Considering the small area available for cultivation there are a
+considerable number of inhabitants, who have gathered into villages and
+seldom live in isolated houses as in the Yangtze valley. Wherever a stream
+comes down from the mountain-side or can be diverted by irrigating ditches,
+the ground is beautifully terraced for rice paddys, but in other places,
+corn and peas appear to be the principal crops. Very few vegetables, such
+as turnips, squash, carrots or potatoes are raised, which is rather
+remarkable, as they are so abundant in all the country between the Mekong
+and the Yangtze rivers. In several places the water was spanned by rope
+bridges. The cables are made of twisted bamboo, and as one end must
+necessarily be higher than the other, there are always two ropes, one to
+cross each way. The traveler is tied by leather thongs in a sitting
+position to a wooden "runner" which slides along the bamboo cable and
+shoots across the river at tremendous speed.
+
+The valley is hopeless from a zooelogical standpoint. It is too dry for
+small mammals and the mountain slopes are so precipitous, thinly forested,
+and generally undesirable, that, except for gorals, no other large game
+would live there. The bird life is decidedly uninteresting. There are no
+cranes or sheldrakes and, except for a few flocks of mallards which feed in
+the rice fields, we saw no other ducks or geese.
+
+On December 20, we turned away from the Mekong valley and began to march
+southeast by east across an unmapped region toward Ta-li Fu. We camped at
+night on a pretty ridge thickly covered with spruce trees just above a deep
+moist ravine. In the morning our traps contained several rare shrews, five
+silver moles, a number of interesting mice, and a beautiful rufous spiny
+rat. It was too good a place to leave and I sent Hotenfa to inquire from a
+family of natives if there was big game of any sort in the vicinity. He
+reported that there were goral not far away, and at half past eight we rode
+down the trail for three miles when I left my horse at a peasant's house.
+They told us that the goral were on a rocky, thinly forested mountain which
+rose two thousand feet above the valley, and for an hour and a half we
+climbed steadily upward.
+
+We were resting near the summit on the rim of a deep canon when Hotenfa
+excitedly whispered, "_gnai-yang_" and held up three fingers. He tried to
+show the animals to me and at last I caught sight of what I thought was a
+goral standing on a narrow ledge. I fired and a bit of rock flew into the
+air while the three gorals disappeared among the trees two hundred feet
+above the spot where I had supposed them to be.
+
+I was utterly disgusted at my mistake but we started on a run for the other
+side of the gorge. When we arrived, Hotenfa motioned me to swing about to
+the right while he climbed along the face of the rock wall. No sooner had
+he reached the edge of the precipice than I saw him lean far out, fire with
+my three-barrel gun, and frantically wave for me to come. I ran to him and,
+throwing my arms about a projecting shrub, looked down. There directly
+under us stood a huge goral, but just as I was about to shoot, the earth
+gave way beneath my feet and I would have fallen squarely on the animal had
+Hotenfa not seized me by the collar and drawn me back to safety.
+
+The goral had not discovered where the shower of dirt and stones came from
+before I fired hurriedly, breaking his fore leg at the knee. Without the
+slightest sign of injury the ram disappeared behind a corner of the rock. I
+dashed to the top of the ridge in time to see him running at full speed
+across a narrow open ledge toward a thick mass of cover on the opposite
+side of the canon. I fired just as the animal gained the trees and, at the
+crash of my rifle, the goral plunged headlong down the mountain, stone
+dead.
+
+It fell on a narrow slide of loose rock which led nearly to the bottom of
+the valley and, slipping and rolling in a cloud of red dust, dropped over a
+precipice. The ram brought up against an unstable boulder five hundred feet
+below us, and it required half an hour's hard work to reach the spot.
+
+When I finally lifted its head one of the horns which had been broken in
+the fall slipped through my fingers, and away went the goral on another
+rough and tumble descent, finally stopping on a rock ledge nearly eleven
+hundred feet from the place where it had been shot. We returned to camp at
+noon bringing joy with us, for, as my wife had remarked the day before, "We
+will soon have to eat chickens or cans."
+
+Heller hunted the gorals unsuccessfully the following day and we left on
+December 23, camping at night on a flat terrace beside a stream at the end
+of a moist ravine. We intended to spend Christmas here for it was a
+beautiful spot, surrounded by virgin forest, but our celebration was to be
+on Christmas Eve. The following day dawned bright and clear. There had not
+been a drop of rain for nearly a month and the weather was just warm enough
+for comfort in the sun with one's coat off, but at night the temperature
+dropped to about 15 deg.+ or 20 deg.+ Fahr. The camp proved to be a good one,
+giving us two new mammals and, just after tiffin, Hotenfa came running in
+to report that he had discovered seven gray monkeys (probably _Pygathrix_)
+in a cornfield a mile away.
+
+The monkeys had disappeared ere we arrived, but while we were gone Yvette
+had been busy and, just before dinner, she ushered us into our tent with
+great ceremony. It had been most wonderfully transformed. At the far end
+stood a Christmas tree, blazing with tiny candles and surrounded by masses
+of white cotton, through which shone red holly berries. Holly branches from
+the forest and spruce boughs lined the tent and hung in green waves from
+the ridge pole. At the base of the tree gifts which she had purchased in
+Hongkong in the preceding August were laid out.
+
+Heller mixed a fearful and wonderful cocktail from the Chinese wine and
+orange juice, and we drank to each other and to those at home while sitting
+on the ground and opening our packages. We had purchased two Tibetan rugs
+in Li-chiang and Wei-hsi, as Christmas presents for Yvette. These rugs
+usually are blue or red, with intricate designs in the center, and are well
+woven and attractive.
+
+To the servants and _mafus_ we gave money and cigarettes. When the
+muleteers were brought to the tent to receive their gifts they evidently
+thought our blazing tree represented an altar, for they kneeled down and
+began to make the "chin, chin joss" which is always done before their
+heathen gods.
+
+Our Christmas dinner was a masterpiece. Four days previously I had shot a
+pair of mallard ducks and they formed the _piece de resistance_. The dinner
+consisted of soup, ducks stuffed with chestnuts, currant jelly, baked
+squash, creamed carrots, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers, coffee and
+cigarettes.
+
+Christmas day we traveled, and in the late afternoon passed through a very
+dirty Chinese town in a deep valley near some extensive salt wells. Red
+clay dust lay thick over everything and the filth of the streets and houses
+was indescribable. We camped in a cornfield a mile beyond the village, but
+were greatly annoyed by the Chinese who insisted on swarming into camp.
+Finally, unable longer to endure their insolent stares, I drove them with
+stones to the top of the hill, where they sat in row upon row exactly as in
+the "bleachers" at an American baseball game.
+
+When we left the following day we passed dozens of caravans and groups of
+men and women carrying great disks of salt. Each piece was stamped in red
+with the official mark for salt is a government monopoly and only licensed
+merchants are allowed to deal in it; moreover, the importation of salt from
+foreign countries is forbidden. For the purposes of administration, China
+is divided into seven or eight main circuits, each of which has its own
+sources of production and the salt obtained in one district may not be sold
+in another.
+
+In Yuen-nan the salt of the province is supplied from three regions. The
+water from the wells is boiled in great caldrons for several days, and the
+resulting deposit is earth impregnated with salt. This is crushed, mixed
+with water, and boiled again until only pure salt remains. After passing a
+village of considerable size called Pei-ping, we began the ascent of an
+exceedingly steep mountain range twelve thousand feet high. All the
+afternoon we toiled upward in the rain and camped late in the evening at a
+pine grove on a little plateau two-thirds of the way to the summit. During
+the night it snowed heavily and we awoke to find ourselves in a transformed
+world.
+
+Every tree and bush was dressed in garments of purest white and between the
+branches we could look westward across the valley toward the Mekong and the
+purple mountain wall of the Burma border. There were still one thousand
+feet of climbing between us and the summit of the pass. The trail was
+almost blocked, but by slow work we forced our way through the drifts. Some
+of the mules were already weak from exposure and underfeeding, and two of
+them had to be relieved of their loads; they died the next day. Our _mafus_
+did not appear to suffer greatly although their legs were bare from the
+knees down and their feet had no covering except straw sandals. Indeed when
+we discovered, on the summit of the pass, a tiny hut in which a fire was
+burning, they waited only a few moments to warm themselves.
+
+We met two other caravans fighting their way up the mountain from the other
+side, and by following the trail which they had broken through the drifts
+we made fairly good time on the descent. There had been no snow on the
+broad, flat plain which we reached in the late afternoon and we found that
+its ponds and fields were alive with ducks, geese, and cranes. The birds
+were wild but we had good shooting when we broke camp in the morning and
+killed enough to last us several days.
+
+On December 31, our weary days of crossing range after range of tremendous
+mountains were ended, and we stood on the last pass looking down upon the
+great Chien-chuan plain. Outside the grim walls of the old city, which lies
+on the main A-tun-tzu--Ta-li Fu road, are two large marshy ponds and, away
+to the south, is an extensive lake. We camped just without the courtyard of
+a fine temple, and at four o'clock Yvette and I went over to the water
+which was swarming with ducks and geese.
+
+Neither of us will ever forget that shoot in the glorious afternoon
+sunlight. Cloud after cloud of ducks rose as we neared the pond and circled
+high above our heads, but now and then a straggling mallard or "pin tail"
+would swing across the sky within range; as my gun roared out the birds
+would whirl to the ground like feathered bombs or climb higher with
+frightened quacks if the shot went wild. An hour before dark the brahminy
+ducks began to come in. We could hear their melodious plaintive calls long
+before we could see the birds, and we flattened ourselves out in the grass
+and mud. Soon a thin, black line would streak the sky, and as they drew
+nearer, Yvette would draw such seductive notes from a tiny horn of wood and
+bone that the flock would swing and dive toward us in a rush of flashing
+wings. When we could see the brown bodies right above our heads I would sit
+up and bang away.
+
+Now and then a big white goose would drop into the pond or an ibis flap
+lazily overhead, seeming to realize that it had nothing to fear from the
+prostrate bodies which spat fire at other birds. The stillness of the marsh
+was absolute save for the voices of the water fowl mingled in the wild,
+sweet clamor so dear to the heart of every sportsman. As the day began to
+die, hung about with ducks and geese, we walked slowly back across the rice
+fields, to the yellow fires before our tents. It was our last camp for the
+year and, as if to bid us farewell as we journeyed toward the tropics, the
+peaks of the great Snow Mountain far to the north, had draped themselves in
+a gorgeous silver mantle and glistened against a sky of lavender and gold
+like white cathedral spires.
+
+On January 3, we camped early in the afternoon on a beautiful little plain
+beside a spring overhung with giant trees at the head of Erh Hai, or Ta-li
+Fu Lake, which is thirty miles long. The fields and marshes were alive with
+ducks, geese, cranes, and lapwings, and we had a glorious day of sport over
+decoys and on the water before we went on to Ta-li Fu.
+
+Mr. Evans was about to leave for a long business trip to the south of the
+province and we took possession of a pretty temple just within the north
+gate of the city. Here we read a great accumulation of mail and learned
+that a thousand pounds of supplies which we had ordered from Hongkong had
+just arrived.
+
+Through the good offices of Mr. Howard Page, manager of the Standard Oil
+Company of Yuen-nan Fu, their passage through Tonking had been facilitated,
+and he had dispatched the boxes by caravan to Ta-li Fu. Mr. Page rendered
+great assistance to the Expedition in numberless ways, and to him we owe
+our personal thanks as well as those of the American Museum of Natural
+History.
+
+All the servants except our faithful Wu left at Ta-li Fu but, with the aid
+of Mr. Hanna, we obtained a much better personnel for the trip to the Burma
+frontier. The cook, who was one of Mr. Hanna's converts, was an especially
+fine fellow and proved to be as energetic and competent as the other had
+been lazy and helpless.
+
+Our work in the north had brought us a collection of thirteen hundred
+mammals, as well as several hundred birds, much material for habitat
+groups, and a splendid series of photographic records in Paget color
+plates, black and white negatives, and motion picture film. But what was of
+first importance, we had covered an enormous extent of diverse country and
+learned much about the distribution of the fauna of northern Yuen-nan. The
+thirteen hundred mammals of our collection were taken in a more or less
+continuous line across six tremendous mountain ranges, and furnish an
+illuminating cross section of the entire region from Ta-li-Fu, north to
+Chung-tien, and west to the Mekong River.
+
+It is apparent that in this part of the province, which is all within one
+"life zone," even the smallest mammals are widely spread and that the
+principal factor in determining distribution is the flora. Neither the
+highest mountain ridges nor such deep swift rivers as the Yangtze and the
+Mekong appear to act as effective barriers to migration, and as long as the
+vegetation remains constant, the fauna changes but little.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+MISSIONARIES WE HAVE KNOWN
+
+During our work in Fukien Province and in various parts of Yuen-nan we came
+into intimate personal contact with a great many missionaries; indeed every
+traveler in the interior of China will meet them unless he purposely avoids
+doing so. But the average tourist seldom sees the missionary in his native
+habitat because, for the most part, he lives and works where the tourist
+does not go.
+
+Nevertheless, that does not prevent the coastwise traveler from carrying
+back with him from the East a very definite impression of the missionary,
+which he has gained on board ships or in Oriental clubs where he hears him
+"damned with faint praise." Almost unconsciously he adopts the popular
+attitude just as he enlarges his vocabulary to include "pidgin English" and
+such unfamiliar phrases as "tiffin," "bund" and "cumshaw."
+
+This chapter is not a brief for the missionary, but simply a matter of fair
+play. We feel that in justice we ought to present our observations upon
+this subject, which is one of very general interest, as impartially as upon
+any phase of our scientific work. But it should be distinctly understood
+that we are writing _only_ of those persons whom we met and lived with, and
+whose work we had an opportunity to know and to see; _we are not attempting
+generalizations on the accomplishments of missionaries in any other part of
+China_.
+
+There are three charges which we have heard most frequently brought against
+the missionary: that he comes to the East because he can live better and
+more luxuriously than he can at home; that he often engages in lucrative
+trade with the natives; and that he accomplishes little good, either
+religious or otherwise. It is said that his converts are only "rice
+Christians," and treaty-port foreigners have often warned us in this
+manner, "Don't take Christian servants; they are more dishonest and
+unreliable than any others."
+
+It is often true that the finest house in a Chinese town will be that of
+the resident missionary. In Yen-ping the mission buildings are imposing
+structures, and are placed upon a hill above and away from the rest of the
+city. Any white person who has traveled in the interior of China will
+remember the airless, lightless, native houses, opening, as they all do, on
+filthy streets and reeking sewers and he will understand that in order to
+exist at all a foreigner must be somewhat isolated and live in a clean,
+well-ventilated house.
+
+Every missionary in China employs servants--many more servants than he
+could afford at home. So does every other foreigner, whatever his vocation.
+There is no such thing in China as the democracy of the West, and the
+missionary's status in the community demands that certain work in his house
+be done by servants; otherwise he and his family would be placed on a level
+with the coolie class and the value of his words and deeds be discounted.
+But the chief reason is that the missionary's wife almost always has
+definite duties to which she could not attend if she were not relieved from
+some of the household cares. She leads in work among the women of the
+community by organizing clubs and "Mutual Improvement Societies" and in
+teaching in the schools or hospitals where young men and women are learning
+English as an asset to medical work among their own people. Servants are
+unbelievably cheap. While we were in Foochow a cook received $3.50 (gold)
+per month, a laundryman $1.75 (gold) per month, and other wages were in
+proportion.
+
+In Fukien Province the missionaries receive two months' vacation. Anyone
+who has lived through a Fukien summer in the interior of the province will
+know why the missionaries are given this vacation. If they were not able to
+leave the deadly heat and filth and disease of the native cities for a few
+weeks every year, there would be no missionaries to carry on the work. The
+business man can surround himself with innumerable comforts both in his
+home and in his office which the missionary cannot afford and, during the
+summer, life is not only made possible thereby but even pleasant.
+
+Yen-ping is eight days' travel from Foochow up the Min River and it is by
+no means the most remote station in the province. Very few travelers reach
+these places during the year and the white inhabitants are almost isolated.
+Miss Mabel Hartford lives alone at Yuchi and at one time she saw only one
+foreigner in eight months. Miss Cordelia Morgan is the sole foreign
+resident of Chu-hsuing Fu, a large Chinese city six days from Yuen-nan Fu.
+In Ta-li Fu, Reverend William J. Hanna, his wife and two other women, are
+fourteen days' ride from the nearest foreign settlement. In Li-chiang,
+Reverend and Mrs. A. Kok and their three small children live with two women
+missionaries. They are twenty-one days' travel from a doctor, and for four
+years previous to our visit they had not seen a white woman.
+
+These are some instances of missionaries whom we met in China who have
+voluntarily exiled themselves to remote places where they expect to spend
+their entire lives surrounded by an indifferent if not hostile population.
+Can anyone possibly believe that they have chosen this life because it is
+easier or more luxurious than that at home?
+
+Some of the men whom we met had left lucrative business positions to take
+up medical or evangelistic work in China where their compensation is
+pitifully small--not one-third of the salary they were commanding at home.
+
+We did not meet any missionaries who were engaging in trade with the
+natives even though in some places there were excellent business
+opportunities.
+
+Consider the doctors as examples of the civilizing influences which
+missionaries bring with them. We saw them in various parts of China doing
+a magnificent work. Dr. Bradley has established a great leper hospital at
+Paik-hoi where these human outcasts are receiving the latest and most
+scientific treatment and beginning to look at life with a new hope. In
+Yen-ping, at the time of the rebellion, we saw Dr. Trimble working hour
+after hour over wounded and broken men without a thought of rest. In
+Yuen-nan Fu, Dr. Thompson's hospital was filled with patients suffering from
+almost every known disease. In Ta-li Fu we saw Mr. Hanna and his wife
+dispensing medicines and treating the minor ills of patients waiting by the
+dozen, the fees received being not enough to pay for the cost of the
+medicines. Why is it that every traveling foreigner in the interior of
+China is supposed to be able to cure diseases? Certainly an important
+reason is because of the work done by the medical missionaries who have
+penetrated to the farthest corners of the most remote provinces.
+
+Aside from their medical work, missionaries are in many instances the real
+pioneers of western civilization. They bring to the people new standards of
+living, both morally and physically. They open schools and emancipate the
+Chinese children in mind and body. They fight the barbarous customs of foot
+binding and the killing and selling of girl babies. Until recent years it
+was not unusual to meet the village "baby peddler" with from two to six
+tiny infants peddling his "goods" from village to village. Not many years
+ago such a man appeared before the mission compound at Ngu-cheng (Fukien)
+with four babies in his basket. Three of these had expired from exposure
+and the kerosene oil which had been poured down their throats to stupefy
+them and drown their cries. The fourth was purchased by the wife of the
+native preacher for ten cents in order to save its life. This child was
+reared and has since graduated from the mission schools with credit. In
+Foochow a stone tablet bearing the following inscription stands beside a
+stagnant pool: "Hereafter the throwing of babies into this pool will be
+punished by law." This was a result of the work of the missionaries.
+
+Their task is by no means easy and, as Mr. Hanna once remarked, "Yuen-nan
+Province has broken the heart of more than one missionary." The Chinese do
+not understand their point of view, and it is difficult to make them see
+it. A Chinaman is a rank materialist and pure altruism does not enter into
+his scheme of life. As a rule he has but two thoughts, his stomach and his
+cash bag. It is well-nigh impossible to make him realize that the
+missionary has not come with an ulterior motive--if not to engage in trade,
+perhaps as a spy for his government. Others believe that it is because
+China is so vastly superior to the rest of the world that the missionaries
+wish to live there. Eventually the suspicions of the natives become quieted
+and they accept the missionary at some part of his true worth.
+
+At the time of the rebellion in Yen-ping we saw Harry Caldwell, Mr.
+Bankhardt and Dr. Trimble save the lives of hundreds of people and the city
+from partial destruction because the Chinese officers of the opposing
+forces would trust the missionaries when they would not trust each other.
+
+An excellent piece of practical missionary work was done in Fukien
+Province, not long after our visit there. As we have related in Chapter
+III, several large bands of brigands were established in the hills about
+Yuchi. Brigandage began there in the following way. During a famine when
+the people were on the verge of starvation, a wealthy farmer, Su Ek by
+name, decided to do his share in relieving conditions by offering for sale
+a quantity of rice which he had accumulated. He approached another man of
+similar wealth who agreed with him to sell his grain at a reasonable price.
+Su Ek accordingly disposed of his rice to the suffering people and, when he
+had remaining only enough to sustain his own family until the following
+harvest, he sent the peasants to the second man who had also agreed to
+dispose of his grain.
+
+This farmer refused to sell at the stipulated price, and the people,
+angered at his treachery, looted his sheds. He immediately went to Foochow
+and reported to the governor that there was a band of brigands abroad in
+Yuchi County under the leadership of Su Ek, and that they had robbed and
+plundered his property.
+
+Without warning a company of soldiers swooped down upon the community and
+arrested a number of men whose names the informer had given. Su Ek made his
+escape to the hills but he was pursued as a brigand chief, and was later
+joined by other farmers who had been similarly persecuted. Unable to return
+to their homes on pain of death they were forced to rob in order to live.
+
+Su Ek and others were finally decoyed to Foochow upon the promise that
+their lives would be spared if they would induce their band to surrender.
+They met the conditions but the government officials broke faith and the
+men were executed. Similar attempts were made to enter into negotiations
+with the brigands and in 1915 two hundred were trapped and beheaded after
+pardons had been promised them. Naturally the robbers refused to trust the
+government officials again.
+
+The months which elapsed between this act of treachery and the spring of
+1916, were filled with innumerable outrages. Many townships were completely
+devastated, either by the bandits or the Chinese soldiers. Little will ever
+be known of what actually took place under the guise of settling
+brigandage, behind the mountains which separate Yuchi from the outer world.
+It is well that it should not be known.
+
+During the spring of 1916 a missionary visited Yuchi. Business called him
+outside the city wall and just beyond the west gate he saw the bodies of
+ten persons who had that day been executed. Among these were two children,
+brothers, the sons of a man who was reported to have "sold rice to the
+brigands." The smaller child had wept and pleaded to be permitted to kneel
+beside his older brother further up in the row. He was too small to realize
+what it all meant but he wanted to die beside his brother.
+
+In the middle of the field lay a man whose head was partly severed from his
+body and who had been shot through and through by the soldiers. He was
+lying upon his back in the broiling sun pleading for a cup of tea or for
+someone to put him out of his misery. The missionary learned the man's
+story. It appeared that years ago a law suit in which his father had been
+concerned had been decided in his favor. In order to square the score
+between the clans, the son of the man who had lost the suit had reported
+that he had seen this man carrying rice to the brigands. He had been
+arrested by the soldiers, partially killed, and left to lie in the glaring
+sun from nine o'clock in the morning until dark suffering the agonies of
+crucifixion. Not one of those who heard his moans dared to moisten the
+parched lips with tea lest he too be executed for having administered to a
+brigand.
+
+The missionary returned to the city that night vowing that he would make a
+recurrence of such a thing impossible or he would leave China. He took up
+the matter with the authorities in Peking in a quiet way and later with the
+military governor in Foochow. He was well known to the brigands by
+reputation and visited several of the chiefs in their strongholds. They
+declared that they had confidence in him but none in the government--or its
+representatives. It was only after assuming full responsibility for any
+treachery that the brigands agreed to discuss terms.
+
+Upon invitation to accompany him to the 24th Township, the missionary was
+escorted out to civilization by twenty-five picked men to whom the chief
+had entrusted an important charge. As the group neared the township the
+missionary sent word ahead to the commander of the northern soldiers to
+prepare to receive the brigands.
+
+[Illustration: SEAL OF A PARDONED BRIGAND.]
+
+As the twenty-five bandits appeared upon the summit of a hill overlooking
+the city, soldiers could be seen forming into squads outside the barracks.
+Instantly the brigands halted, snapped back the bolts of their rifles, and
+threw in shells. The missionary realized that they suspected treachery and
+turning about he said, "I am the guarantee for your lives. If a shot is
+fired kill me first."
+
+With two loaded guns at his back and accompanied by the brigands he marched
+into the city, where they were received by the officials with all the
+punctilious ceremony so dear to the heart of the Chinese. It had been a
+dangerous half hour for the missionary. If a rifle had been fired by
+mistake, and Chinese are always shooting when they themselves least expect
+to, he would have been instantly killed.
+
+This conference, and others which followed, resulted in several hundred
+pardons being distributed to the brigands by the missionary himself. The
+men then returned to their abandoned homes and again took up their lives as
+respectable farmers. Thus the reign of terror in this portion of the
+province was ended through the efforts of one courageous man. It is such
+applied Christianity that has made us respect the missionary and admire his
+work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+CHINESE NEW YEAR AT YUNG-CHANG
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The last half of the expedition began January 13 when we left Ta-li Fu with
+a caravan of thirty miles for Yung-chang, eight days' travel to the south.
+The _mafus_ although they had promised faithfully to come "at daylight" did
+not arrive until nearly noon and in consequence it was necessary to camp at
+Hsia-kuan at the foot of the lake.
+
+We improved our time there in hunting about for skins and finally purchased
+two fine leopards and a tiger. The latter had been brought from the Tonking
+frontier. There were a number of Tibetans wandering about the market place
+and in the morning a caravan of at least two hundred horses followed by
+twenty or thirty Tibetans, passed into the city while it was yet gray dawn.
+They were bringing tea from P'u-erh and S'su-mao in the south of the
+province and although they had already been nearly a month upon their
+journey there was still many long weeks of travel before them ere they
+reached the wind-blown steppes of their native land.
+
+The trip to Yung-chang proved uninteresting and uneventful. We crossed a
+succession of dry, thinly forested mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high
+which near their summits were often clothed with a thick growth of
+rhododendron trees. The beautiful red flowers flashed like fire balls among
+the green leaves, peach trees were in full blossom and in some spots the
+dry hills seemed about to break forth in the full glory of their spring
+verdure. We crossed the Mekong near a village called Shia-chai on a
+picturesque chain suspension bridge of a type which is not unusual in the
+southern and western part of the province. Several heavy iron chains are
+firmly fastened to huge rock piers on opposite sides of the river and the
+roadway formed by planks laid upon them. Although the bridge shakes and
+swings in a rather alarming manner when a caravan is crossing, it is
+perfectly safe if not too heavily loaded.
+
+In the afternoon of January 21, we rode down the mountain to the great
+Yung-chang plain, and for two hours trotted over a hard dirt road. The
+plain is eighteen miles long by six miles wide and except for its scattered
+villages, is almost entirely devoted to paddy fields. The city itself
+includes about five thousand houses. It is exceedingly picturesque and is
+remarkable for its long, straight, and fairly clean streets which contrast
+strongly with those of the usual Chinese town. At the west, but still
+within the city walls, is a picturesque wooded hill occupied almost
+exclusively by temples.
+
+We ourselves camped between two ponds in the courtyard of a large and
+exceptionally clean temple just outside the south gate of the city. It was
+the Chinese New Year and Wu told us that for several days at least it would
+be impossible to obtain another caravan or expect the natives to do any
+work whatever. It was a very pleasant place in which to stay although we
+chafed at the enforced delay, but we made good use of our time in
+photographing and developing motion picture film, collecting birds and
+making various excursions.
+
+Chinese New Year is always interesting to a foreigner and at Yung-chang we
+saw many of the customs attending its celebration. It is a time of feasting
+and merry making and no native, if he can possibly avoid it, will work on
+that day. Chinese families almost always live under one roof but should any
+male member be absent at this season the circumstances must be exceptional
+to prevent him from returning to his home.
+
+It is customary, too, for brides to revisit their mother's house at New
+Year's. On our way to Yung-chang and for several days after leaving the
+city, we were continually passing young women mounted on mules or horses
+and accompanied by servants returning to their homes. New clothes are a
+leading feature of this season and the dresses of the brides and young
+matrons were usually of the most unexpected hues for, according to our
+conception of color, the Chinese can scarcely be counted conspicuous for
+their good taste. Purple and blue, orange and red, pink and lavender clash
+distressingly, but are worn with inordinate pride.
+
+These visits are not an unalloyed pleasure to the bride's family. Dr. Smith
+says in "Chinese Characteristics":
+
+    When she goes to her mother's home, she goes on a strictly business
+    basis. She takes with her it may be a quantity of sewing for her
+    husband's family, which the wife's family must help her get through
+    with. She is accompanied on each of these visits by as many of her
+    children as possible, both to have her take care of them and to have
+    them out of the way when she is not at hand to look after them, and
+    most especially to have them fed at the expense of the family of the
+    maternal grandmother for as long a time as possible. In regions where
+    visits of this sort are frequent, and where there are many daughters in
+    a family, their constant raids on the old home are a source of
+    perpetual terror to the whole family, and a serious tax on the common
+    resources. [Footnote: "Chinese Characteristics," by Arthur H. Smith, p.
+    200.]
+
+Religious rites and ceremonies form a conspicuous part in the New Year's
+celebration. At this time the "Kitchen God," according to current
+superstition, returns to heaven to render an account of the household's
+behavior. The wily Chinese, however, first rubs the lips of the departing
+deity with candy in order to "sweeten" his report of any evil which he may
+have witnessed during the year.
+
+Usually all the members of the family gather before the ancestral tablets,
+or should these be lacking as among many of the laboring classes, a scroll
+with a part of the genealogy is displayed and the spirits of the departed
+are appeased and honored by the burning of incense and the mumbling of
+incantations. While strict attention is paid to the religious observance to
+the dead, at New Year's the most punctilious ceremony is rendered to the
+living.
+
+After the family have paid their respects to one another the younger male
+members go from house to house "kowtowing" to the elders who are there to
+receive them. The following days are devoted to visits to relatives living
+in the neighboring towns and villages, and this continues, an endless
+routine, until fourteen days later the Feast of the Lanterns puts an end to
+the "epoch of national leisure."
+
+The Chinese are inveterate gamblers and at New Year's they turn feverishly
+to this form of amusement which is almost their only one. But they also
+have to think seriously about paying their debts for it is absolutely
+necessary for all classes and conditions of men to meet their obligations
+at the end of the year.
+
+Almost everyone owes money in China. According to the clan system an
+individual having surplus cash is obliged to lend it (though at a high rate
+of interest) to any members of his family in need of help. However, a
+Chinaman never pays cash unless absolutely obliged to and almost never
+settles a debt until he has been dunned repeatedly.
+
+The activity displayed at New Year's is ludicrous.
+
+    Each separate individual [says Dr. Smith] is engaged in the task of
+    trying to chase down the men who owe money to him, and compel them to
+    pay up, and at the same time in trying to avoid the persons who are
+    struggling to track _him_ down and corkscrew from him the amount of his
+    indebtedness to them! The dodges and subterfuges to which each is
+    obliged to resort, increase in complexity and number with the advance
+    of the season, until at the close of the month, the national activity
+    is at fever heat. For if a debt is not secured then, it will go over
+    till a new year, and no one knows what will be the status of a claim
+    which has actually contrived to cheat the annual Day of Judgment. In
+    spite of the excellent Chinese habit of making the close of a year a
+    grand clearing-house for all debts, Chinese human nature is too much
+    for Chinese custom, and there are many of these postponed debts which
+    are a grief of mind to many a Chinese creditor.
+
+    The Chinese are at once the most practical and the most sentimental of
+    the human race. New Year _must not_ be violated by duns for debts, and
+    the debts _must_ be collected New Year though it be. For this reason
+    one sometimes sees an urgent creditor going about early on the first
+    day of the year carrying a lantern looking for his creditor [=debtor].
+    His artificial light shows that by a social fiction the sun has not yet
+    risen, it is still yesterday and the debt can still be claimed....
+
+    We have but to imagine the application of the principles which we have
+    named, to the whole Chinese Empire, and we get new light upon the
+    nature of the Chinese New Year festivities. They are a time of
+    rejoicing, but there is no rejoicing so keen as that of a ruined
+    debtor, who has succeeded by shrewd devices in avoiding the most
+    relentless of his creditors and has thus postponed his ruin for at
+    least another twelve months.
+
+    For, once past the narrow strait at the end of the year, the debtor
+    finds himself again in the broad and peaceful waters, where he cannot
+    be molested. Even should his creditors meet him on New Year's day,
+    there could be no possibility of mentioning the fact of the previous
+    day's disgraceful flight and concealment, or indeed of alluding to
+    business at all, for this would not be "good form" and to the Chinese
+    "Good Form" (otherwise known as custom), is the chief national
+    divinity. [Footnote: "Village Life in China," by Arthur H. Smith, 1907,
+    pp. 208-209.]
+
+Yung-chang appears to be almost entirely inhabited by Chinese and in no
+part of the province did we see foot-binding more in evidence. Practically
+every woman and girl, young or old, regardless of her station in life was
+crippled in this brutal way. The women wear long full coats with flaring
+skirts which hang straight from their shoulders to their knees. When the
+trousers are tightly wrapped about their shrunken ankles, they look in a
+side view exactly like huge umbrellas.
+
+One day we visited a cave thirty _li_ north of the city where we hoped to
+find new bats. A beautiful little temple has been built over the entrance
+to the cavern which does not extend more than forty or fifty feet into the
+rock. But twenty _li_ south of Yung-chang, just beyond the village of
+A-shih-wo, there is an enormous cave which is reported to extend entirely
+through the hill. Whether or not this is true we can not say for although
+we explored it in part we did not reach the end. The central corridor is
+about thirty feet wide and at least sixty or seventy high. We followed the
+main gallery for a long distance, and turned back at a branch which led off
+at a sharp angle. We were not equipped with sufficient candles to pursue
+the exploration more extensively and did not have time to visit it again.
+The cave contained some beautiful stalactites of considerable size, but the
+limestone was a dull lead color. We found only one bat and these animals
+appear not to have used it extensively since there was little sign upon the
+floor.
+
+At Yuang-chang we saw water buffaloes for the first time in Yuen-nan but
+found them to be in universal use farther to the south and west. The huge
+brutes are as docile as a kitten in the hands of the smallest native child
+but they do not like foreigners and discretion is the better part of valor
+where they are concerned.
+
+Water buffaloes are only employed for work in the rice fields but Chinese
+cows are used as burden bearers in this part of the province. Such caravans
+travel much more slowly than do mule trains although the animals are not
+loaded as heavily. Two or three of the leading cows usually carry upon
+their backs large bells hung in wooden frameworks and the music is by no
+means unmelodious when heard at a distance. Marco Polo, the great Venetian
+traveler, refers to Yung-chang as "Vochang." His account of a battle which
+was fought in its vicinity in the year 1272 between the King of Burma and
+Bengal and one of Kublai Khan's generals is so interesting that I am
+quoting it below:
+
+    When the king of Mien [Burma] and Bangala [Bengal], in India, who
+    was powerful in the number of his subjects, in extent of territory,
+    and in wealth, heard that an army of Tartars had arrived at Vochang
+    [Yung-chang] he took the resolution of advancing immediately to attack
+    it, in order that by its destruction the grand khan should be deterred
+    from again attempting to station a force upon the borders of his
+    dominions. For this purpose he assembled a very large army, including
+    a multitude of elephants (an animal with which his country abounds),
+    upon whose backs were placed battlements or castles, of wood, capable
+    of containing to the number of twelve or sixteen in each. With these,
+    and a numerous army of horse and foot, he took the road to Vochang,
+    where the grand khan's army lay, and encamping at no great distance
+    from it, intended to give his troops a few days of rest.
+
+    As soon as the approach of the king of Mien, with so great a force, was
+    known to Nestardin, who commanded the troops of the grand khan,
+    although a brave and able officer, he felt much alarmed, not having
+    under his orders more than twelve thousand men (veterans, indeed, and
+    valiant soldiers); whereas the enemy had sixty thousand, besides the
+    elephants armed as has been described. He did not, however, betray any
+    sign of apprehension, but descending into the plain of Vochang, took a
+    position in which his flank was covered by a thick wood of large trees,
+    whither, in case of a furious charge by the elephants, which his troops
+    might not be able to sustain, they could retire, and from thence, in
+    security, annoy them with their arrows....
+
+    Upon the king of Mien's learning that the Tartars had descended into
+    the plain, he immediately put his army in motion, took up his ground at
+    the distance of about a mile from the enemy, and made a disposition of
+    his force, placing the elephants in the front, and the cavalry and
+    infantry, in two extended wings, in their rear, but leaving between
+    them a considerable interval. Here he took his own station, and
+    proceeded to animate his men and encourage them to fight valiantly,
+    assuring them of victory, as well from the superiority of their
+    numbers, being four to one, as from their formidable body of armed
+    elephants, whose shock the enemy, who had never before been engaged
+    with such combatants, could by no means resist. Then giving orders for
+    sounding a prodigious number of warlike instruments, he advanced boldly
+    with his whole army towards that of the Tartars, which remained firm,
+    making no movement, but suffering them to approach their entrenchments.
+
+    They then rushed out with great spirit and the utmost eagerness to
+    engage; but it was soon found that the Tartar horses, unused to the
+    sight of such huge animals, with their castles, were terrified, and by
+    wheeling about endeavored to fly; nor could their riders by any
+    exertions restrain them, whilst the king, with the whole of his forces,
+    was every moment gaining ground. As soon as the prudent commander
+    perceived this unexpected disorder, without losing his presence of
+    mind, he instantly adopted the measure of ordering his men to dismount
+    and their horses to be taken into the wood, where they were fastened to
+    the trees.
+
+    When dismounted, the men without loss of time, advanced on foot towards
+    the line of elephants, and commenced a brisk discharge of arrows;
+    whilst, on the other side, those who were stationed in the castles, and
+    the rest of the king's army, shot volleys in return with great
+    activity; but their arrows did not make the same impression as those of
+    the Tartars, whose bows were drawn with a stronger arm. So incessant
+    were the discharges of the latter, and all their weapons (according to
+    the instructions of their commander) being directed against the
+    elephants, these were soon covered with arrows, and, suddenly giving
+    way, fell back upon their own people in the rear, who were thereby
+    thrown into confusion. It soon became impossible for their drivers to
+    manage them, either by force or address. Smarting under the pain of
+    their wounds, and terrified by the shouting of the assailants, they
+    were no longer governable, but without guidance or control ran about in
+    all directions, until at length, impelled by rage and fear, they rushed
+    into a part of the wood not occupied by the Tartars. The consequence of
+    this was, that from the closeness of the branches of large trees, they
+    broke, with loud crashes, the battlements or castles that were upon
+    their backs, and involved in the destruction those who sat upon them.
+
+    Upon seeing the rout of the elephants the Tartars acquired fresh
+    courage, and filing off by detachments, with perfect order and
+    regularity, they remounted their horses, and joined their several
+    divisions, when a sanguinary and dreadful combat was renewed. On the
+    part of the king's troops there was no want of valor, and he himself
+    went amongst the ranks entreating them to stand firm, and not to be
+    alarmed by the accident that had befallen the elephants. But the
+    Tartars by their consummate skill in archery, were too powerful for
+    them, and galled them the more exceedingly, from their not being
+    provided with such armor as was worn by the former.
+
+    The arrows having been expended on both sides, the men grasped their
+    swords and iron maces, and violently encountered each other. Then in an
+    instant were to be seen many horrible wounds, limbs dismembered, and
+    multitudes falling to the ground, maimed and dying; with such effusion
+    of blood as was dreadful to behold. So great also was the clangor of
+    arms, and such the shoutings and the shrieks, that the noise seemed to
+    ascend to the skies. The king of Mien, acting as became a valiant
+    chief, was present wherever the greatest danger appeared, animating his
+    soldiers, and beseeching them to maintain their ground with resolution.
+    He ordered fresh squadrons from the reserve to advance to the support
+    of those that were exhausted; but perceiving at length that it was
+    impossible any longer to sustain the conflict or to withstand the
+    impetuosity of the Tartars, the greater part of his troops being either
+    killed or wounded, and all the field covered with the carcasses of men
+    and horses, whilst those who survived were beginning to give way, he
+    also found himself compelled to take to flight with the wreck of his
+    army, numbers of whom were afterwards slain in the pursuit....
+
+    The Tartars having collected their force after the slaughter of the
+    enemy, returned towards the wood into which the elephants had fled for
+    shelter, in order to take possession of them, where they found that the
+    men who had escaped from the overthrow were employed in cutting down
+    trees and barricading the passages, with the intent of defending
+    themselves. But their ramparts were soon demolished by the Tartars, who
+    slew many of them, and with the assistance of the persons accustomed to
+    the management of the elephants, they possessed themselves of these to
+    the number of two hundred or more. From the period of this battle the
+    grand khan has always chosen to employ elephants in his armies, which
+    before that time he had not done. The consequences of the victory were,
+    that he acquired possession of the whole of the territories of the king
+    of Bangala and Mien, and annexed them to his dominions. [Footnote: "The
+    Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian." Everyman's Library. J.M. Dent &
+    Sons, Ltd., London; pp. 253-256.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+
+TRAVELING TOWARD THE TROPICS
+
+We left Yung-chang with no regret on Monday, January 28. Our stay there
+would have been exceedingly pleasant under ordinary conditions but it was
+impossible not to chafe at the delay occasioned by the caravan. Traveling
+southward for two days over bare brown mountain-sides, their monotony
+unrelieved except by groves of planted pine and fir trees, we descended
+abruptly into the great subtropical valley at Shih-tien.
+
+Mile after mile this fertile plain stretches away in a succession of rice
+paddys and fields of sugar cane interspersed with patches of graceful
+bamboo, their summits drooping like enormous clusters of ostrich plumes;
+the air is warm and fragrant and the change from the surrounding hills is
+delightful. However, we were disappointed in the shooting for, although it
+appeared to be an ideal place for ducks and other water birds, we killed
+only five teal, and the great ponds were almost devoid of bird life. Even
+herons, so abundant in the north, were conspicuous by their absence and we
+saw no sheldrakes, geese, or mallards.
+
+At Shih-tien we camped in a beautiful temple yard on the outskirts of the
+town, and with Wu I returned to the village to inquire about shooting
+places. We seated ourselves in the first open tea house and within ten
+minutes more than a hundred natives had filled the room, overflowed through
+the door and windows, and formed a mass of pushing, crowding bodies which
+completely blocked the street outside. It was a simple way of getting all
+the village together and Wu questioned everyone who looked intelligent.
+
+We learned that shooting was to be found near Gen-kang, five days' travel
+south, and we returned to the temple just in time to receive a visit from
+the resident mandarin. He was a good-looking, intellectual man, with
+charming manners and one of the most delightful gentlemen whom we met in
+China.
+
+During his visit, and until dinner was over and we had retired to our
+tents, hundreds of men, women and children crowded into the temple yard to
+gaze curiously at us. After the gates had been closed they climbed the
+walls and sat upon the tiles like a flock of crows. Their curiosity was
+insatiable but not unfriendly and nowhere throughout our expedition did we
+find such extraordinary interest in our affairs as was manifested by the
+people in this immediate region. They were largely Chinese and most of them
+must have met foreigners before, yet their curiosity was much greater than
+that of any natives whom we knew were seeing white persons for the first
+time.
+
+Just before camping the next day we passed through a large village where we
+were given a most flattering reception. We had stopped to do some shooting
+and were a considerable distance behind the caravan. The _mafus_ must have
+announced our coming, for the populace was out _en masse_ to greet us and
+lined the streets three deep. It was a veritable triumphal entry and crowds
+of men and children followed us for half a mile outside the town, running
+beside our horses and staring with saucer-like eyes.
+
+On the second day from Shih-tien we climbed a high mountain and wound down
+a sharp descent for about 4,000 feet into a valley only 2,300 feet above
+sea level. We had been cold all day on the ridges exposed to a biting wind
+and had bundled ourselves into sweaters and coats over flannel shirts.
+After going down about 1,000 feet we tied our coats to the saddle pockets,
+on the second thousand stripped off the sweaters, and for the remainder of
+the descent rode with sleeves rolled up and shirts open at the throat. We
+had come from mid-winter into summer in two hours and the change was most
+startling. It was as though we had suddenly ridden into an artificially
+heated building like the rooms for tropical plants at botanical gardens.
+
+Our camp was on a flat plain just above the river where we had a splendid
+view of the wide valley which was like the bottom of a well with high
+mountains rising abruptly on all sides. It was a place of strange
+contrasts. The bushes and trees were in full green foliage but the grass
+and paddy fields were dry and brown as in mid-winter. The thick trees at
+the base of the hills were literally alive with doves but there were few
+mammal runways and our traps yielded no results. That night a muntjac, the
+first we had heard, barked hoarsely behind the tents.
+
+The _yamen_ "soldier" who accompanied us from Shih-tien delivered his
+official dispatch at the village (Ma-po-lo) which lies farther down the
+valley. The magistrate, who proved to be a Shan native, arrived soon after
+with ten or twelve men and we discovered that there was but one man in the
+village who spoke Chinese.
+
+The magistrate at Ma-po-lo by no means wished to have the responsibility of
+our safety thrust upon him and consequently assured us that there were
+neither game nor hunters in this village. Although his anxiety to be rid of
+us was apparent, he was probably telling the truth, for the valley is so
+highly cultivated (rice), and the cover on the mountain-sides so limited,
+that it is doubtful if much game remains.
+
+In the morning the entire valley was filled with a dense white fog but we
+climbed out of it almost immediately, and by noon were back again in winter
+on the summits of the ridges. The country through which we passed _en
+route_ to Gen-kang was similar to that which had oppressed us during the
+preceding week--cultivated valleys between high barren mountains relieved
+here and there by scattered groves of planted fir trees. It was a region
+utterly hopeless from a naturalist's standpoint and when we arrived at a
+large town near Gen-kang we were well-nigh discouraged.
+
+During almost a month of travel we had been guided by native information
+which without exception had proved worthless. It seemed useless to rely
+upon it further, and yet there was no other alternative, for none of the
+foreigners whom we had met in Yuen-nan knew anything about this part of the
+province. We were certain to reach a tropical region farther south and the
+fact that there were a few sambur skins for sale in the market offered
+slight encouragement. These were said to come from a village called
+Meng-ting, "a little more far," to the tune of four or five days' travel,
+over on the Burma frontier.
+
+With gloom in our hearts, which matched that of the weather, we left in a
+pouring rain on February 5, to slip and splash southward through veritable
+rivers of mud for two long marches. In the afternoon of the second day the
+country suddenly changed. The trail led through a wide grassy valley,
+bordered by heavily forested hills, into a deep ravine. Along the banks of
+a clear stream the earth was soft and damp and the moss-covered logs and
+dense vegetation made ideal conditions for small mammalian life.
+
+We rode happily up the ravine and stood in a rocky gateway. At the right a
+green-clothed mountain rose out of a tangle of luxuriant vegetation; to the
+left wave after wave of magnificent forested ridges lost themselves in the
+low hung clouds; at our feet lay a beautiful valley filled with stately
+trees which spread into a thick green canopy overhead.
+
+We camped in a clearing just at the edge of the forest. While the tents
+were being pitched, I set a line of traps along the base of the opposite
+mountain and found a "runway" under almost every log. About eight o'clock I
+ran my traps and, with the aid of a lantern, stumbled about in the bushes
+and high grass, over logs and into holes. When I emptied my pockets there
+were fifteen mice, rats, shrews, and voles, representing seven species _and
+all new to our collection_. Heller brought in eight specimens and added two
+new species. We forthwith decided to stay right where we were until this
+"gold mine" had been exhausted.
+
+In the morning our traps were full of mammals and sixty-two were laid out
+on the table ready for skinning. The length, tail, hind foot, and ear of
+each specimen was first carefully measured in millimeters and recorded in
+the field catalogue and upon a printed label bearing our serial number;
+then an incision was made in the belly, the skin stripped off, poisoned
+with arsenic, stuffed with cotton, and sewed up. The animal was then pinned
+in position by the feet, nose, and tail in a shallow wooden tray which
+fitted in the collecting trunk.
+
+The specimens were put in the sun on every bright day until they were
+thoroughly dry and could be wrapped in cotton and packed in water-tight
+trunks or boxes. We have found that the regulation U.S. Army officer's
+fiber trunk makes an ideal collecting case. It measures thirty inches long
+by thirteen deep and sixteen inches wide and will remain quite dry in an
+ordinary rain but, of course, must not be allowed to stand in water. The
+skulls of all specimens, and the skeletons of some, are numbered like the
+skin, strung upon a wire, and dried in the sun. Also individuals of every
+species are injected and preserved in formalin for future anatomical study.
+
+Larger specimens are always salted and dried. As soon as the skin has been
+removed and cleaned of flesh and fat, salt is rubbed into every part of it
+and the hide rolled up. In the morning it is unwrapped, the water which has
+been extracted by the salt poured off, and the skin hung over a rope or a
+tree branch to dry. If it is not too hot and the air is dry, the skin may
+be kept in the shade to good advantage, but under ordinary field conditions
+it should be placed in the sun. Before it becomes too hard, the hide is
+rolled or folded into a convenient package hair side in, tied into shape
+and allowed to become "bone dry." In this condition it will keep
+indefinitely but requires constant watching, for the salt absorbs moisture
+from the air and alternate wetting and drying is fatal.
+
+We soon trained two of our Chinese boys to skin both large and small
+animals and they became quite expert. They required constant watching,
+however, and after each hide had been salted either Mr. Heller or I
+examined it to make sure that it was properly treated.
+
+On our first day in camp we sent for natives to the village of Mu-cheng ten
+_li_ distant. The men assured us that there were sambur, serow, and muntjac
+in the neighborhood, and they agreed to hunt. They had no dogs and were
+armed with crossbows, antiquated guns, and bows and arrows, but they showed
+us the skins of two sambur in proof of their ability to secure game.
+
+Like most of the other natives, with the exception of the Mosos on the Snow
+Mountain, these men had no definite plan in hunting. The first day I went
+out with them they indicated that we were to drive a hill not far from
+camp. Without giving me an opportunity to reach a position in front of
+them, they began to work up the hill, and I had a fleeting glimpse of a
+sambur silhouetted against the sky as it dashed over the summit.
+
+Two days later while I was out with ten other men who had a fairly good
+pack of dogs, the first party succeeded in killing a female sambur. The
+animal weighed at least five hundred pounds but they brought it to our camp
+and we purchased the skin for ten _rupees_. South of Gen-kang the money of
+the region, like all of Yuen-nan for some distance from the Burma frontier,
+is the Indian _rupee_ which equals thirty-three cents American gold; in
+that part of the province adjoining Tonking, French Indo-China money is
+current.
+
+My Journal of February 8 tells of our life at this camp, which we called
+"Good Hope."
+
+    The weather is delightful for the sun is just warm enough for comfort
+    and the nights are clear and cold. How we do sleep! It seems hardly an
+    hour from the time we go to bed until we hear Wu rousing the servants,
+    and the crackle of the camp-fire outside the tent. We half dress in our
+    sleeping bags and with chattering teeth dash for the fire to lace our
+    high boots in its comfortable warmth.
+
+    After breakfast when it is full daylight, my wife and I inspect the
+    traps. The ground is white with frost and the trees and bushes are
+    dressed in silver. Every trap holds an individual interest and we
+    follow the line through the forest, resetting some, and finding new
+    mammals in others. Yvette has conquered her feminine repugnance far
+    enough to remove shrews or mice from the traps by releasing the spring
+    and dropping them on to a broad green leaf, but she never touches them.
+
+    We go back to meet the hunters and while I am away with the men, the
+    lady of the camp works at her photography. I return in the late
+    afternoon and after tea we wander through the woods together. It is the
+    most delightful part of the day when the sun goes down and the shadows
+    lengthen. We sit on a log in a small clearing where we can watch the
+    upper branches of a splendid tree. It is the home of a great colony of
+    red-bellied squirrels (_Callosciurus erythraeus_ subsp.) and after a
+    few moments of silence we see a flash of brown along a branch, my gun
+    roars out, and there is a thud upon the ground.
+
+    Yvette runs to find the animal and ere the echoes have died away in the
+    forest the gun bangs again. We have already shot a dozen squirrels from
+    this tree and yet more are there. Sometimes a tiny, striped chipmunk
+    (_Tamiops macclellandi_ subsp.) will appear on the lower branches,
+    searching the bark for grubs, and after he falls we have a long hunt to
+    find him in the brown leaves. When it is too dark to see the squirrels,
+    we wander slowly back to camp and eat a dinner of delicious broiled
+    deer steak in front of the fire; over the coffee we smoke and talk of
+    the day's hunting until it is time to "run the traps."
+
+    Of all the work we enjoy this most. With lanterns and a gun we pick our
+    way among the trees until we strike the trail along which the traps are
+    set. On the soft ground our feet are noiseless and, extinguishing the
+    lanterns, we sit on a log to listen to the night sounds. The woods are
+    full of life. Almost beside us there is a patter of tiny feet and a
+    scurry among the dry leaves; a muntjac barks hoarsely on the opposite
+    hillside, and a fox yelps behind us in the forest. Suddenly there is a
+    sharp snap, a muffled squeal, and a trap a few yards away has done its
+    work. Even in the tree tops the night life is active. Dead twigs drop
+    to the ground with an unnatural noise, and soft-winged owls show black
+    against the sky as they flit across an opening in the branches.
+
+    We light the lanterns again and pass down the trail into a cuplike
+    hollow. Here there are a dozen traps and already half of them are full.
+    In one is a tiny brown shrew caught by the tail as he ran across the
+    trap; another holds a veritable treasure, and at my exclamation of
+    delight Yvette runs up excitedly. It is a rare Insectivore of the genus
+    _Hylomys_ and possibly a species new to science. We examine it beside
+    the lantern, wrap it carefully in paper, and drop it into a pocket by
+    itself.
+
+    The next bit of cotton clings to a bush above a mossy log. The trap is
+    gone and for ten minutes we hunt carefully over every inch of ground.
+    Finally my wife discovers it fifteen feet away and stifles a scream for
+    in it, caught by the neck and still alive, is a huge rat nearly two
+    feet long; it too is a species which may prove new.
+
+    When the last trap has been examined, we follow the trail to the edge
+    of the forest and into the clearing where the tents glow in the
+    darkness like great yellow pumpkins. Ours is delightfully warmed by the
+    charcoal brazier and, stretched comfortably on the beds, we write our
+    daily records or read Dickens for half an hour. It is with a feeling of
+    great contentment that we slip down into the sleeping bags and blow out
+    the candles leaving the tent filled with the soft glow of the
+    moonlight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+
+MENG-TING: A VILLAGE OF MANY TONGUES
+
+During the eight days in which we remained at the "Good Hope" camp, two
+hundred specimens comprising twenty-one species were added to our
+collection. Although the altitude was still 5,000 feet, the flora was quite
+unlike that of any region in which we had previously collected, and that
+undoubtedly was responsible for the complete change of fauna. We were on
+the very edge of the tropical belt which stretches along the Tonking and
+Burma frontiers in the extreme south and west of the province.
+
+It was already mid-February and if we were to work in the fever-stricken
+valleys below 2,000 feet, it was high time we were on the way southward.
+The information which we had obtained near Gen-kang had been supplemented
+by the natives of Mu-cheng, and we decided to go to Meng-ting as soon as
+possible.
+
+The first march was long and uneventful but at its end, from the summit of
+a high ridge, we could see a wide valley which we reached in the early
+morning of the second day. The narrow mountain trail abruptly left us on a
+jutting promontory and wandered uncertainly down a steep ravine to lose
+itself in a veritable forest of tree ferns and sword grass. The slanting
+rays of the sun drew long golden paths into the mysterious depths of the
+mist-filled valley. To the right a giant sentinel peak of granite rose
+gaunt and naked from out the enveloping sea of green which swelled away to
+the left in huge ascending billows.
+
+We rested in our saddles until the faint tinkle of the bell on the leading
+mule announced the approach of the caravan and then we picked our way
+slowly down the steep trail between walls of tangled vegetation. In an hour
+we were breathing the moist warm air of the tropics and riding across a
+wide valley as level as a floor. The long stretches of rank grass, far
+higher than our heads, were broken by groves of feathery bamboos, banana
+palms, and splendid trees interlaced with tangled vines.
+
+Near the base of the mountains a Shan village nestled into the grass. The
+bamboo houses, sheltered by trees and bushes, were roofed in the shape of
+an overturned boat with thatch and the single street was wide and clean.
+Could this really be China? Verily, it was a different China from that we
+had seen before! It might be Burma, India, Java, but never China!
+
+Before the door of a tiny house sat a woman spinning. A real Priscilla,
+somewhat strange in dress to be sure and with a mouth streaked with betel
+nut, but Priscilla just the same. And in his proper place beside her stood
+John Alden. A pair of loose, baggy trousers, hitched far up over one leg to
+show the intricate tattoo designs beneath, a short coat, and a white turban
+completed John's attire, but he grasped a gun almost as ancient in design
+as that of his Pilgrim fathers. Priscilla kept her eyes upon the spinning
+wheel, but John's gaze could by no stretch of imagination be called ardent
+even before we appeared around a corner of the house and the pretty picture
+resolved into its rightful components--a surprised, but not unlovely Shan
+girl and a well-built, yellow-skinned native who stared with wide brown
+eyes and open mouth at what must have seemed to him the fancy of a
+disordered brain.
+
+For into his village, filled with immemorial peace and quiet, where every
+day was exactly like the day before, had suddenly ridden two big men with
+white skins and blue eyes, and a little one with lots of hair beneath a
+broad sun helmet. And almost immediately the little one had jumped from the
+horse and pointed a black box with a shiny front at him and his Priscilla.
+At once, but without loss of dignity, Priscilla vanished into the house,
+but John Alden stood his ground, for a beautiful new tin can had been
+thrust into his hand and before he had really discovered what it was the
+little person had smiled at him and turned her attention to the charming
+street of his village. There the great water buffalos lazily chewed their
+cuds standing guard over the tiny brown-skinned natives who played
+trustingly with the calves almost beneath their feet.
+
+Such was our invasion of the first Shan village we had ever seen, and
+regretfully we rode away across the plain between the walls of waving grass
+toward the Nam-ting River. Two canoes, each dug out of a single log, and
+tightly bound together, formed the ferry, but the packs were soon across
+the muddy stream and the mules were made to swim to the other bank. Shortly
+after leaving the ferry we emerged from the vast stretches of rank grass on
+to the open rice paddys which stretched away in a gently undulating plain
+from the river to the mountains. Strangely enough we saw no ducks or geese,
+but three great flocks of cranes (probably _Grus communis_) rose from the
+fields and wheeled in ever-widening spirals above our heads until they were
+lost in the blue depths of the sky.
+
+Away in the distance we saw a wooded knoll with a few wisps of smoke
+curling above its summit, but not until we were well-nigh there did we
+realize that its beautiful trees sheltered the thatched roofs of Meng-ting.
+But this was only the "residential section" of the village and below the
+knoll on the opposite side of a shallow stream lay the shops and markets.
+
+We camped on a dry rice dyke where a fringe of jungle separated us from the
+nearest house. As soon as the tents were up I announced our coming to the
+mandarin and requested an interview at five o'clock. Wu and I found the
+_yamen_ to be a large well-built house, delightfully cool and exhibiting
+several foreign articles which evinced its proximity to Burma.
+
+We were received by a suave Chinese "secretary" who shortly introduced the
+mandarin--a young Shan not more than twenty years old who only recently had
+succeeded his late father as chief of the village. The boy was dressed in
+an exceedingly long frock coat, rather green and frayed about the elbows,
+which in combination with his otherwise typical native dress gave him a
+most extraordinary appearance.
+
+We soon discovered that the Chinese secretary who did all the talking was
+the "power behind the throne." He accepted my gift of a package of tea with
+great pleasure, but the information about hunting localities for which we
+asked was not forthcoming. He first said that he knew of a place where
+there were tiger and leopard, but that he did not dare to reveal it to us
+for we might be killed by the wild animals and he would be responsible for
+our deaths; bringing to his attention the fact that tigers had never been
+recorded from the Meng-ting region did not impress him in the slightest.
+
+It did tend to send him off on another track, however, and he next remarked
+that if he sent us to a place where the hunting was disappointing we
+probably would report him to the district mandarin. Assurances to the
+contrary had no effect. It was perfectly evident that he wished only to get
+us out of his district and thus relieve himself of the responsibility of
+our safety. During the conversation, which lasted more than an hour, the
+young Shan was not consulted and did not speak a word; he sat stolidly in
+his chair, hardly winking, and except for the constant supply of cigarettes
+which passed between his fingers there was no evidence that he even
+breathed.
+
+The interview closed with assurances from the Chinaman that he would make
+inquiries concerning hunting grounds and communicate with us in the
+morning. We returned to camp and half an hour later a party of natives
+arrived from the _yamen_ bearing about one hundred pounds of rice, a sack
+of potatoes, two dozen eggs, three chickens, and a great bundle of fire
+wood. These were deposited in front of our tent as gifts from the mandarin.
+
+We were at a loss to account for such generosity until Wu explained that
+whenever a high official visited a village it was customary for the
+mandarin to supply his entire party with food during their stay. It would
+be quite polite to send back all except a few articles, however, for the
+supplies were levied from the inhabitants of the town. We kept the eggs and
+chickens, giving the _yamen_ "runners" considerably more than their value
+in money, and they gratefully returned with the rice and potatoes.
+
+On the hill high above our camp was a large Shan Buddhist monastery, bamboo
+walled and thatched with straw, and at sunset and daybreak a musical chant
+of childish voices floated down to us in the mist-filled valley. All day
+long tiny yellow-robed figures squatted on the mud walls about the temple
+like a flock of birds peering at us with bright round eyes. They were wild
+as hawks, these little priests and, although they sometimes left the
+shelter of their temple walls, they never ventured below the bushy hedge
+about our rice field.
+
+In the village we saw them often, wandering about the streets or sitting in
+yellow groups beneath the giant trees which threw a welcome shade over
+almost every house. They were not all children, and finely built youths or
+men so old that they seemed like wrinkled bits of lemon peel, passed to and
+fro to the temple on the hill.
+
+There is no dearth of priests, for every family in the village with male
+children is required to send at least one boy to live a part of his life
+under the tutelage of the Church. He must remain three years, and longer,
+if he wishes. The priests are fed by the monastery, and their clothing is
+not an important item of expenditure as it consists merely of a straw hat
+and a yellow robe. They lead a lazy, worthless life, and from their sojourn
+in religious circles they learn only indolence and idleness.
+
+The day following our arrival in Meng-ting the weekly market was held, and
+when Wu and I crossed the little stream to the business part of the
+village, we found ourselves in the midst of the most picturesque crowd of
+natives it has ever been my fortune to see. It was a group flashing with
+color, and every individual a study for an artist. There were blue-clad
+Chinese, Shans with tattooed legs, turbans of pink or white, and Burmans
+dressed in brilliant purple or green, Las, yellow-skinned Lisos, flat-faced
+Palaungs, Was, and Kachins in black and red strung about with beads or
+shells. Long swords hung from the shoulders of those who did not carry a
+spear or gun, and the hilts of wicked looking daggers peeped from beneath
+their sashes. Every man carried a weapon ready for instant use.
+
+Nine tribes were present in the market that day and almost as many
+languages were being spoken. It was a veritable Babel and half the trading
+was done by signs. The narrow street was choked with goods of every kind
+spread out upon the ground: fruit, rice, cloth, nails, knives, swords,
+hats, sandals, skins, horns, baskets, mats, crossbows, arrows, pottery,
+tea, opium, and scores of other articles for food or household use.
+
+Dozens of natives were arriving and departing, bringing new goods or
+packing up their purchases; under open, thatched pavilions were silent
+groups of men gambling with cash or silver, and in the "tea houses"
+white-faced natives lay stretched upon the couches rolling "pills" of
+opium and oblivious to the constant stream of passers-by.
+
+It was a picturesque, ever changing group, a kaleidoscopic mass of life and
+color, where Chinese from civilized Canton drank, and gambled, and smoked
+with wild natives from the hills or from the depths of fever-stricken
+jungles.
+
+After one glimpse of the picture in the market I dashed back to camp to
+bring the "Lady of the Camera." On the way I met her, hot and breathless,
+half coaxing, half driving three bewildered young priests resplendent in
+yellow robes. All the morning she had been trying vainly to photograph a
+priest and had discovered these splendid fellows when all her color plates
+had been exposed. She might have succeeded in bringing them to camp had I
+not arrived, but they suddenly lost courage and rushed away with averted
+faces.
+
+When the plate holders were all reloaded we hurried back to the market
+followed by two coolies with the cameras. Leaving Yvette to do her work
+alone I set up the cinematograph. Wu was with me and in less than a minute
+the narrow space in front of us was packed with a seething mass of natives.
+It was impossible to take a "street scene" for the "street" had suddenly
+disappeared. Making a virtue of necessity I focused the camera on the
+irregular line of heads and swung it back and forth registering a variety
+of facial expressions which it would be hard to duplicate. For some time it
+was impossible to bribe the natives to stand even for a moment, but after
+one or two had conquered their fear and been liberally rewarded, there was
+a rush for places. Wu asked several of the natives who could speak Chinese
+if they knew what we were doing but they all shook their heads. None of
+them had ever seen a camera or a photograph.
+
+The Kachin women were the most picturesque of all the tribes as well as the
+most difficult to photograph. Yvette was not able to get them at all, and I
+could do so only by strategy. When Wu discovered two or three squatting
+near their baskets on the ground I moved slowly up behind them keeping in
+the center of the crowd. After the "movie camera" was in position Wu
+suddenly "shooed" back the spectators and before the women realized what
+was happening they were registered on twenty-five or thirty feet of film.
+
+One of the Kachin men, who had drunk too much, suddenly became belligerent
+when I pointed the camera in his direction, and rushed at me with a drawn
+knife. I swung for his jaw with my right fist and he went down in a heap.
+He was more surprised than hurt, I imagine, but it took all of the fight
+out of him for he received no sympathy from the spectators.
+
+Poor Yvette had a difficult time with her camera operations and a less
+determined person would have given up in despair. The natives were so shy
+and suspicious that it was well-nigh impossible to bribe them to stand for
+a second and it was only after three hours of aggravating work in the
+stifling heat and dust that she at last succeeded in exposing all her
+plates. Her patience and determination were really wonderful and I am quite
+sure that I should not have obtained half her results.
+
+The Kachin women were extraordinary looking individuals. They were short,
+and strongly built, with a mop of coarse hair cut straight all around, and
+thick lips stained with betel nut. Their dress consisted of a short black
+jacket and skirt reaching to the knees, and ornamented with strings of
+beads and pieces of brass or silver. This tribe forms the largest part of
+the population in northern Burma and also extends into Assam. Yuen-nan is
+fortunate in having comparatively few of them along its western frontier
+for they are an uncivilized and quarrelsome race and frequently give the
+British government considerable trouble.
+
+There were only a few Burmans in the market although the border is hardly a
+dozen miles to the west, but the girls were especially attractive. Their
+bright pretty faces seemed always ready to break into a smile and their
+graceful figures draped in brilliant _sarongs_ were in delightful contrast
+to the other, not over-clean, natives.
+
+The Burma girls were not chewing betel nut, which added to their
+distinction. The lips of virtually every other woman and man were stained
+from the red juice, which is in universal use throughout India, the Malay
+Peninsula, and the Netherlands Indies. In Yuen-nan we first noted it at the
+"Good Hope" camp, and the Shans are generally addicted to the practice.
+
+The permanent population of Meng-ting is entirely Shan, but during the
+winter a good many Cantonese Chinamen come to gamble and buy opium. The
+drug is smuggled across the border very easily and a lucrative trade is
+carried on. It can be purchased for seventy-five cents (Mexican) an ounce
+in Burma and sold for two dollars (Mexican) an ounce in Yuen-nan Fu and for
+ten dollars in Shanghai.
+
+Opium is smoked publicly in all the tea houses. The drug is cooked over an
+alcohol lamp and when the "pill" is properly prepared it is placed in the
+tiny bowl of the pipe, held against the flame and the smoke inhaled. The
+process is a rather complicated one and during it the natives always
+recline. No visible effect is produced even after smoking several pipefuls,
+but the deathly paleness and expressionless eye marks the inveterate opium
+user.
+
+There can be no doubt that the Chinese government has been, and is,
+genuinely anxious to suppress the use of opium and it has succeeded to a
+remarkable degree. We heard of only one instance of poppy growing in
+Yuen-nan and often met officials, accompanied by a guard of soldiers,
+on inspection trips. Indeed, while we were in Meng-ting the district
+mandarin arrived. We were sitting in our tents when the melodious notes of
+deep-toned gongs floated in through the mist. They were like the chimes of
+far away cathedral bells sounding nearer and louder, but losing none of the
+sweetness. Soon a long line of soldiers appeared and passed the camp
+bearing in their midst a covered chair. The mandarin established himself in
+a spacious temple on the opposite side of the village, where I visited him
+the following day and explained the difficulty we had had at the Meng-ting
+_yamen_. He aided us so effectually that all opposition to our plans ended
+and we obtained a guide to take us to a hunting place on the Nam-ting
+River, three miles from the Burma border.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+
+CAMPING ON THE NAM-TING RIVER
+
+Every morning the valley at Meng-ting was filled with a thick white mist
+and when we broke camp at daylight each mule was swallowed up in the fog as
+soon as it left the rice field. We followed the sound of the leader's bell,
+but not until ten o'clock was the entire caravan visible. For thirty _li_
+the valley is broad and flat as at Meng-ting and filled with a luxuriant
+growth of rank grass, but it narrows suddenly where the river has carved
+its way through a range of hills.
+
+The trail led uncertainly along a steep bank through a dense, tropical
+jungle. Palms and huge ferns, broad-leaved bananas, and giant trees laced
+and interlaced with thorny vines and hanging creepers formed a living wall
+of green as impenetrable as though it were a net of steel. We followed the
+trail all day, sometimes picking our way among the rocks high above the
+river or padding along in the soft earth almost at the water's edge. At
+night we camped in a little clearing where some adventurous native had
+fought the jungle and been defeated; his bamboo hut was in ruins and the
+fields were overgrown with a tangle of throttling vegetation.
+
+We had seen no mammals, but the birds along the road were fascinating.
+Brilliant green parrots screamed in the tree tops and tiny sun-birds
+dressed in garments of red and gold and purple, flashed across the trail
+like living jewels. Once we heard a strange whirr and saw a huge hornbill
+flapping heavily over the river, every beat of his stiff wing feathers
+sounding like the motor of an aeroplane. Bamboo partridges called from the
+bushes and dozens of unfamiliar bird notes filled the air.
+
+At eleven o'clock on the following morning we passed two thatched huts in a
+little clearing beside the trail and the guide remarked that our camping
+place was not far away. We reached it shortly and were delighted. Two
+enormous trees, like great umbrellas, spread a cool, dark shade above a
+sparkling stream on the edge of an abandoned rice field. From a patch of
+ground as level as a floor, where our tents were pitched, we could look
+across the brown rice dykes to the enclosing walls of jungle and up to the
+green mountain beyond. A half mile farther down the trail, but hidden away
+in the jungle, lay a picturesque Shan village of a dozen huts, where the
+guide said we should be able to find hunters.
+
+As soon as tiffin was over we went up the creek with a bag of steel traps
+to set them on the tiny trails which wound through the jungle in every
+direction. Selecting a well-beaten patch we buried the trap in the center,
+covered it carefully with leaves, and suspended the body of a bird or a
+chunk of meat by a wire over the pan about three feet from the ground. A
+light branch was fastened to the chain as a "drag." When the trap is pulled
+this invariably catches in the grass or vines and, while holding the animal
+firmly, still gives enough "spring" to prevent its freeing itself.
+
+Trapping is exceedingly interesting for it is a contest of wits between the
+trapper and the animal with the odds by no means in favor of the former.
+The trap may not be covered in a natural way; the surroundings may be
+unduly disturbed; a scent of human hands may linger about the bait, or
+there may be numberless other possibilities to frighten the suspicious
+animal.
+
+In the evening our guide brought a strange individual whom he introduced as
+the best hunter in the village. He was a tall Mohammedan Chinese who
+dressed like a Shan and was married to a Shan woman. He seemed to be
+afflicted with mental and physical inertia, for when he spoke it was in
+slow drawl hardly louder than a whisper, and every movement of his body was
+correspondingly deliberate. We immediately named him the "Dying Rabbit" but
+discovered very shortly that he really had boundless energy and was an
+excellent hunter.
+
+The next morning he collected a dozen Shans for beaters and we drove a
+patch of jungle above camp but without success. There were many sambur
+tracks in the clearings, but we realized at once that it was going to be
+difficult to get deer because of the dense cover; the open places were so
+few and small that a sambur had every chance to break through without
+giving a shot.
+
+Nearly all the beaters carried guns. The "Dying Rabbit" was armed with a
+.45-caliber bolt action rifle into which he had managed to fit a .303 shell
+and several of the men had Winchester carbines, model 1875. The guns had
+all been brought from Burma and most were without ammunition, but each man
+had an assortment of different cartridges and used whichever he could force
+into his rifle.
+
+The men worked splendidly under the direction of the "Dying Rabbit." On the
+second day they put up a sambur which ran within a hundred feet of us but
+was absolutely invisible in the high grass. When we returned to camp we
+found that a civet (_Viverra_) had walked past our tent and begun to eat
+the scraps about the cook box, regardless of the shouts of the _mafus_ and
+servants who were imploring Heller to bring his gun. After considerable
+difficulty they persuaded him that there really was some cause for their
+excitement and he shot the animal. It was probably ill, for its flesh was
+dry and yellow, but the skin was in excellent condition.
+
+Civets belong to the family _Viverridae_ and are found only in Asia and
+Africa. Although they resemble cats superficially they are not directly
+related to them and their claws are only partly retractile. They are very
+beautiful animals with a grayish body spotted with black, a ringed tail,
+and a black and white striped pointed head. A scent gland near the base of
+the tail secretes a strong musk-like odor which, although penetrating, is
+not particularly disagreeable. The animals move about chiefly in the early
+morning and evening and at night and prey upon birds, eggs, small mammals,
+fish, and frogs. One which we caught and photographed had a curious habit
+of raising the hair on the middle of its back from the neck to the tail
+whenever it was angry or frightened.
+
+Although there were no houses within half a mile of camp we were surprised
+on our first night to hear cocks crowing in the jungle. The note was like
+that of the ordinary barnyard bird, except that it ended somewhat more
+abruptly. The next morning we discovered Chanticleer and all his harem in a
+deserted rice field, and he flew toward the jungle in a flash of red and
+gold.
+
+I dropped him and one of his hens with a right and left of "sixes" and
+found that they were jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) in full plumage. The
+cock was a splendid bird. The long neck feathers (hackles) spread over his
+back and wings like a shimmering golden mantle, but it was hardly more
+beautiful than the black of his underparts and green-glossed tail. Picture
+to yourself a "black-breasted red" gamecock and you have him in all his
+glory except that his tail is drooping and he is more pheasant-like in his
+general bearing. The female was a trim little bird with a lilac sheen to
+her brown feathers and looked much like a well-kept game bantam hen.
+
+The jungle fowl is the direct ancestor of our barnyard hens and roosters
+which were probably first domesticated in Burma and adjacent countries long
+before the dawn of authentic history. According to tradition the Chinese
+received their poultry from the West about 1400 B.C. and they are figured
+in Babylonian cylinders between the sixth and seventh centuries B.C.;
+although they were probably introduced in Greece through Persia there is no
+direct evidence as to when and how they reached Europe.
+
+The black-breasted jungle fowl (_Gallus gallus_) inhabit northern India,
+Burma, Indo-Chinese countries, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine
+Islands; a related species, _G. lafayetti_, is found in Ceylon; another,
+_G. sonnerati_, in southern India, and a fourth, _G. varius_, in Java.
+
+We found the jungle fowl wild and hard to kill even where they were seldom
+hunted. During the heat of the day they remain in thick cover, but in
+cloudy weather and in the early morning and evening they come out into
+clearings to feed. At our camp on the Nam-ting River we could usually put
+up a few birds on the edge of the deserted rice fields which stretched up
+into the jungle, but they were never far away from the edge of the forest.
+
+We sometimes saw single birds of either sex, but usually a cock had with
+him six or eight hens. It was interesting to watch such a flock feeding in
+the open. The male, resplendent in his vivid dress, shone like a piece of
+gold against the dull brown of the dry grass and industriously ran about
+among his trim little hens, rounding up the stragglers and directing his
+harem with a few low-toned "clucks" whenever he found some unusually
+tempting food.
+
+It was his duty, too, to watch for danger and he usually would send the
+flock whirring into the jungle while they were well beyond shotgun range.
+When flushed from the open the birds nearly always would alight in the
+first large tree and sit for a few moments before flying deeper into the
+jungle. We caught several hens in our steel traps, and one morning at the
+edge of a swamp I shot a jungle fowl and a woodcock with a "right and left"
+as they flushed together.
+
+We were at the Nam-ting camp at the beginning of the mating season for the
+jungle fowl. It is said that they brood from January to April according to
+locality, laying from eight to twelve creamy white eggs under a bamboo
+clump or some dense thicket where a few leaves have been scratched together
+for a nest. The hen announces the laying of an egg by means of a proud
+cackle, and the chicks themselves have the characteristic "peep, peep,
+peep" of the domestic birds. After the breeding season the beautiful red
+and gold neck hackles of the male sometimes are molted and replaced by
+short blackish feathers.
+
+There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the cocks are polygamous,
+but our observations tend to show that they are. We never saw more than one
+male in a flock and in only one or two instances were the birds in pairs.
+The cocks are inveterate fighters like the domestic birds and their long
+curved spurs are exceedingly effective weapons.
+
+We set a trap for a leopard on a hill behind the Nam-ting River camp and on
+the second afternoon it contained a splendid polecat. This animal is a
+member of the family Mustelidae which includes mink, otter, weasels,
+skunks, and ferrets, and with its brown body, deep yellow throat, and long
+tail is really very handsome. Polecats inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and
+are closely allied to the ferret which so often is domesticated and used in
+hunting rats and rabbits. We found them to be abundant in the low valleys
+along the Burma border and often saw them during the day running across
+a jungle path or on the lower branches of a tree. The polecat is a
+blood-thirsty little beast and kills everything that comes in its way for
+the pure love of killing, even when its appetite has been satisfied.
+
+On the third morning we found two civets in the traps. The cook told me
+that some animal had stolen a chicken from one of his boxes during the
+night and we set a trap only a few yards from our tent on a trail leading
+into the grass. The civet was evidently the thief for the cook boxes were
+not bothered again.
+
+Inspecting the traps every morning and evening was a delightful part of our
+camp life. It was like opening a Christmas package as we walked up the
+trails, for each one held interesting possibilities and the mammals of the
+region were so varied that surprises were always in store for us. Besides
+civets and polecats, we caught mongooses, palm civets, and other
+carnivores. The small traps yielded a new _Hylomys_, several new rats, and
+an interesting shrew.
+
+We saw a few huge squirrels (_Ratufa gigantea_) and shot one. It was
+thirty-six inches long, coal black above and yellow below. The animals were
+very shy and as they climbed about in the highest trees they were by no
+means easy to see or shoot. They represent an interesting group confined to
+India, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, the islands of the Dutch East Indies, and
+Borneo.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+
+MONKEY HUNTING
+
+Our most exciting sport at the Nam-ting camp was hunting monkeys. Every
+morning we heard querulous notes which sounded much like the squealing of
+very young puppies and which were followed by long, siren wails; when the
+shrill notes had reached their highest pitch they would sink into low
+mellow tones exceedingly musical.
+
+The calls usually started shortly after daylight and continued until about
+nine o'clock, or later if the day was dark or rainy. They would be answered
+from different parts of the jungle and often sounded from half a dozen
+places simultaneously. The natives assured us that the cries were made by
+_hod-zu_ (monkeys) and several times we started in pursuit, but they always
+ceased long before we had found a way through the jungle to the spot from
+which they came. At last we succeeded in locating the animals.
+
+We were inspecting a line of traps placed along a trail which led up a
+valley to a wide plateau. Suddenly the puppy-like squealing began, followed
+by a low tremulous wail. It seemed almost over our heads but the trees were
+empty. We stole silently along the trail for a hundred yards and turned
+into a dry creek bed which led up the bottom of the forested ravine. With
+infinite caution, breathing hard from excitement, we slipped along,
+scanning the top of every tree. A hornbill sitting on a dead branch caught
+sight of us and flapped heavily away emitting horrid squawks. A flock of
+parrots screamed overhead and a red-bellied squirrel followed persistently
+scolding at the top of its voice, but the monkeys continued to call.
+
+The querulous squealing abruptly ceased and we stood motionless beside a
+tree. For an instant the countless jungle sounds were hushed in a
+breathless stillness; then, low and sweet, sounded a moaning wail which
+swelled into deep full tones. It vibrated an instant, filling all the
+forest with its richness, and slowly died away. Again and again it floated
+over the tree tops and we listened strangely moved, for it was like the
+music of an exquisite contralto voice. At last it ceased but, ere the
+echoes had reached the valley, the jungle was ringing with an unlovely
+siren screech.
+
+The spell was broken and we moved on, alert and tense. The trees stretched
+upward full one hundred and fifty feet, their tops spread out in a leafy
+roof. Long ropelike vines festooned the upper branches and a luxuriant
+growth of parasitic vegetation clothed the giant trunks in a swaying mass
+of living green. Far above the taller trees a gaunt gray monarch of the
+forest towered in splendid isolation. In its topmost branches we could just
+discern a dozen balls of yellow fur from which proceeded discordant
+squeals.
+
+It was long range for a shotgun but the rifles were all in camp. I fired a
+charge of B.B.'s at the lowest monkey and as the gun roared out the tree
+tops suddenly sprang into life. They were filled with running, leaping,
+hairy forms swinging at incredible speed from branch to branch; not a
+dozen, but a score of monkeys, yellow, brown, and gray.
+
+The one at which I had shot seemed unaffected and threw itself full twenty
+feet to a horizontal limb, below and to the right. I fired again and he
+stopped, ran a few steps forward and swung to the underside of the branch.
+At the third charge he hung suspended by one arm and dropped heavily to the
+ground stone dead.
+
+We tossed him into the dry creek bed and dashed up the hill where the
+branches were still swaying as the monkeys traveled through the tree tops.
+They had a long start and it was a hopeless chase. At every step our
+clothes were caught by the clinging thorns, our hands were torn, and our
+faces scratched and bleeding. In ten minutes they had disappeared and we
+turned about to find the dead animal. Suddenly Yvette saw a splash of
+leaves in the top of a tree below us and a big brown monkey swung out on a
+pendent vine. I fired instantly and the animal hung suspended, whirled
+slowly around and dropped to the ground. Before I had reloaded my gun it
+gathered itself together and dashed off through the woods on three legs
+faster than a man could run. The animal had been hiding on a branch and
+when we passed had tried to steal away undiscovered.
+
+We found the dead monkey, a young male, in the creek bed and sat down to
+examine it. It was evidently a gibbon (_Hylobates_), for its long arms,
+round head, and tailless body were unmistakable, but in every species with
+which I was familiar the male was black. This one was yellow and we knew it
+to be a prize. That there were two other species in the herd was certain
+for we had seen both brown and gray monkeys as they dashed away among the
+trees, but the gibbons were far more interesting than the others.
+
+Gibbons are probably the most primitive in skull and teeth of all the
+anthropoid, or manlike, apes,--the group which also includes the gorilla,
+chimpanzee, and orangutan. They are apparently an earlier offshoot of the
+anthropoid stem, as held by most authorities, and the giant apes and man
+are probably a later branch. Gibbons are essentially Oriental being found
+in India, Burma, Siam, Tonking, Borneo, and the Islands of Hainan, Sulu,
+Sumatra, and Java.
+
+For the remainder of our stay at the Nam-ting River camp we devoted
+ourselves to hunting monkeys and soon discovered that the three species we
+had first seen were totally different. One was the yellow gibbon, another a
+brown baboon (_Macacus_), and the third a huge gray ape with a long tail
+(_Pygathrix_) known as the "langur." On the first day all three species
+were together feeding upon some large green beans and this happened once
+again, but usually they were in separate herds.
+
+The gibbons soon became extremely wild. Although the same troop could
+usually be found in the valley where we had first discovered them, they
+chose hillsides where it was almost impossible to stalk them because of the
+thorny jungle. Usually when they called, it was from the upper branches of
+a dead tree where they could not only scan every inch of the ground below,
+but were almost beyond the range of a shotgun. Sometimes we climbed upward
+almost on our hands and knees, grasping vines and creepers, drawing
+ourselves up by tree trunks, crawling under thorny shrubs and bushes,
+slipping, falling, scrambling through the indescribable tangle. We went
+forward only when the calls were echoing through the jungle, and stood
+motionless as the wailing ceased. But in spite of all our care they would
+see or hear us. Then in sudden silence there would be a tremor of the
+branches, splash after splash of leaves, and the herd would swing away
+through the trackless tree tops.
+
+The gibbons are well named _Hylobates_ or "tree-walkers" for they are
+entirely arboreal and, although awkward and almost helpless on the ground,
+once their long thin hands touch a branch they become transformed as by a
+miracle.
+
+They launch themselves into space, catch a limb twenty feet away, swing for
+an instant, and hurl themselves to another. It is possible for them to
+travel through the trees faster than a man can run even on open ground, and
+when one examines their limbs the reason is apparent. The fore arms are so
+exceedingly long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground when the
+animal stands erect, and the slender hands are longer than the feet.
+
+The gibbons were exceedingly difficult to kill and would never drop until
+stone dead. Once I shot an old male with my 6-1/2 mm. Mannlicher rifle at
+about one hundred yards and, even though the ball had gone clear through
+his body, he hung for several minutes before he dropped into a tangle of
+vines.
+
+It was fifteen minutes before we were able to work our way through the
+jungle to the spot where the animal had fallen, and we had been searching
+for nearly half an hour when suddenly my wife shouted that a monkey was
+running along a branch above our heads. I fired with the shotgun at a mass
+of moving leaves and killed a second gibbon which had been hiding in the
+thick foliage. Instead of running the animals would sometimes disappear as
+completely as though they had vanished in the air. After being fooled
+several times we learned to conceal ourselves in the bushes where we could
+watch the trees, and sooner or later the monkeys would try to steal away.
+
+The langurs and baboons were by no means as wild as the gibbons and were
+found in larger herds. Some of the langurs were carrying babies which clung
+to their mothers between the fore legs and did not seem to impede them in
+the slightest on their leaps through the tree tops.
+
+The young of this species are bright orange-red and strangely unlike the
+gray adults. As they grow older the red hair is gradually replaced by gray,
+but the tail is the last part of the body to change. Heller captured one of
+the tiny red monkeys and brought it back to camp in his coat pocket. The
+little fellow was only a few days old, and of course, absolutely helpless.
+
+When it was wrapped in cotton with only its queer little wizened face and
+blue eyes visible it had a startling resemblance to a human baby until its
+long tail would suddenly flop into sight and dispel the illusion. It lived
+only four days in spite of constant care.
+
+There are fifty-five species of langurs (_Pygathrix_) all of which are
+confined to the Orient. In some parts of India the animals are sacred and
+climb about the houses or wander in the streets of villages quite without
+fear. At times they do so much damage to crops that the natives who do not
+dare to kill the animals themselves implore foreigners to do so. The
+langurs are not confined to the tropics, but in the Tibetan mountains range
+far up into the snow and enjoy the cold weather. In the market at Li-chiang
+we saw several skins of these animals which had been brought down by the
+Tibetans; the hair was long and silky and was used by the Chinese for rugs
+and coats.
+
+The species which we killed at the Nam-ting River camp, like all others of
+the genus _Pygathrix_, was interesting because of the long hairs of the
+head which form a distinct ridge on the occiput. We never heard the animals
+utter sounds, but it is said that the common Indian langur, _Pygathrix
+entellus_, gives a loud whoop as it runs through the tree tops. Often when
+a tiger is prowling about the jungle the Indian langurs will follow the
+beast, keeping in the branches just above its head and scolding loudly.
+
+The baboon, or macaque, which we killed on the Nam-ting was a close
+relative of the species (_Macacus rhesus_) which one sees parading solemnly
+about the streets of Calcutta, Bombay, and other Indian cities. In Agra,
+the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the Monkey Temple is visited by every
+tourist. A large herd of macaques lives in the grounds and at a few
+chuckling calls from the native attendants will come trooping over the
+walls for the food which is kept on sale at the gate. These animals are
+surprisingly tame and make most amusing pets.
+
+On one of our hunts my wife and I discovered a water hole in the midst of a
+dense jungle where the mud was trodden hard by sambur, muntjac, wild boar,
+and other animals. We decided to spend a night watching beside it, but the
+"Dying Rabbit" who was enthusiastic in the day time lost his courage as the
+sunlight waned. Very doubtfully he consented to go.
+
+Although the trip netted us no tangible results it was an experience of
+which we often think. We started just at dusk and installed ourselves in
+the bushes a few yards from the water hole. In half an hour the forest was
+enveloped in the velvety blackness of the tropic night. Not a star nor a
+gleam of light was visible and I could not see my hand before my face.
+
+We sat absolutely motionless and listened to the breath of the jungle,
+which although without definite sound, was vibrant with life. Now and then
+a muntjac barked hoarsely and the roar of a sambur stag thrilled us like an
+electric shock. Once a wild boar grunted on the opposite bank of the river,
+the sound coming to us clear and sharp through the stillness although the
+animal was far away.
+
+Tiny forest creatures rustled all about us in the leaves and a small animal
+ran across my wife's lap, leaping frantically down the hill as it felt her
+move. For five hours we sat there absolutely motionless. Although no
+animals came to the water hole we were silent with a great happiness as we
+groped our way back to camp, for we had been close to the heart of the
+jungle and were thrilled with the mystery of the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+
+THE SHANS OF THE BURMA BORDER
+
+We saw many Shans at the Nam-ting River, for not only was there a village
+half a mile beyond our camp, but natives were passing continually along the
+trail on their way to and from the Burma frontier. The village was named
+Nam-ka. Its chief was absent when we arrived, but the natives were cordial
+and agreed to hunt with us; when the head man returned, however, he was
+most unfriendly. He forbade the villagers from coming to our camp and
+arguments were of no avail. It soon became evident that only force could
+change his attitude, and one morning, with all our servants and _mafus_, we
+visited his house. He was informed that unless he ceased his opposition and
+ordered his men to assist us in hunting we would take him to Meng-ting for
+trial before the mandarin. He grudgingly complied and we had no further
+trouble.
+
+We found the Shans at Nam-ka to be simple and honest people but abnormally
+lazy. During our three weeks' stay not a single trap was stolen, although
+the natives prized them highly, and often brought to us those in which
+animals had been caught. Shans were continually about our camp where boxes
+were left unlocked, but not an article of our equipment was missed.
+
+The Nam-ka Shans elevated their houses on six-foot poles and built an open
+porch in front of the door, while the dwellings at Meng-ting and farther up
+the valley were all placed upon the ground. The thatched roofs overhung
+several feet and the sides of the houses were open so that the free passage
+of air kept them delightfully cool. Moreover, they were surprisingly clean,
+for the floors were of split bamboo, and the inmates, if they wore sandals,
+left them at the door. In the center of the single room, on a large flat
+stone, a small fire always burned, but much of the cooking was done on the
+porch where a tiny pavilion had been erected over the hearth.
+
+The Shans at Nam-ka had "no visible means of support." The extensive rice
+paddys indicated that in the past there had been considerable cultivation
+but the fields were weed-grown and abandoned. The villagers purchased all
+their vegetables from the Mohammedan hunter and two other Chinese who lived
+a mile up the trail, or from passing caravans whom they sometimes
+entertained. In all probability they lived upon the sale of smuggled opium
+for they were only a few miles from the Burma border.
+
+Virtually every Shan we saw in the south was heavily tattooed. Usually the
+right leg alone, but sometimes both, were completely covered from the hip
+to the knee with intricate designs in black or red. The ornamentations
+often extended entirely around the body over the abdomen and waist, but
+less frequently on the breast and arms.
+
+All the natives were inordinately proud of these decorations and usually
+fastened their wide trousers in such a way as to display them to the best
+advantage. We often could persuade a man to pose before the camera by
+admiring his tattoo marks and it was most amusing to watch his childlike
+pleasure.
+
+The Shan tribe is a large one with many subdivisions, and it is probable
+that at one time it inhabited a large part of China south of the Yangtze
+River; indeed, there is reason to believe that the Cantonese Chinamen are
+chiefly of Shan stock, and the facial resemblance between the two races
+certainly is remarkable.
+
+Although the Shans formerly ruled a vast territory in Yuen-nan before its
+conquest by the Mongol emperors of China in the thirteenth century A.D.,
+and at one time actually subdued Burma and established a dynasty of their
+own, at present the only independent kingdom of the race is that of Siam.
+By far the greatest number of Shans live in semi-independent states
+tributary to Burma, China, and Siam, and in Yuen-nan inhabit almost all of
+the southern valleys below an altitude of 4,000 feet.
+
+The reason that the Chinese allow them to hold such an extent of fertile
+land is because the low plains are considered unhealthy and the Chinese
+cannot, or will not, live there. Whether or not the malarial fever of
+the valleys is so exceedingly deadly remains to be proved, but the
+Chinese believe it to be so and the result is the same. Where the
+Shans are numerous enough to have a chief of their own they live in a
+semi-independent state, for although their head man is subordinate to the
+district Chinese official, the latter seldom interferes with the internal
+affairs of the tribe.
+
+The Shans are a short, strongly-built race with a distinct Mongolian type
+of features and rather fair complexions. Their dress varies decidedly with
+the region, but the men of the southern part of the province on the
+Nam-ting River wear a pair of enormous trousers, so baggy that they are
+almost skirtlike, a white jacket, and a large white or pink turban
+surmounted by a huge straw hat. The women dress in a white jacket and skirt
+of either striped or dark blue cloth; their turbans are of similar material
+and may be worn in a high cylinder, a low oval, or many other shapes
+according to the particular part of the province in which they live.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+
+PRISONERS OF WAR IN BURMA
+
+_Y.B.A._
+
+The camp at Nam-ka was a supremely happy one and we left it on March 7,
+with much regret. Its resources seemed to be almost exhausted and the
+Mohammedan hunter assured us that at a village called Ma-li-ling we would
+find excellent shooting. We asked him the distance and he replied, "About a
+long bamboo joint away." It required three days to get there!
+
+Whether the man had ever been to Ma-li-ling we do not know but we
+eventually found it to be a tiny village built into the side of a hill in
+an absolutely barren country where there was not a vestige of cover. Our
+journey there was not uneventful. We left Nam-ka with high hopes which were
+somewhat dampened after a day's unsuccessful hunting at the spot where our
+caravan crossed the Nam-ting River.
+
+With a Shan guide we traveled due north along a good trail which led
+through dense jungle where there was not a clearing or a sign of life. In
+the afternoon we noted that the trail bore strongly to the west and
+ascended rapidly. Soon we had left the jungle and emerged into an
+absolutely treeless valley between high barren hills. We knew that the
+Burma frontier could not be far away, and in a few moments we passed a
+large square "boundary stone"; a hundred yards on the other side the hills
+were covered with bright green stalks and here and there a field glistened
+with white poppy blossoms. The guide insisted that we were on the direct
+road to Ma-li-ling which for the first time he said was in Burma. On our
+map it was marked well over the border in Chinese territory and we were
+greatly puzzled.
+
+About six o'clock the brown huts of a village were silhouetted against the
+sky on a tiny knoll in the midst of a grove of beautiful trees, and we
+camped at the edge of a water hole. The pool was almost liquid mud, but we
+were told that it was the only water supply of the village and its cattle.
+As though to prove the statement a dozen buffalos ambled slowly down the
+hill, and stood half submerged in the brown liquid, placidly chewing their
+cuds; meanwhile blue-clad Shan women with buckets in their hands were
+constantly arriving at the pond for their evening supply of water. We had
+no filter and it was nauseating to think of drinking the filthy liquid but
+there was no alternative and after repeated boiling and several strainings
+we settled it with alum and disguised its taste in tea and soup.
+
+After dinner we questioned the few natives who spoke Chinese, but we became
+only more and more confused. They knew of no such place as Ma-li-ling and
+our Shan guide had discreetly disappeared. But they were familiar with the
+trail to Ma-li-pa, a village farther west in Burma and, moreover, they said
+that two hundred foreign soldiers were stationed there. We were quite
+certain that they must be native Indian troops but thought that a white
+officer might perhaps be in command.
+
+We did not wish to cross the frontier because of possible political
+difficulties since we had no permits to shoot in Burma, but there seemed to
+be no alternative, for we were hopelessly bewildered by the mythical
+Ma-li-ling. We eventually discovered that there were two villages by that
+name--one in Burma, and the other in China, where it was correctly placed
+on the map which we were using.
+
+While we were discussing the matter a tremendous altercation arose between
+the Chinese _mafus_ and the servants. For some time Roy did not interfere,
+supposing it to be a personal quarrel, but the disturbance at last became
+unbearable. Calling Wu we learned that because we had been so careful to
+avoid English territory the _mafus_ had conceived the idea that for some
+reason we were afraid to meet other foreigners. Since we had inadvertently
+crossed into Burma it appeared to them that it would be an opportune time
+to extort an increase of wages. They announced, therefore, that unless
+extra money was given them at once they would untie the loads and leave us.
+
+They were hardly prepared for what followed, however. Taking his Mannlicher
+rifle, Roy called the _mafus_ together and told them that if any man
+touched a load he would begin to shoot the mules and that if they made the
+slightest resistance the gun would be turned on them. A _mafus_' mules
+represent all his property and they did not relish the turn affairs had
+taken. They subsided at once, but we had the loads guarded during the
+night. In the morning the _mafus_ were exceedingly surprised when they
+learned that we were going to Ma-li-pa and their change of front was
+laughable; they were as humble and anxious to please as they had been
+belligerent the night before.
+
+The trail led over the same treeless rolling hills through which we had
+passed on the previous afternoon. There was only one village, but it was
+surrounded by poppy fields in full blossom. It must be a rather difficult
+matter for a native living in China near the border to understand why he
+should not be allowed to produce the lucrative opium while only a few yards
+away, over an imaginary line, it can be planted without restriction.
+Poppies seem to grow on hillsides better than on level ground. The plants
+begin to blossom in late February and the petals, when about to fall, are
+collected for the purpose of making "leaves" with which to cover the balls
+of opium. The seed pods which are left after the petals drop off are
+scarified vertically, at intervals of two or three days, by means of a
+sharp cutting instrument. The operation is usually performed about four
+o'clock in the afternoon, and the opium, in the form of dried juice, is
+collected the next morning. When China, in 1906, forbade the consumption of
+opium and the growing of poppies, it was estimated that there were from
+twenty-five to thirty millions of smokers in the Empire.
+
+We reached Ma-li-pa about one o'clock in the afternoon and found it to be a
+straggling village built on two sides of a deep ravine, with a mixed
+population of Shans and Chinese. It happened to be the weekly market day
+and the "bazaar" was crowded. A number of Indian soldiers in khaki were
+standing about, and I called out to Roy, "I wonder if any of them speak
+English." Instantly a little fellow approached, with cap in hand, and said,
+"Yes, Madame, I speak English."
+
+One cannot realize how strange it seemed to hear our own language from a
+native in this out-of-the-way spot! He was the "compounder," or medical
+assistant, and told us that the hundred native troops were in charge of a
+white officer whose house was on the opposite side of the river gorge. He
+guided us to a temple and, while the mules were being unloaded, in walked a
+tall, handsome young British officer who introduced himself as Captain
+Clive. He was almost speechless with surprise at seeing me, for he had not
+spoken a sentence in English or seen a white person since his arrival at
+this lonely post five months before.
+
+He asked us at once to come to his quarters for tiffin and we accepted
+gladly. On the way he gave us our first news of the outside world, for we
+had been beyond communication of any sort for months, and we learned that
+the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Germany.
+
+Captain Clive's bungalow was a two-room bamboo house with a broad veranda
+and thatched with straw. It was delightfully cool and dark after the glare
+of the yellow sun-baked plains about us, and in perfect order. The care
+which Britishers take to keep from "letting down" while guarding the
+frontiers of their vast empire is proverbial, and Captain Clive was a
+splendid example of the Indian officer. He was as clean-shaved and
+well-groomed as though he had been expecting us for days and the tiffin to
+which we sat down was as dainty and well served as it could have been in
+the midst of civilization.
+
+The great Lord Clive of India was an ancestor of our young officer who had
+been temporarily detached from his regiment, the 129th Baluchis, and sent
+on border duty. He was very unhappy, for his brother officers were in
+active service in East Africa, and he had cried to resign several times,
+but the Indian government would not release him. When we reached Rangoon
+some months later we were glad to learn that he had rejoined his regiment
+and was at the front. Ma-li-pa was a recently established "winter station"
+and in May would be abandoned when the troop returned to Lashio, ten days'
+journey away. Comfortable barracks, cook houses, and a hospital had been
+erected beside a large space which had been cleaned of turf for a parade
+ground.
+
+Captain Clive was in communication by heliograph with Lashio, at the end of
+the railroad, and received a _resume_ of world news two or three times a
+week. With mirrors during the day and lanterns at night messages were
+flashed from one mountain top to another and, under favorable conditions,
+reached Lashio in seven or eight hours.
+
+We pitched our tents a short distance from the barracks in an open field,
+for there was no available shade. Although Captain Clive was perfectly
+satisfied with our passports and credentials he could not let us proceed
+until he had communicated with the Indian government by heliograph. The
+border was being guarded very closely to prevent German sympathizers from
+crossing into Burma from China and inciting the native tribes to rebellion.
+
+In December, 1915, a rather serious uprising among the Kachins in the
+Myitkyina district on the upper waters of the Irawadi River had been
+incited by a foreigner, I believe, and Clive had assisted in suppressing
+it. The Indian government was taking no further chances and had given
+strict orders to arrest and hold anyone, other than a native, who crossed
+the border from China.
+
+Very fortunately H.B.M. Consul-General Goffe at Yuen-nan Fu had communicated
+with the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma concerning our Expedition and we
+consequently expected no trouble, but Captain Clive could not let us
+proceed until he had orders to do so from the Superintendent of the
+Northern Shan States. Through a delayed message this permission did not
+reach him for five days and in the meantime we made the most of the limited
+collecting resources which Ma-li-pa afforded.
+
+Clive ordered his day like all the residents of Burma. He rose at six
+o'clock and after coffee and rolls had drill for two hours. At half past
+ten a heavy meal took the place of breakfast and tiffin; tea, with
+sandwiches and toast, was served at three o'clock, and dinner at eight. His
+company was composed of several different native tribes, and each religious
+caste had its own cook and water carrier, for a man of one caste could not
+prepare meals for men of another. It is an extraordinary system but one
+which appears to operate perfectly well under the adaptable English
+government. Certainly one of the great elements in the success of the
+British as colonizers is their respect for native customs and
+superstitions!
+
+The company drilled splendidly and we were surprised to hear all commands
+given in English although none of the men could understand that language.
+This is done to enable British and Indian troops to maneuver together.
+Captain Clive, himself, spoke Hindustani to his officers. In the evening
+the men played football on the parade ground and it seemed as though we had
+suddenly been transported into civilization on the magic carpet of the
+Arabian Nights.
+
+Every morning we went shooting at daylight and returned about nine o'clock.
+Conditions were not favorable for small mammals and although we could
+undoubtedly have caught a few civets, mongooses, and cats we did not set a
+line of steel traps for we expected to leave at any time. Our attention was
+mostly devoted to bird collecting and we obtained about two hundred
+interesting specimens.
+
+We had our mid-morning meal each day with Captain Clive and he dined with
+us in the evening. He had brought with him from Lashio a large quantity of
+supplies and lived almost as well as he could have done at home. Although
+the days were very warm, the nights were cold and a camp fire was most
+acceptable.
+
+Captain Clive was on excellent terms with the Chinese authorities and,
+while we were there, a very old mandarin, blind and infirm, called to
+present his compliments. He had been an ardent sportsman and was especially
+interested in our guns; had we been willing to accept the commission he
+would have paid us the money then and there to purchase for him a Savage
+.250-.300 rifle like the one we were carrying. The old gentleman always had
+been very loyal to the British and had received several decorations for his
+services.
+
+A few days after our arrival a half dead Chinaman crawled into camp with
+his throat terribly cut. He had been attacked by brigands only a few miles
+over the border and had just been able to reach Ma-li-pa. The company
+"compounder" took him in charge and, when Clive asked him about the
+patient, his evasive answers were most amusing; like all Orientals he would
+not commit himself to any definite statement because he might "lose face"
+if his opinion proved to be wrong.
+
+Captain Clive said to him, "Do you think the Chinaman will die?" Looking
+very judicial the native replied, "Sir, he _may_ die, and yet, he may
+live." "But," said Clive, "he will probably die, won't he?" "Yes," was the
+answer, "and yet perhaps he will live." That was all the satisfaction he
+was able to get.
+
+Clive told us of another native who formerly had been in his company. He
+had been transferred and one day the Captain met him in Rangoon. When asked
+if his pay was satisfactory the answer was typical, "Sir, it is good, but
+not _s-o-o_ good!"
+
+On the afternoon of our fourth day in Ma-li-pa a heliograph from Rangoon
+announced that "The Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition of the American Museum of
+Natural History is especially commended to His Majesty's Indian Government
+and permission is hereby granted to carry on its work in Burma wherever it
+may desire." This was only one of the many courtesies which we received
+from the British.
+
+The morning following the receipt of the heliogram we broke camp at
+daylight. When the last mule of the caravan had disappeared over the brown
+hills toward China we regretfully said farewell and rode away. If we are
+ever again made "prisoners of war" we hope our captor will be as delightful
+a gentleman as Captain Clive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+
+HUNTING PEACOCKS ON THE SALWEEN RIVER
+
+From Ma-li-pa we traveled almost due north to the Salween River. The
+country through which we passed was a succession of dry treeless hills,
+brown and barren and devoid of animal life. On the evening of the third day
+we reached the Salween at a ferry a few miles from the village of Changlung
+where the river begins its great bend to the eastward and sweeps across the
+border from China into Burma.
+
+The stream has cut a tremendous gorge for itself through the mountains and
+the sides are so precipitous that the trail doubles back upon itself a
+dozen times before it reaches the river 3,500 feet below. The upper half of
+the gorge is bare or thinly patched with trees, but in the lower part the
+grass is long and rank and a thin dry jungle straggles along the water's
+edge. The Salween at this point is about two hundred yards wide, but
+narrows to half that distance below the ferry and flows in a series of
+rapids between rocky shores.
+
+The valley is devoid of human life except for three boatmen who tend the
+ferry, but the deserted rice fields along a narrow shelf showed evidence of
+former cultivation. On the slopes far up the side of the canon is a Miao
+village, a tribe which we had not seen before. Probably the valley is too
+unhealthy for any natives to live close to the water's edge and, even at
+the time of our visit in early March, the heated air was laden with
+malaria.
+
+The ferrymen were stupid fellows, half drugged with opium, and assured us
+that there were no mammals near the river. They admitted that they
+sometimes heard peacocks and, while our tents were being pitched on a steep
+sand bank beneath a giant tree, the weird catlike call of a peacock echoed
+up the valley. It was answered by another farther down the river, and the
+report of my gun when I fired at a bat brought forth a wild "pe-haun,"
+"pe-haun," "pe-haun" from half a dozen places.
+
+The ferry was a raft built of long bamboo poles lashed together with vines
+and creepers. It floated just above the surface and was half submerged when
+loaded. The natives used a most extraordinary contrivance in place of oars.
+It consisted of a piece of tightly woven bamboo matting three feet long and
+two feet wide at right angles to which was fastened a six-foot handle. With
+these the men nonchalantly raked the water toward them from the bow and
+stern when they had poled the raft well into the current. The invested
+capital was not extensive, for when the ferry or "propellers" needed
+repairs a few hours' work in the jungle sufficed to build an entirely new
+outfit.
+
+All of the peacocks were on the opposite side of the river from our camp
+where the jungle was thickest. On the first morning my wife and I floated
+down the river on the raft for half a mile and landed to stalk a peacock
+which had called frequently from a rocky point near the water's edge. We
+picked our way through the jungle with the utmost caution but the wary old
+cock either saw or heard us before we were within range, and I caught just
+a glimpse of a brilliant green neck as he disappeared into the bushes. A
+second bird called on a point a half mile farther on, but it refused to
+come into the open and as we started to stalk it in the jungle we heard a
+patter of feet among the dry leaves followed by a roar of wings, and saw
+the bird sail over the tree tops and alight on the summit of a bush-clad
+hill.
+
+This was the only peacock which we were ever able to flush when it had
+already gained cover. Usually the birds depend entirely upon their ability
+to hide or run through the bushes. After several attempts we learned that
+it was impossible to stalk the peacocks successfully. The jungle was so
+crisp and parched that the dry leaves crackled at every step and even small
+birds made a loud noise while scratching on the ground.
+
+The only way to get the peacocks was to watch for them at the river when
+they came to drink in the early morning and evening. Between two rocky
+points where we had first seen the birds there was a long curved beach of
+fine white sand. One morning Heller waited on the point nearest camp while
+my wife and I posted ourselves under a bush farther down the river. We had
+been sitting quietly for half an hour when we heard a scratching in the
+jungle. Thinking it was a peacock feeding we turned our backs to the water
+and sat motionless peering beneath the bushes. Meanwhile, Heller witnessed
+an interesting little drama enacted behind us.
+
+An old male peacock with a splendid train stole around the point close to
+the water, jumped to a high stone within thirty yards of us and stood for a
+full minute craning its beautiful green neck to get a better view as we
+kneeled in front of him totally unconscious of his presence. After he had
+satisfied his curiosity he hopped off the observation pinnacle and, with
+his body flattened close to the ground, slipped quietly away. It was an
+excellent example of the stalker being stalked and had Heller not witnessed
+the scene we should never have known how the clever old bird had fooled us.
+
+The following morning we got a peahen at the same place. Heller had
+concealed himself in the bushes on one side of the point while I watched
+the other. Shortly after daylight an old female sailed out of the jungle on
+set wings and alighted at the water's edge. She saw Heller almost
+instantly, although he was completely covered by the vines, and started to
+fly, but he dropped her with a broken wing. Recovering herself, she darted
+around the rocky point only to meet a charge of B.B.'s from my gun. She was
+a beautiful bird with a delicate crown of slender feathers, a yellow and
+blue face patch and a green neck and back, but her plumes were short and
+inconspicuous when compared with those of the male.
+
+Probably these birds had never before been hunted but they were exceedingly
+shy and difficult to kill. Although they called more or less during the
+entire day and we could locate them exactly, they were so far back in the
+jungle that the crackling of the dry leaves made a stalk impossible. We
+tried to drive them but were unsuccessful, for the birds would never flush
+unless they happened to be in the open and cut off from cover. Apparently
+realizing that their brilliant plumage made them conspicuous objects, the
+birds relied entirely upon an actual screen of bushes and their wonderful
+sight and hearing to protect themselves from enemies.
+
+They usually came to the river to drink very early in the morning and just
+before dusk in the afternoon, but on cloudy days they might appear at
+almost any hour. If undisturbed they would remain near the water's edge for
+a considerable time or strut about the sand beach just at the edge of the
+jungle. At the sound of a gun or any other loud sharp noise the peacocks
+would answer with their mournful catlike wail, exactly as the domesticated
+birds will do.
+
+The Chinese believe that the flesh of the peafowl is poison and our
+servants were horrified when they learned that we intended to eat it. They
+fully expected that we would not survive the night and, even when they saw
+we had experienced no ill effects, they could not be persuaded to touch any
+of it themselves. An old peacock is too tough to eat, but the younger birds
+are excellent and when stuffed with chestnuts and roasted they are almost
+the equal of turkey.
+
+The species which we killed on the Salween River is the green peafowl
+(_Pavo munticus_) which inhabits Burma, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay
+Peninsula. Its neck is green, instead of purple, as is that of the common
+Indian peacock (_Pavo cristatus_), and it is said that it is the most
+beautiful bird of the world.
+
+The long ocellated tail coverts called the "train" are dropped about August
+and the birds assume more simple barred plumes, but the molt is very
+irregular; usually the full plumage is resumed in March or even earlier.
+The train is, of course, an ornament to attract the female and, when a cock
+is strutting about with spread plumes, he sometimes makes a most peculiar
+rustling sound by vibrating the long feathers.
+
+The eight or ten eggs are laid on the bare ground under a bush in the dense
+jungle, are dull brownish white and nearly three inches long. The chicks
+are sometimes domesticated, but even when born in captivity, it is said
+they are difficult to tame and soon wander away. The birds are omnivorous,
+feeding on insects, grubs, reptiles, flower buds, young shoots, and grain.
+
+The common peafowl (_Pavo cristatus_) is a native of India, Ceylon, and
+Assam. It is held sacred by some religious castes and we saw dozens of the
+birds wandering about the grounds of the temples in Benares, Agra, and
+Delhi. Peafowl are said to be rather disagreeable pets because they often
+attack infirm persons and children and kill young poultry.
+
+In some parts of Ceylon and India the birds are so abundant and easily
+killed that they do not furnish even passable sport, but in other places
+they are as wild and difficult to shoot as we found them to be on the
+Salween River. In India it is a universal belief among sportsmen that
+wherever peafowls are common, there tiger will be found.
+
+A very beautiful variety which seems to have arisen abruptly in
+domestication is the so-called "japanned" or black-shouldered peacock named
+_Pavo nigripennis_ by Mr. Sclater. In some respects it is intermediate
+between _P. munticus_ and _P. cristatus_ and apparently "breeds true" but
+never has been found in a wild state. Albino specimens are by no means
+unusual and are a feature of many zooelogical gardens.
+
+Peacocks have been under domestication for many centuries and are mentioned
+in the Bible as having been imported into Palestine by Solomon; although
+the bird is referred to in mythology, the Greeks probably had but little
+knowledge of it until after the conquests of Alexander.
+
+In the thick jungle only a few hundred yards from our camp on the Salween
+River I put up a silver pheasant (_Euplocamus nycthemerus_), one of the
+earliest known and most beautiful species of the family Phasianidae. Its
+white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black, extends like a wedding
+veil over the head, back and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black
+underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs.
+
+This bird was formerly pictured in embroidery upon the heart and back
+badges of the official dresses of civil mandarins to denote the rank of the
+wearer, and is found only in southern and western China. It is by no means
+abundant in the parts of Yuen-nan which we visited and, moreover, lives in
+such dense jungle that it is difficult to find. The natives sometimes snare
+the birds and offer them for sale alive.
+
+We also saw monkeys at our camp on the Salween River, but were not
+successful in killing any. They were probably the Indian baboon (_Macacus
+rhesus_) and, for animals which had not been hunted, were most
+extraordinarily wild. They were in large herds and sometimes came down to
+the water to skip and dance along the sand and play among the rocks. The
+monkeys invariably appeared on the opposite side of the river from us and
+by the time we hunted up the boatmen and got the clumsy raft to the other
+shore the baboons had disappeared in the tall grass or were merrily running
+through the trees up the mountain-side.
+
+The valley was too dry to be a very productive trapping ground for either
+small or large mammals, but the birds were interesting and we secured a
+good many species new to our collection. Jungle fowl were abundant and
+pigeons exceedingly so, but we saw no ducks along the river and only two
+cormorants.
+
+Very few natives crossed at the ferry during our stay, for it is a long way
+from the main road and the climb out of the gorge is too formidable to be
+undertaken if the Salween can possibly be crossed higher up where the
+valley is wide and shallow. While we were camped at the river the heat was
+most uncomfortable during the middle of the day and was but little
+mitigated by the wind which blew continually. During mid-summer the valley
+at this point must be a veritable furnace and doubtless reeks with fever.
+We slept under nets at night and in the early evening, while we were
+watching for peacocks, the mosquitoes were very troublesome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+
+THE GIBBONS OF HO-MU-SHU
+
+It is a long hard climb out of the Salween valley. We left on March 24 and
+all day crawled up the steep sides on a trail which doubled back and forth
+upon itself like an endless letter S. From our camp at night the river was
+just visible as a thin green line several thousand feet below, and for the
+first time in days, we needed a charcoal fire in our tents.
+
+We were _en route_ to Lung-ling, a town of considerable size, where there
+was a possibility that mail might be awaiting us in care of the mandarin.
+Although ordinarily a three days' journey, it was more than four days
+before we arrived, because I had a sharp attack of malaria shortly after
+leaving the Salween River and we had to travel half stages.
+
+When we were well out of the valley and at an altitude of 5,000 feet, we
+arrived at a Chinese town. Its dark evil-smelling houses, jammed together
+in a crowded mass, and the filthy streets swarming with ragged children and
+foot-bound women, were in unpleasant contrast to the charming little Shan
+villages which we had seen in the low country. The inhabitants themselves
+appeared to no better advantage when compared with their Shan neighbors,
+for their stares and insolent curiosity were almost unbearable.
+
+The region between the Salween River at Changlung and Lung-ling is as
+uninteresting to the zooelogist as it could possibly be, for the hills are
+dry and bare and devoid of animal life. Lung-ling is a typical Chinese town
+except that the streets are wide and it is not as dirty as usual. The
+mandarin was a jolly rotund little fellow who simulated great sympathy when
+he informed me that he had received no mail for us. We had left directions
+to have a runner follow us from Yung-chang and in the event that he did not
+find our camp to proceed to Lung-ling with the mail. We learned some weeks
+later that the runner had been frightened by brigands and had turned back
+long before he reached Meng-ting.
+
+We had heard from our _mafus_ and other natives that black monkeys were to
+be found on a mountain pass not far from the village of Ho-mu-shu, on the
+main Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road and, as we were certain that they would
+prove to be gibbons, we decided to make that our next hunting camp. It was
+three stages from Lung-ling and, toward evening of the second day, we again
+descended to the Salween River.
+
+The valley at this point is several miles wide and is so dry that the few
+shrubs and bushes seem to be parched and barely able to live. At the upper
+end a picturesque village is set among extensive rice fields. Although a
+few Chinese live there, its inhabitants are chiefly Shans who are in a
+transitory state and are gradually adopting Chinese customs. The houses are
+joined to each other in the Chinese way and are built of mud, thatched with
+straw. In shape as well as in composition they are quite unlike the
+dwellings of the southern Shans. The women wore cylindrical turbans, about
+eighteen inches high, which at a distance looked like silk hats, and the
+men were dressed in narrow trousers and jackets of Chinese blue. I believe
+that some of the Shan women also had bound feet but of this I cannot be
+certain.
+
+We camped on a little knoll under an enormous tree at the far end of the
+village street, and a short time after the tents were up we had a visit
+from the Shan magistrate. He was a dapper energetic little fellow wearing
+foreign dress and quite _au courant_ with foreign ways. He even owned a
+breech-loading shotgun, and, before we left, sent to ask for shells. He
+presented us with the usual chickens and I returned several tins of
+cigarettes. He appeared to be quite a sportsman and directed us to a place
+on the mountain above the village where he said monkeys were abundant.
+
+We left early in the morning with a guide and, after a hard climb, arrived
+at a little village near the forest to which the magistrate had directed
+us. Not only did the natives assure us that they had never seen monkeys but
+we discovered for ourselves that the only water was more than a mile away,
+and that camping there was out of the question.
+
+The next day, April 1, we went on to Ho-mu-shu. It is a tiny village built
+into the mountain-side with hardly fifty yards of level ground about it,
+but commanding a magnificent view over the Salween valley. Although we
+reached there at half past two in the afternoon the _mafus_ insisted on
+camping because they swore that there was no water within fifty _li_ up the
+mountain. Very unwillingly I consented to camp and the next morning found,
+as usual, that the _mafus_ had lied for there was a splendid camping place
+with good water not two hours from Ho-mu-shu. It was useless to rage for
+the Chinese have no scruples about honesty in such small matters, and the
+head _mafu_ blandly admitted that he knew there was a camping place farther
+on but that he was tired and wanted to stop early.
+
+As we gained the summit of the ridge we were greeted with a ringing
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa," from the forest five hundred feet below us; they
+were the calls of gibbons, without a doubt, but strikingly unlike those of
+the Nam-ting River. We decided to camp at once and, after considerable
+prospecting, chose a flat place beside the road. It was by no means ideal
+but had the advantage of giving us an opportunity to hunt from either side
+of the ridge which for its entire length was scarcely two hundred feet in
+width. The sides fell away for thousands of feet in steep forest-clad
+slopes and, as far as our eyes could reach, wave after wave of mountains
+rolled outward in a great sea of green.
+
+Our camp would have been delightful except for the wind which swept across
+the pass night and day in an unceasing gale. My wife and I set a line of
+traps along a trail which led down the north side of the ridge, while
+Heller chose the opposite slope. We were entranced with the forest. The
+trees were immense spreading giants with interlaced branches that formed a
+solid roof of green 150 feet above the soft moss carpet underneath. Every
+trunk was clothed in a smothering mass of vines and ferns and parasitic
+plants and, from the lower branches, thousands of ropelike creepers swayed
+back and forth with every breath of wind. Below, the forest was fairly open
+save for occasional patches of dwarf bamboo, but the upper canopy was so
+close and dense that even at noon there was hardly more than a somber
+twilight beneath the trees.
+
+Our first night on the pass was spent in a terrific gale which howled up
+the valley from the south and swept across the ridge in a torrent of wind.
+The huge trees around us bent and tossed, and our tents seemed about to be
+torn to shreds. Amid the crashing of branches and the roar of the wind it
+was impossible to hear each other speak and sleep was out of the question.
+We lay in our bags expecting every second to have the covering torn from
+above our heads, but the tough cloth held, and at midnight the gale began
+to lull. In the morning the sun was out in a cloudless sky but the wind
+never ceased entirely on the pass even though there was a breathless calm
+among the trees a few hundred feet below.
+
+My wife and I had just returned from inspecting our line of traps about
+nine o'clock in the morning when the forest suddenly resounded with the
+"hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa" of the gibbons. It seemed a long way off at
+first, but sounded louder and clearer every minute. At the first note we
+seized our guns and dashed down the mountain-side, slipping, stumbling, and
+falling. The animals were in the giant forest about five hundred feet below
+the summit of the ridge and as we neared them we moved cautiously from tree
+to tree, going forward only when they called. It was one of the most
+exciting stalks I have ever made, for the wild, ringing howls seemed always
+close above our heads.
+
+We were still a hundred yards away when a huge black monkey leaped out of a
+tree top just as I stepped from behind a bush, and he saw me instantly. For
+a full half minute he hung suspended by one arm, his round head thrust
+forward staring intently; then launching himself into the air as though
+shot from a catapult he caught a branch twenty feet away, swung to another,
+and literally flew through the tree tops. Without a sound save the swish of
+the branches and splash after splash in the leaves, the entire herd
+followed him down the hill. It was out of range for the shotgun and my wife
+was ten feet behind me with the rifle, but had I had it in my hand I doubt
+if I could have hit one of those flying balls of fur.
+
+We returned to camp with sorrow in our hearts, but two days later we
+redeemed ourselves and brought in the first new gibbons. We were sitting on
+a bed of fragrant pine needles watching for a squirrel which had been
+chattering in the upper branches of a giant tree, when suddenly the wild
+call of the monkeys echoed up the mountain-side.
+
+They were far away to the left, and we ran toward them, stumbling and
+slipping on the moss-covered rocks and logs, the "hu-wa," "hu-wa," "hu-wa"
+sounding louder every moment. They seemed almost under us at times and we
+would stand motionless and silent only to hear the howls die away in the
+distance. At last we located them on the precipitous side of a deep gorge
+filled with an impenetrable jungle of palms and thorny plants. It was an
+impossible place to cross, and we sat down, irresolute and discouraged. In
+a few moments a chorus of howls broke out and we saw the big black apes
+swinging along through the trees, two hundred yards away. Finally they
+stopped and began to feed. They were small marks at that distance but I
+rested my little Mannlicher on a stump and began to shoot while Yvette
+watched them with the glasses. One big fellow swung out on a branch and
+hung with one arm while he picked a cluster of leaves with the other.
+Yvette saw my first shot cut a twig above his head but he did not move, and
+at the roar of the second he dropped heavily into the vines below. A brown
+female ran along the branch a few seconds later and peered down into the
+jungle where the first monkey had fallen. I covered her carefully with the
+ivory head of the front sight, pulled the trigger, and she pitched headlong
+off the tree.
+
+For a few seconds there was silence, then a splash of leaves and three huge
+black males leaped into full view from the summit of a tall tree. They were
+silhouetted against a patch of sky and I fired twice in quick succession
+registering two clean misses. The bullets must have whizzed too close for
+comfort and they faded instantly into the forest like three black shadows.
+
+For ten minutes we strained our eyes into the dense foliage hoping to catch
+a glimpse of a swaying branch. Suddenly Yvette heard a rustling in the low
+tree beneath which we were sitting and seized me violently by the arm,
+screaming excitedly, "There's one, right above us. Quick, quick, he's
+going!"
+
+I looked up and could hardly believe my eyes for not twenty feet away hung
+a huge brown monkey half the size of a man. Almost in a daze I fired with
+the shotgun. The gibbon stopped, slowly pivoted on one long arm and a pair
+of eyes blazing like living coals, stared into mine. I fired again point
+blank as the huge mouth, baring four ugly fangs, opened and emitted a
+bloodcurdling howl. The monkey slowly swung back again, its arm relaxed and
+the animal fell at my feet, stone dead.
+
+It was a magnificent old female. By a lucky chance we had chosen, from all
+the trees in the forest, to sit under the very one in which the gibbon had
+been hiding and she had tried to steal away unnoticed.
+
+While my wife waited to direct me from the rim of the gorge, I climbed down
+into the jungle to try and make my way up the opposite side where the other
+monkeys had fallen. It was dangerous work, for the rocks were covered with
+a thin layer of earth which supported a dense growth of vegetation. If I
+tried to let myself down a steep slope by clinging to a thick fern it would
+almost invariably strip away with a long layer of dirt and send me
+headlong.
+
+After two bad falls I reached the bottom of the ravine where a mountain
+torrent leaped and foamed over the rocks and dropped in a beautiful cascade
+to a pool fifty or sixty feet below. The climb up the opposite side was
+more difficult than the descent and twice I had to return after finding the
+way impassable.
+
+A sheer, clean wall almost seventy feet high separated me from the spot
+where the gibbons had fallen. I skirted the rock face and had laboriously
+worked my way around and above it when a vine to which I had been clinging
+stripped off and I began to slide. Faster and faster I went, dragging a
+mass of ferns and creepers with me, for everything I grasped gave way.
+
+I thought it was the end of things for me because I was hardly ten feet
+above the precipice which fell away to the jagged rocks of the stream bed
+in a drop of seventy feet. The rifle slung to my back saved my life.
+Suddenly it caught on a tiny ragged ledge and held me flattened out against
+the cliff. But even then I was far from safe, as I realized when I tried to
+twist about to reach a rope of creepers which swung outward from a bush
+above my head.
+
+How I managed to crawl back to safety among the trees I can remember only
+vaguely. I finally got down to the bottom of the canon, but felt weak and
+sick and it was half an hour before I could climb up to the place where my
+wife was waiting. She was already badly frightened for she had not seen me
+since I left her an hour before and, when I answered her call, she was
+about to follow into the jungle where I had disappeared. We left the two
+monkeys to be recovered from above and went slowly back to camp.
+
+The gibbons of Ho-mu-shu are quite unlike those of the Nam-ting River. They
+represent a well-known species called the "hoolock" (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+which is also found in Burma.
+
+The males, both old and young, are coal black with a fringe of white hairs
+about the face, and the females are light brown. Their note is totally
+unlike the Nam-ting River gibbons and, instead of sitting quietly in the
+top of a dead tree to call to their neighbors across the jungle for an hour
+or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes as they swing through
+the branches and are silent during the remainder of the day. They called
+most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom heard them during cloudy
+weather.
+
+Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every day,
+but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons
+of the Nam-ting River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops at
+almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things which I have
+ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw themselves from one
+tree to another with unerring precision.
+
+On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three months and our share
+amounted to 105 letters besides a great quantity of magazines. Wu had
+ridden to Teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had a
+basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Reuter's cablegrams which
+were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of
+the Chinese Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen also sent a
+note telling us of a good hunting ground near Teng-yueh.
+
+We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers and,
+through them, began to get in touch with the world again. It is strange how
+little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its reach and
+has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. And it is just as strange
+how essential it all seems immediately one is again within reach of such
+adjuncts of civilization.
+
+On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water fell in torrents,
+and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant that we could
+barely hear each other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp had
+not been made with reference to weather and during the night I waked to
+find that we were in the middle of a pond with fifteen inches of water in
+the tent. Shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface of
+the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our cots. This was the
+beginning of a ten days' rain after which we had six weeks of as delightful
+weather as one could wish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+
+TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION
+
+After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village
+called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride
+along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we passed through grove
+after grove of rhododendrons in full blossom. The trees were sometimes
+thirty feet in height and the red flowers glowed like clusters of living
+coals among their dark green leaves. In the northern part of Yuen-nan the
+rhododendrons grow above other timber line on mountains where it is too
+high even for spruces.
+
+It rained continually during our stay at Tai-ping-pu. I had another attack
+of the Salween malaria and for five or six days could do little work.
+Heller, however, made good use of his time and killed a beautiful horned
+pheasant, Temmick's tragopan (_Ceriornis temmincki_), besides half a dozen
+langurs of the same species as those we had collected on the Nam-ting
+River. He also was fortunate in shooting one of the huge flying squirrels
+(_Petaurista yunnanensis_) which we had hoped to get at Wei-hsi. He saw the
+animal in the upper branches of a dead tree on the first evening we were in
+Tai-ping-pu but was not able to get a shot. The next night he watched the
+same spot and killed the squirrel with a charge of "fours." It measured
+forty-two and one-quarter inches from the nose to the end of the tail and
+was a rich mahogany red grizzled with whitish above; the underparts were
+cream white. As in all flying squirrels, the four legs were connected by a
+sheet of skin called the "patagium" which is continuous with the body. This
+acts as a parachute and enables the animal to sail from tree to tree for,
+of course, it cannot fly like a bat. As these huge squirrels are strictly
+nocturnal, they are not often seen even by the natives. We were told by the
+Lutzus on the Mekong River that by building huge fires in the woods they
+could attract the animals and shoot them with their crossbows.
+
+A few weeks later we purchased a live flying squirrel from a native and
+kept it for several days in the hope that it might become tame. The animal
+was exceedingly savage and would grind its teeth angrily and spring at
+anyone who approached its basket. It could not be tempted to eat or drink
+and, as it was a valuable specimen, we eventually chloroformed it.
+
+Just below our camp in a pretty little valley a half dozen families
+of Lisos were living, and we hired the men to hunt for us. They were
+good-natured fellows, as all the natives of this tribe seem to be, and
+worked well. One day they brought in a fine muntjac buck which had been
+killed with their crossbows and poisoned darts. The arrows were about
+twelve inches long, made of bamboo and "feathered" with a triangular piece
+of the same wood. Those for shooting birds and squirrels were sharpened to
+a needle point, but the hunting darts were tipped with steel or iron. The
+poison they extracted from a plant, which I never saw, and it was said that
+it takes effect very rapidly.
+
+The muntjac which the Lisos killed had been shot in the side with a single
+arrow and they assured us that only the flesh immediately surrounding the
+wound had been spoiled for food. These natives like the Mosos, Lolos, and
+others carried their darts in a quiver made from the leg skin of a black
+bear, and none of the men wished to sell their weapons; I finally did
+obtain a crossbow and quiver for six dollars (Mexican).
+
+Two days before we left Tai-ping-pu, three of the Lisos guided my wife and
+me to a large cave where they said there was a colony of bats. The cavern
+was an hour's ride from camp, and proved to be in a difficult and dangerous
+place in the side of a cliff just above a swift mountain stream. We strung
+our gill net across the entrance and then sent one of the natives inside to
+stir up the animals while we caught them as they flew out. In less than
+half an hour we had twenty-eight big brown bats, but our fingers were cut
+and bleeding from the vicious bites of their needle-like teeth. They all
+represented a widely distributed species which we had already obtained at
+Yuen-nan Fu.
+
+From Lung-ling I had sent a runner to Mr. Evans at Ta-li Fu asking him to
+forward to Teng-yueh the specimens which we had left in his care, and the
+day following our visit to the bat cave the caravan bearing our cases
+passed us at Tai-ping-pu. We, ourselves, were about ready to leave and two
+days later at ten o'clock in the morning we stood on a precipitous mountain
+summit, gazing down at the beautiful Teng-yueh plain which lay before us
+like a relief map. It is as flat as a plain well can be and, except where a
+dozen or more villages cluster on bits of dry land, the valley is one vast
+watery rice field. Far in the distance, outside the gray city walls, we
+could see two temple-like buildings surrounded by white-walled compounds,
+and Wu told us they were the houses of the Customs officials.
+
+Teng-yueh, although only given the rank of a "ting" or second-class Chinese
+city, is one of the most important places in the province, for it stands as
+the door to India. All the trade of Burma and Yuen-nan flows back and forth
+through the gates of Teng-yueh, over the great caravan road to Bhamo on the
+upper Irawadi.
+
+An important post of the Chinese Foreign Customs, which are administered by
+the British government as security for the Boxer indemnity, is situated in
+this city, and we were looking forward with the greatest interest to
+meeting its white population. At the time of our visit the foreigners
+included Messrs. H.G. Fletcher and Ralph C. Grierson, respectively Acting
+Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Customs; Messrs. W.R. Palmer and
+Abertsen, also of the Customs; Mr. Eastes, H.B.M. Consul; Dr. Chang, Indian
+Medical Officer, and Reverend and Mrs. Embry of the China Inland Mission;
+Mr. Eastes, accompanied by the resident mandarin, was absent on a three
+months' opium inspection tour so that we did not meet him.
+
+We reached Teng-yueh on Sunday morning and camped in a temple outside the
+city walls. Immediately after tiffin we called upon Mr. Grierson and went
+with him to the Customs House where Messrs. Abertsen and Palmer were
+living. We found there a Scotch botanist, Mr. Forrest, an old traveler in
+Yuen-nan who was _en route_ to A-tun-zu on a three-year plant-hunting
+expedition for an English commercial firm. We had heard much of Forrest
+from Messrs. Kok and Hanna and were especially glad to meet him because of
+his wide knowledge of the northwestern part of the province. Mr. Forrest
+was interested chiefly in primroses and rhododendrons, I believe, and in
+former years obtained a rather remarkable collection of these plants.
+
+From Mr. Grierson we first learned that the United States had declared war
+on Germany. It had been announced only a week before, and the information
+had reached Teng-yueh by cable and telegraph almost immediately. It came as
+welcome news to us Americans who had been vainly endeavoring to justify to
+ourselves and others our country's lethargy in the face of Teuton
+insolence, and made us feel that once again we could acknowledge our
+nationality with the pride we used to feel.
+
+On Monday Mr. Grierson invited us to become his guests and to move our
+caravan and belongings to his beautiful home. We were charmed with it and
+our host. The house was built with upturned, temple-like gables, and from
+his cool verandah we could look across an exquisite flower-filled garden to
+the blue mountains from which we had had our first view of Teng-yueh the
+day before. The interior of the dwelling was as attractive as its
+surroundings, and the beautifully served meals were as varied and dainty as
+one could have had in the midst of a great city.
+
+Like all Britishers, the Customs men had carried their sport with them.
+Just beyond the city walls an excellent golf course had been laid out with
+Chinese graves as bunkers, and there was a cement tennis court behind the
+Commissioner's house. Mr. Grierson had two excellent polo ponies, besides
+three trained pointer dogs, and riding and shooting over the beautiful
+hills gave him an almost ideal life. We found that Mr. Fletcher had a
+really remarkable selection of records and an excellent Victrola. After
+dinner, as we listened to the music, we had only to close our eyes and
+float back to New York and the Metropolitan Opera House on the divine
+harmony of the sextet from "Lucia" or Caruso's matchless voice. But none of
+us wished to be there in body for more than a fleeting visit at least, and
+the music already brought with it a lingering sadness because our days in
+the free, wild mountains of China were drawing to a close.
+
+During the week we spent with Mr. Grierson we dried and packed all our
+specimens in tin-lined boxes which were purchased from the agent of the
+British American Tobacco Company in Teng-yueh. They were just the right
+size to carry on muleback and, after the birds and mammals had been wrapped
+in cotton and sprinkled with napthalene, the cases were soldered and made
+air tight. The most essential thing in sending specimens of any kind
+through a moist, tropical climate such as India is to have them perfectly
+dry before the boxes are sealed; otherwise they will arrive at their
+destination covered with mildew and absolutely ruined.
+
+On the day of our arrival in Teng-yueh we purchased from a native two bear
+cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_) about a week old. Each was coal black except for a
+V-shaped white mark on the breast and a brown nose. When they first came to
+us they were too young to eat and we fed them diluted condensed milk from a
+spoon.
+
+The little chaps were as playful as kittens and the story of their amusing
+ways as they grew older is a book in itself. After a month one of the cubs
+died, leaving great sorrow in the camp; the other not only lived and
+flourished but traveled more than 16,000 miles.
+
+He went with us on a pack mule to Bhamo, down the Irawadi River to Rangoon,
+and across the Bay of Bengal to Calcutta. He then visited many cities in
+India, and at Bombay boarded the P. & O.S.S. _Namur_ for Hongkong and
+became the pet of the ship. From China we took him to Japan, across the
+Pacific to Vancouver, and finally to our home at Lawrence Park, Bronxville,
+New York. After an adventurous career as a house pet, when his exploits had
+made him famous and ourselves disliked by all the neighbors, we regretfully
+sent him to the National Zooelogical Park, Washington, D.C., where he is
+living happily at the present time. He was the most delightful little pet
+we have ever owned and, although now he is nearly a full grown bear, his
+early life is perpetuated in motion pictures and we can see him still as he
+came to us the first week. He might well have been the model for the
+original "Teddy Bear" for he was a round ball of fur, mostly head and ears
+and sparkling little eyes.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+
+A BIG GAME PARADISE
+
+A few months previous to our arrival, Mr. Abertsen had discovered a
+splendid hunting ground near the village of Hui-yao, about eighty _li_ from
+Teng-yueh. He had been shooting rabbits and pheasants and, while passing
+through the village, the natives told him that a large herd of _gnai-yang_
+or "wild goats" lived on the side of a hill through which a branch of the
+Shweli River had cut a deep gorge.
+
+Although Abertsen was decidedly skeptical as to the accuracy of the report
+he spent two days hunting and with his shotgun killed two gorals; moreover,
+he saw twenty-five others. We examined the two skins and realized at once
+that they represented a different species from those of the Snow Mountain.
+Therefore, when we left Teng-yueh our first camp was at Hui-yao.
+
+Heller and I started with four natives shortly after daylight. We crossed a
+tumbledown wooden bridge over the river at a narrow canon where the sides
+were straight walls of rock, and followed down the gorge for about two
+miles. On the way Heller, who was in front, saw two muntjac standing in the
+grass on an open hillside, and shot the leader. The deer pitched headlong
+but got to its feet in a few moments and struggled off into the thick cover
+at the edge of the meadow. It had disappeared before Heller reached the
+clearing but he saw the second deer, a fine doe, standing on a rock.
+Although his bullet passed through both lungs the animal ran a quarter of a
+mile, and he finally discovered her several hours later in the bushes
+beside the river.
+
+In a short time we reached an open hillside which rose six or seven hundred
+feet above the river in a steep slope; the opposite side was a sheer wall
+of rock bordered on the rim by an open pine forest. We separated at this
+point. Heller, with two natives, keeping near the river, while I climbed up
+the hill to work along the cliffs half way to the summit.
+
+In less than ten minutes Heller heard a loud snort and, looking up, saw
+three gorals standing on a ledge seventy-five yards above him. He fired
+twice but missed and the animals disappeared around a corner of the hill. A
+few hundred yards farther on he saw a single old ram but his two shots
+apparently had no effect.
+
+Meanwhile I had continued along the hillside not far from the summit for a
+mile or more without seeing an animal. Fresh tracks were everywhere and
+well-cut trails crossed and recrossed among the rocks and grass. I had
+reached an impassable precipice and was returning across a steep slope when
+seven gorals jumped out of the grass where they had been lying asleep. I
+was in a thick grove of pine trees and fired twice in quick succession as
+the animals appeared through the branches, but missed both times.
+
+I ran out from the trees but the gorals were then nearly two hundred yards
+away. One big ram had left the herd and was trotting along broadside on. I
+aimed just in front of him and pulled the trigger as his head appeared in
+the peep sight. He turned a beautiful somersault and rolled over and over
+down the hill, finally disappearing in the bushes at the edge of the water.
+
+The other gorals had disappeared, but a few seconds later I saw a small one
+slowly skirting the rocks on the very summit of the hill. The first shot
+kicked the dirt beside him, but the second broke his leg and he ran behind
+a huge boulder. I rested the little Mannlicher on the trunk of a tree,
+covering the edge of the rock with the ivory head of the front sight and
+waited. I was perfectly sure that the goral would try to steal out, and in
+two or three minutes his head appeared. I fired instantly, boring him
+through both shoulders, and he rolled over and over stone dead lodging
+against a rock not fifty yards from where we stood.
+
+The two natives were wild with excitement and, yelling at the top of their
+lungs, ran up the hill like goats to bring the animal down to me. It was a
+young male in full summer coat, and with horns about two inches long. Our
+pleasure was somewhat dampened, however, when we went to recover the first
+goral for we found that when it had landed in the grass at the edge of the
+river it had either rolled or crawled into the water. We searched along the
+bank for half a mile but without success and returned to Hui-yao just in
+time for tiffin.
+
+In the afternoon we shifted camp to a beautiful little grove on the
+opposite side of the river behind the hunting grounds. Heller, instead of
+going over with the caravan, went back along the rim of the gorge in the
+pine forest where he could look across the river to the hill on which we
+had hunted in the morning. With his field glasses he discovered five gorals
+in an open meadow, and opened fire. It was long shooting but the animals
+did not know which way to run, and he killed three of the herd before they
+disappeared. Our first day had, therefore, netted us one deer and four
+gorals which was better than at any other camp we had had in China.
+
+We realized from the first day's work that Hui-yao would prove to be a
+wonderful hunting ground, and the two weeks we spent there justified all
+our hopes. At other places the cover was so dense or the country so rough
+that it was necessary to depend entirely upon dogs and untrained natives,
+but here the animals were on open hillsides where they could be still
+hunted with success. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn something
+about the habits of the animals for we could watch them with glasses from
+the opposite side of the river when they were quite unconscious of our
+presence.
+
+There was only one day of our stay at Hui-yao that we did not bring in one
+or more gorals and even after we had obtained an unrivaled series, dozens
+were left. Shooting the animals from across the river was rather an
+unsportsmanlike way of hunting but it was a very effective method of
+collecting the particular specimens we needed for the Museum series. The
+distance was so great that the gorals were unable to tell from where the
+bullets were coming and almost any number of shots might be had before the
+animals made for cover. It became simply a case of long range target
+shooting at seldom less than three hundred yards.
+
+Still hunting on the cliffs was quite a different matter, however, and was
+as good sport as I have ever had. The rocks and open meadow slopes were so
+precipitous that there was very real danger every moment, for one misstep
+would send a man rolling hundreds of feet to the bottom where he would
+inevitably be killed.
+
+The gorals soon learned to lie motionless along the sheerest cliffs or to
+hide in the rank grass, and it took close work to find them. I used most
+frequently to ride from camp to the river, send back the horse by a _mafu_,
+and work along the face of the rock wall with my two native boys. Their
+eyesight was wonderful and they often discovered gorals lying among the
+rocks when I had missed them entirely with my powerful prism binoculars.
+Their eyes had never been dimmed by study and I suppose were as keen as
+those of primitive man who possibly hunted gorals or their relatives
+thousands of years ago over these same hills.
+
+There were many glorious hunts and it would be wearisome were I to describe
+them all, but one afternoon stands out in my memory above the others. It
+was a brilliant day, and about four o'clock I rode away from camp, across
+the rice fields and up the grassy valley to the long sweep of open meadow
+on the rim of the river gorge.
+
+Sending back the horse, "Achi," my native hunter, and I crawled carefully
+to a jutting point of rocks and lay face down to inspect the cliffs above
+and to the left. With my glasses I scanned every inch of the gray wall, but
+could not discover a sign of life. Glancing at Achi I saw him gazing
+intently at the rock which I had just examined, and in a moment he
+whispered excitedly "_gnai-yang_." By putting both hands to the side of his
+head he indicated that the animal was lying down, and although he pointed
+with my rifle, it was full five minutes before I could discover the goral
+flat upon his belly against the cliff, with head stretched out, and fore
+legs doubled beneath his body. He was sound asleep in the sun and looked as
+though he might remain forever.
+
+By signs Achi indicated that we were to climb up above and circle around
+the cliff to a ragged promontory which jutted into space within a hundred
+yards of the animal. It was a good three quarters of an hour before we
+peered cautiously between two rocks opposite the ledge where the goral had
+been asleep. The animal was gone. We looked at each other in blank
+amazement and then began a survey of the ground below.
+
+Halfway down the mountain-side Achi discovered the ram feeding in an open
+meadow and we began at once to make our way down the face of the cliff. It
+was dangerous going, but we gained the meadow in safety and worked
+cautiously up to a grassy ridge where the goral had been standing. Again we
+crawled like snakes among the rocks and again an empty slope of waving
+grass met our eyes. The goral had disappeared, and even Achi could not
+discover a sign of life upon the meadow.
+
+With an exclamation of disgust I got to my feet and looked around.
+Instantly there was a rattle of stones and a huge goral leaped out of the
+grass thirty yards away and dashed up the hill. I threw up my rifle and
+shot hurriedly, chipping a bit of rock a foot behind the animal. Swearing
+softly at my carelessness, I threw in another shell, selected a spot in
+front of the ram, and fired. The splendid animal sank in its tracks without
+a quiver, shot through the base of the neck.
+
+I had just ejected the empty shell when Achi seized me by the arm,
+whispering "_gnai-yang, gnai-yang, gnai-yang, na, na, na, na_," and
+pointing to the cliffs two hundred yards above us. I looked up just in time
+to see another goral flash behind a rock on the very summit of the ridge.
+An instant later he appeared again and stopped broadside on with his noble
+head thrown up, silhouetted against the sky. It was a perfect target and,
+resting my rifle on a flat rock, I covered the animal with the white bead
+and centered it in the rear sight. As I touched the hair trigger and the
+roar of the high-power shell crashed back from the face of the cliff, the
+animal leaped with legs straight out, whirling over and over down the
+meadow and bringing up against a boulder not twenty yards from the first
+goral.
+
+That night as I walked over the hills in the cool dusk I would not have
+changed my lot with any man on earth. The breathless excitement of the
+stalk and the wild thrill of exultation at the clean kill of two splendid
+rams were still rioting in my veins. I came out of the valley and across
+the rice fields to the blazing camp fire. Yvette ran to the edge of the
+grove, her hands filled with wet photographic negatives. "How many?" she
+called. "Two," I answered, "and both big ones. How many for you?" "Fourteen
+color plates," she sung back happily, "and all good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+
+SEROW AND SAMBUR
+
+We had a delightful visit from Mr. Grierson during our first week in camp.
+He rode out on Thursday afternoon and remained until Sunday, bringing us
+mail, war news, and fresh vegetables, and returning with goral meat for all
+the foreigners in Teng-yueh. On the afternoon of his visit I had killed
+three monkeys which represented a different species from any we had
+obtained before. They were the Indian baboon (_Macacus rhesus_) and were
+probably like those of the Salween River at Changlung.
+
+I found two great troupes of the monkeys running along the opposite river
+bank. The first herd was climbing up the almost perpendicular rock walls,
+swinging on the bushes and sometimes almost disappearing in the tufts of
+grass. I could not approach nearer than one hundred and fifty yards and did
+some very bad shooting at the little beasts, but a running monkey at that
+distance is a pretty uncertain mark, and it requires a much better shot
+than I am to register more hits than misses. I did kill two, but both
+dropped into the river and promptly sank, so that I gave it up.
+
+Less than a half mile farther on another and larger troupe appeared among
+the boulders just at the water's edge. Profiting by my experience, I kept
+out of sight among the bushes and watched the animals play about until one
+hopped to a rock and sat quietly for an instant. I got six in this way, but
+we were able to recover only three of them from the water.
+
+Heller shot three muntjac at Hui-yao, besides the doe which he killed on
+the first day. One of the largest bucks had a pair of beautiful antlers
+three and one half inches long from the burr to the tip. The skin-covered
+projections, or pedicels, of the frontal bone, from the summits of which
+the antlers grow, measured two and one-half inches from the skull to the
+burrs. Evidently the muntjac are somewhat irregular in shedding for,
+although they were all in full summer pelage, two already had lost their
+antlers while the other had not. I can think of no more delicious meat than
+the flesh of these little deer and they seem to be as highly esteemed by
+the English sportsmen of India as they are by the foreigners of China.
+
+I did not see a muntjac while at Hui-yao, but was fortunate in killing a
+splendid coal-black serow which represents a sub-species new to science;
+although the natives said that serow were known to occur in the thick
+jungle on the south side of the river, none had been seen for years. Heller
+and I had gone to this part of the gorge to hunt for a troupe of monkeys
+which he had located on the previous day. We had separated, Heller keeping
+close to the water while I skirted the cliffs near the summit not far from
+the road which led through the pine forest.
+
+I was walking just under the rim of the gorge when suddenly with a snort a
+large animal dashed out of a thicket below and to the left. I caught a
+glimpse of a great coal-black body and a pair of short curved horns as the
+beast disappeared in a shallow gully, and realized that it was a serow. A
+few seconds later it reappeared, running directly away from me along the
+upper edge of the gorge. I fired and the animal dropped, gave a convulsive
+twist, rolled over, and plunged into the canon.
+
+As the serow disappeared we heard a chorus of excited yells from below, and
+it was evident that some natives near the water had seen it fall. I had
+slight hope that they might have rescued it from the river, but my heart
+was heavy as we worked along the cliff trying to find a place where it was
+possible to descend. A wood cutter whom we discovered a short distance away
+guided us down a trail so steep that it seemed impossible for a human being
+to walk along it, and in proof I slid the last half of the way to the rocks
+at the river's edge, narrowly escaping a broken neck.
+
+When we reached the stream it was only to find a flat wall against which
+the water surged in a mass of white foam, separating us from the place
+where the serow had fallen. I tried to wade around the rock but in two
+steps the water was above my waist. It was evident that we would have to
+swim, and I began to undress, inviting Achi and the wood cutter to follow;
+the former refused, but the latter pulled off his few clothes with
+considerable hesitation.
+
+It was a swim of only about forty feet around the face of the cliff but the
+current was strong and it was no easy matter to fight my way to the other
+side. After I had climbed out upon the rocks I called to the wood cutter to
+follow and he slipped into the water. Evidently the current was more than
+he had bargained for and a look of fear crossed his face, but he went
+manfully at it.
+
+He had almost reached the rock on which I was standing with outstretched
+hand when his strength seemed suddenly to go and he cried out in terror. I
+jumped into the water, hanging to the rocks with one hand and letting my
+legs float out behind. The wood cutter just managed to reach my big toe, to
+which he clung as if it had in reality been the straw of the drowning man
+and I dragged him up stream until, to my intense relief, he could grasp the
+rocks.
+
+We picked our way among the boulders for a few yards and suddenly came upon
+the serow lying partly in the water. I felt like dancing with delight but
+the sharp rocks were not conducive to any such demonstrations and I merely
+yelled to Achi who understood from the tone, if not from my words, that the
+animal was safe.
+
+The men who had shouted when the animal fell over the cliff were only fifty
+feet away, but they too were separated from it by a wall of rock and
+surging water. They said that there was an easier way up the cliff than the
+one by which we had descended, and prepared a line of tough vines, one end
+of which they let down to us. We made it fast to the serow and I kept a
+second vine rope in my hands, swimming beside the animal as they dragged it
+to the other shore. It was landed safely and the wood cutter was hauled
+over by the same means.
+
+I had intended to swim back for my clothes but discovered that Achi had
+disappeared, taking my garments and those of the wood cutter with him. He
+evidently intended to meet us on the hilltop, but it left us in the rather
+awkward predicament of making our way through the thick brush with only the
+proverbial smile and minus even the necktie.
+
+The men fastened together the serow's four legs, slipped a pole beneath
+them and toiled up the steep slope preceded by a naked brown figure and
+followed by a white one. The side of the gorge was covered with vines and
+creepers, many of them thorny, and pushing through them with no bodily
+protection was far from comfortable.
+
+When we arrived at the road on the rim of the gorge I was dismayed to find
+that Achi was not there with my clothes. The wood cutter did not appear to
+be greatly worried and indicated that we would find him farther up the
+road. I walked on dubiously, expecting every second to meet some person,
+and sure enough, a Chinese woman suddenly appeared over a little hill. I
+dived into the tall ferns beside the road, burrowing like a rabbit, and
+from the frightened way in which she hurried past, she must have thought
+she had seen one of her ancestral spirits stalking abroad. We eventually
+found the boy, and, decently dressed, I faced the world again with
+confidence and happiness.
+
+On the way back to camp we saw a goral on the cliffs across the river. It
+was high up and fully three hundred and fifty yards away but, of course,
+quite unconscious of our presence. My first two shots struck close beside
+the animal, but at the third it rolled over and over down the hill, lodging
+among the rocks just above the river.
+
+Our entry into camp was triumphal, for fully half the village acted as an
+escort to the serow, an animal which few had ever seen. It was a female,
+and probably weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. The mane was short
+and black and strikingly unlike the long white manes of the Snow Mountain
+serows; the horns were almost smooth. Getting this specimen was one of the
+lucky chances which sometimes come to a sportsman, for one might hunt for
+weeks in the same place without ever seeing another serow, as the jungle is
+exceedingly dense and the cliffs so steep that it is impossible to walk
+except in a few spots. The animal had been feeding on the new grass just at
+the edge of the heavy cover and probably had been sleeping under a bush
+when she was disturbed.
+
+Besides mammals and birds we made a fairly good collection of reptiles and
+lizards at Hui-yao, but in all other parts of the province which we visited
+they were exceedingly scarce. In fact, I have never been in a place where
+there were so few reptiles and batrachians. We obtained only one species of
+poisonous snake here. It was a small green viper which we sometimes saw
+coiled on a low bush watching mouse holes in the grass. Several species of
+nonpoisonous snakes were more common but were nowhere really abundant.
+
+We left Hui-yao the day after I killed the serow for a village called
+Wa-tien where there was a report of sambur. None of us had any real hope of
+finding the huge deer after our former unsuccessful hunts, but we camped in
+the early afternoon on an open hilltop five miles from Wa-tien where the
+natives assured us the animals often came to eat the young rice during the
+night.
+
+We engaged four men with three dogs as hunters, but awoke to find a dense
+fog blanketing the valley and mountains. It was not until half past nine
+that the gray mist yielded to the sun and left the hills clear enough for
+us to hunt. We climbed a wooded ridge directly behind the camp and skirted
+the edge of a heavily forested ravine which the men wished to drive.
+
+Heller took a position in a bean field while I climbed to a sharp ridge
+above and beyond him. In less than half an hour the dogs began to yelp in
+an uncertain way. I saw one of them running down hill, nose to the ground,
+and a few seconds later Heller fired twice in quick succession. Two sambur
+had skirted the edge of the wood less than one hundred yards away, but he
+had missed with both shots.
+
+The trail led into a deep ravine filled with dense underbrush. In a few
+moments the dogs began to yelp again and, while Heller remained on the
+hillside to watch the open fields, I followed the hounds along the creek
+bed. Suddenly the whiplike crack of his Savage 250-300 rifle sounded five
+times in quick succession just above our heads, and we climbed hurriedly
+out of the gorge.
+
+Heller shouted that he had fired at a huge sambur running along the edge of
+a bean field but the animal showed no sign of being hit. We easily picked
+up the trail in the soft earth and in a few moments found several drops of
+blood, showing that at least one bullet had found its mark. The blood soon
+ceased and we began to wonder if the sambur had not been merely scratched.
+
+Heller had seen the deer disappear in a second ravine, a branch of the one
+out of which it had first been driven, and while he watched the upper side
+I worked my way to the bottom to look for tracks. A few moments later the
+natives began to shout excitedly just above me, and Heller called out that
+they had found the deer, which was lying stone dead half way down the side
+of the gorge in a mass of thick ferns. The sambur had been hit only once
+but the powerful Savage bullet had crashed through the shoulder into the
+lungs; it was quite sufficient to do the work even on such a huge animal
+and the deer had run less than one hundred yards from the place where it
+had been shot.
+
+It was a splendid male, carrying a magnificent pair of antlers which
+measured twenty-seven inches in length. The deer was about the size of an
+American wapiti, or elk, and must have weighed at least seven hundred
+pounds, for it required eight men to lift it. The Chinese hunters were wild
+with excitement, but especially so when we began to eviscerate the animal,
+for they wished to save the blood which is considered of great medicinal
+value. They filled caps, sacks, bamboo joints, and every receptacle which
+they could find after each man had drunk all he could possibly force down
+his throat and had eaten the huge clots which choked the thorax.
+
+When the sambur was brought to camp a regular orgy was held by our
+servants, _mafus_, and dozens of villagers who gathered to buy, beg, or
+steal some of the blood. Our interpreter, Wu, took the heart as his
+perquisite, carefully extracted the blood, and dried it in a basin. The
+liver also seemed to be an especial desideratum, and in fact every part of
+the viscera was saved. Because the antlers were hard they were not
+considered of especial value, but had they been in the velvet we should
+have had to guard them closely; then they would have been worth about one
+hundred dollars (Mexican).
+
+We expected from our easy hunt of the morning that it would not be
+difficult to get sambur, and indeed, Heller did see another in the
+afternoon but failed to kill it. Unfortunately, a relative of one of the
+hunters died suddenly during the night and all the men went off with their
+dogs to the burial feast which lasted several days, and we were not able to
+find any other good hounds.
+
+There were undoubtedly several sambur in the vicinity of our camp but they
+fed entirely during the night and spent the day in such thick cover that it
+was impossible to drive them out except with good beaters or dogs. We
+hunted faithfully every morning and afternoon but did not get another shot
+and, after a week, moved camp to the base of a great mountain range six
+miles away near a Liso village.
+
+The scenery in this region is magnificent. The mountain range is the same
+on which we hunted at Ho-mu-shu and reaches a height of 11,000 feet near
+Wa-tien. It is wild and uninhabited, and the splendid forests must shelter
+a good deal of game.
+
+The foothills on which we were camped are low wooded ridges rising out of
+open cultivated valleys, which often run into the jungle-filled ravines in
+which the sambur sleep. Why the deer should occur in this particular region
+and not in the neighboring country is a mystery unless it is the proximity
+of the great forested mountain range. But in similar places only a few
+miles away, where there is an abundance of cover, the natives said the
+animals had never been seen, and neither were they known on the opposite
+side of the mountain range where the Teng-yueh--Tali-Fu road crosses the
+Salween valley.
+
+On May 20, we started back to Hui-yao to spend three or four days hunting
+monkeys before we returned to Teng-yueh to pack our specimens and end the
+field work of the Expedition. On the way my wife and I became separated
+from the caravan but as we had one of our servants for a guide we were not
+uneasy.
+
+The man was a lazy, stupid fellow named Le Ping-sang (which we had changed
+to "Leaping Frog" because he never did leap for any cause whatever), and
+before long he had us hopelessly lost.
+
+It would appear easy enough to ask the way from the natives, but the
+Chinese are so suspicious that they often will intentionally misdirect a
+stranger. They do not know what business the inquirer may have in the
+village to which he wishes to go and therefore, just on general principles,
+they send him off in the wrong direction.
+
+Apparently this is what happened to us, for a farmer of whom we inquired
+the way directed us to a road at nearly right angles to the one we should
+have taken, and it was late in the afternoon before we finally found the
+caravan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+
+LAST DAYS IN CHINA
+
+It was of paramount importance to pack our specimens before the beginning
+of the summer rains. They might be expected to break in full violence any
+day after June 1, and when they really began it would be impossible to get
+our boxes to Bhamo, for virtually all caravan travel ceases during the wet
+season. Therefore our second stay at Hui-yao was short and we returned to
+Teng-yueh on May 24, ending the active field work of the Expedition exactly
+a year from the time it began with our trip up the Min River to Yeng-ping
+in Fukien Province.
+
+Mr. Grierson had kindly invited us again to become his guests and no place
+ever seemed more delightful, after our hot and dusty ride, than his
+beautiful garden and cool, shady verandah where a dainty tea was served.
+Our days in Teng-yueh were busy ones, for after the specimens were packed
+and the boxes sealed it was necessary to wrap them in waterproof covers;
+moreover, the equipment had to be sorted and sold or discarded, a caravan
+engaged, and nearly a thousand feet of motion-picture film developed. This
+was done in the spacious dark room connected with Mr. Grierson's house
+which offered a welcome change from the cramped quarters of the tent which
+we had used for so many months.
+
+Much of the success of our motion film lay in the fact that it was
+developed within a short time after exposure, for had we attempted to bring
+or send it to Shanghai, the nearest city with facilities for doing such
+work, it would inevitably have been ruined by the climatic changes.
+Although cinematograph photography requires an elaborate and expensive
+outfit and is a source of endless work, nevertheless, the value of an
+actual moving record of the life of such remote regions is worth all the
+trouble it entails.
+
+The Paget natural color plates proved to be eminently satisfactory and were
+among the most interesting results of the expedition. The stereoscopic
+effects and the faithful reproduction of the delicate atmospheric shading
+in the photographs are remarkable. Although the plates had been subjected
+to a variety of climatic conditions and temperatures by the time the last
+ones were exposed in Burma, a year and a half after their manufacture, they
+showed no signs of deterioration even when the ordinary negatives which we
+brought with us from America had been ruined. The other photographs, some
+of which are reproduced in this book, speak for themselves.
+
+The entire collections of the Expedition were packed in forty-one cases and
+included the following specimens:
+ 2,100 mammals
+   800 birds
+   200 reptiles and batrachians
+   200 skeletons and formalin preparations for anatomical study
+   150 Paget natural color plates
+   500 photographic negatives
+10,000 feet of motion-picture film.
+
+Since the Expedition was organized primarily for the study of the mammalian
+fauna and its distribution, our efforts were directed very largely toward
+this branch of science, and other specimens were gathered only when
+conditions were especially favorable. I believe that the mammal collection
+is the most extensive ever taken from China by a single continuous
+expedition, and a large percentage undoubtedly will prove to represent
+species new to science. Our tents were pitched in 108 different spots from
+15,000 feet to 1,400 feet above sea level, and because of this range in
+altitudes, the fauna represented by our specimens is remarkably varied.
+Moreover, during our nine months in Yuen-nan we spent 115 days in the
+saddle, riding 2,000 miles on horse or mule back, largely over small roads
+or trails in little known parts of the province.
+
+In Teng-yueh we were entertained most hospitably and the leisure hours were
+made delightful by golf, tennis, riding, and dinners. Mr. Grierson was a
+charming host who placed himself, as well as his house and servants, at our
+disposal, utter strangers though we were, and we shall never forget his
+welcome.
+
+We decided to take four man-chairs to Bhamo because of the rain which was
+expected every day, and the coolies made us very comfortable upon our
+sleeping bags which were swung between two bamboo poles and covered with a
+strip of yellow oil-cloth. They were the regulation Chinese "mountain
+schooner," at which we had so often laughed, but they proved to be
+infinitely more desirable than riding in the rain.
+
+With the forty-one cases of specimens we left Teng-yueh on June 1, behind a
+caravan of thirty mules for the eight-day journey to Bhamo on the outskirts
+of civilization. Our chair-coolies were miserable specimens of humanity.
+They were from S'suchuan Province and were all unmarried which alone is
+almost a crime in China. Every cent of money, earned by the hardest sort of
+work, they spent in drinking, gambling, and smoking opium. As Wu tersely
+put it "they make how much--spend how much!"
+
+About every two hours they would deposit us unceremoniously in the midst of
+a filthy village and disappear into some dark den in spite of our
+remonstrances. We would grumble and fume and finally, getting out of our
+chairs, peer into the hole. In the half light we would see them huddled on
+a "kang" over tiny yellow flames sucking at their pipes. At tiffin each one
+would stretch out under a tree with a stone for a pillow and his broad
+straw hat propped up to screen him from the wind. With infinite care he
+would extract a few black grains from a dirty box, mix them with a little
+water, and cook them over an alcohol lamp until the opium bubbled and was
+almost ready to drop. Then placing it lovingly in the bowl of his pipe
+he would hold it against the flame and draw in long breaths of the
+sickly-sweet smoke. The men could work all day without food, but opium was
+a prime necessity.
+
+It was almost impossible to start them in the morning and it became my
+regular duty to make the rounds of the filthy holes in which they slept,
+seize them by the collars and drag them into the street. Force made the
+only appeal to their deadened senses and we were heartily sick of them
+before we reached Bhamo.
+
+The road to Bhamo is a gradual descent from five thousand feet to almost
+sea level. Because of the fever the valleys are largely inhabited by
+"Chinese Shans" who differ in dress and customs from the Southern Shans of
+the Nam-ting River. Few of the men were tattooed and the women all wore the
+enormous cylindrical turban which we had seen once before in the Salween
+Valley.
+
+At noon of the fifth day we crossed the Yuen-nan border into Burma. It is a
+beautiful spot where a foaming mountain torrent rushes out of the jungle in
+a series of picturesque cascades and loses itself in a living wall of
+green. The stream is spanned by a splendid iron bridge from which a fine
+wide road of crushed stone leads all the way to Bhamo.
+
+What a difference between the country we were leaving and the one we were
+about to enter! It is the "deadly parallel" of the old East and the new
+West. On the one side is China with her flooded roads and bridges of
+rotting timber, the outward and visible signs of a nation still living in
+the Middle Ages, fighting progress, shackled by the iron doctrines of
+Confucius to the long dead past. Across the river is English Burma, with
+eyes turned forward, ever watchful of the welfare of her people, her iron
+bridges and macadam roads representing the very essence of modern thought
+and progress.
+
+With paternal care of her officials the British government has provided
+_dak_ (mail) bungalows at the end of each day's journey which are open to
+every foreign traveler. They are comfortable little houses set on piles.
+Each one has a spacious living room, with a large teakwood table and
+inviting lounge chairs. In a corner stands a cabinet of cutlery, china, and
+glass, all clean and in perfect order. The two bedrooms are provided with
+adjoining baths and a covered passageway connects the kitchen with the
+house. All is ready for the tired traveler, and a boy can be hired for a
+trifling sum to make the punkah "punk." Such comforts can only be
+appreciated when one has journeyed for months in a country where they do
+not exist.
+
+Our last night on the road was spent at a _dak_ bungalow near a village
+only a few miles from Bhamo. We were seated at the window, when, with a
+rattle of wheels, the first cart we had seen in nine months passed by. That
+cart brought to us more forcibly than any other thing a realization that
+the Expedition was ended and that we were standing on the threshold of
+civilization.
+
+As Yvette turned from the window her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and a
+lump had risen in my throat. Not all the pleasures of the city, the love of
+friends or relatives, could make us wish to end the wild, free life of the
+year gone by. Silently we left the house and walked across the sunlit road
+into a grove of graceful, drooping palms; a white pagoda gleamed between
+the trees, and the pungent odor of wood smoke filled the air.
+
+The spot was redolent with the atmosphere of the lazy East; the East which,
+like the fabled "Lorelei," weaves a mystic spell about the wanderer whom
+she has loved and taken to her heart, while yet he feels it not. And when
+he would cast her off and return to his own again she knows full well that
+her subtle charm will bring him back once more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning we entered Bhamo. It is a city of low, cool houses, wide
+lawns and tree-decked streets built on the bank of the muddy Irawadi River.
+Only a few miles away the railroad reaches Katha, and palatial steamers run
+to Mandalay and Rangoon. We called upon Mr. Farmer, the Deputy
+Commissioner, who offered the hospitality of the "Circuit House" and in the
+evening took us with him to the Club.
+
+A military band was playing and men in white, well-dressed women, and
+officers in uniform strolled about or sipped iced drinks beside the tennis
+court. We felt strange and shy but doubtless we seemed more strange to them
+for we were newly come from a far country which they saw only as a mystic,
+unknown land.
+
+On June 9, at noon, we embarked for the 1,200-mile journey to Rangoon,
+exactly nine months after we had ridden away from Yuen-nan Fu toward the
+Mountain of Eternal Snow. Our further travels need not be related here.
+When we reached civilization we expected that our transport difficulties
+were ended; instead they had only begun. India was well-nigh isolated from
+the Pacific and to expose our valuable collection to the attacks of German
+pirates in the Mediterranean and Atlantic was not to be considered even
+though it necessitated traveling two thirds around the world to reach
+America safely.
+
+We left Rangoon for Calcutta, crossed India with all our baggage to Bombay,
+and after a seemingly endless wait eventually succeeded in arriving at
+Hongkong by way of Singapore. There we separated from our faithful Wu and
+sent him to his home in Foochow. It was hard to say "good-by" to Wu, for
+his efficient service, his enthusiastic interest in the work of the
+Expedition, and, above all, his willingness to do whatever needed to be
+done, had won our gratitude and affection. We ourselves went northward to
+Japan, across the Pacific to Vancouver, and overland to New York, arriving
+on October 1, 1917, nearly nineteen months from the time we left. We were
+never separated from our collections for, had we left them, I doubt if they
+would ever have reached America. It was difficult enough to gather them in
+the field, but infinitely more so to guide the forty-one cases through the
+tangled shipping net of a war-mad world.
+
+They reached New York without the loss of a single specimen and are now
+being prepared in the American Museum of Natural History for the study
+which will place the scientific results of the Asiatic Zooelogical
+Expedition before the public.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The story of our travels is at an end. Once more we are indefinable units
+in a vast work-a-day world, bound by the iron chains of convention to the
+customs of civilized men and things. The glorious days in our beloved East
+are gone, and yet, to us, the Orient seems not far away, for the miles of
+land and water can be traversed in a thought. Again we stand before our
+tent with the fragrant breath of the pines about us, watching the
+glistening peaks of the Snow Mountain turn purple and gold in the setting
+sun; again, we feel the mystic spell of the jungle, or hear the low, sweet
+tones of a gibbon's call. We have only to shut our eyes to bring back a
+picture of the bleak barriers of the Forbidden Land or the sunlit streets
+of a Burma village. Thank God, we saw it all together and such blessed
+memories can never die.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
+Abertsen, Mr., Chinese Customs, employee of;
+    discovered hunting ground near Hui-yao;
+    killed two gorals
+Africa
+Akeley, Carl E.
+Alaska
+Allen, Dr. J.A.
+American flags
+American Legation, Peking
+American Museum Journal
+American Museum of Natural History;
+    trustees of, specimens being prepared at
+Americans
+Ammunition, loss of
+Amoy
+_Anas boscas_ (Mallard ducks)
+Anglo-Chinese College
+Animal life, lack of
+Annamits
+Antlers
+Ape, gray (_Pygathrix_)
+_Apodemus_ (white-footed mouse)
+Asia
+_Asia_ Magazine, quoted from
+Asiatic Zooelogical Expedition;
+    members of
+Assam
+Assistants
+A-tun-zu
+
+Babies, killing and selling of
+Baboon, brown (_Macacus_)
+Baboon, Indian (_Macacus rhesus_)
+Bamboo chickens
+Bandits, attack of
+Bankhardt, Mr.
+Bat apartment house
+Bat cave, description of;
+    experience of girl in
+Bats, method of killing
+Batrachians
+Bear cubs (_Ursus tibetanus_), purchased at Teng-yueg
+Bedding
+Berger, Anna Katherine, acknowledgment to
+Bering Strait
+Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L.
+Betel nut
+Bhamo;
+    railroad from;
+    road to;
+    description of
+Big Ravine, description of;
+    temples near
+Birds, game
+_Blarina_
+Boat, Chinese, eye on
+Bode, Mr.
+Bohea Hills
+Bound feet
+Bowdoin, George
+Bradley, Dr.;
+    established leper hospital at Paik-hoi
+Brahmin priests
+Brahminy ducks;
+    habits of
+Bridge, suspension, description of
+Bridges, rope
+Brigand, seal of a pardoned
+Brigandage
+Brigands; beheading of;
+    infest Yuen-nan;
+    description of
+British American Tobacco Co., Hongkong
+British East Africa
+Brooke, Englishman, killed by Lolos
+Buffaloes;
+    water
+Bui-tao
+Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Director of
+Burial, expenses of
+Burma;
+    border of;
+    girls of;
+    mammals caught near;
+    frontier of;
+    boundary of
+Burmans
+
+Calcutta
+Caldwell, Rev. Harry R.;
+    letter from;
+    house of;
+    stationed at Futsing;
+    tiger hunting, method of;
+    obtains serows at Yen-ping;
+    purchases serow skins in Fukien
+California
+_Callosciurus erythraeus_
+Camera equipment
+Canadian Pacific R.R. Co., Hongkong, General Passenger Agent of
+Cantonese, chiefly of Shan stock
+_Capricornulus crispus_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis argyrochaetes_
+_Capricornis sumatrensis milne-edwardsi_
+Caravan, robbing of;
+    buying of;
+    renting of
+Caravan ponies
+Caravans, distance traveled by
+Cary, F.W., Commissioner of Customs
+_Casarca casarca_ (ruddy sheldrake)
+Caverns
+Central Asia
+Central Asian plateau
+_Cervus macneilli_
+Chair-coolies
+Chairs, description of
+Chang, Dr.
+Chang-hu-fan;
+    night at
+Changlung;
+    ferry at
+Chien-chuan
+Chi-li
+China;
+    aboriginal inhabitants of;
+    press;
+    inland mission
+Chinaman, Cantonese
+Chinese, Republic;
+    army of;
+    face saving;
+    Foreign Office;
+    screaming, habit of;
+    lack of sympathy of;
+    not affected by sun;
+    love of companionship;
+    bride of;
+    wedding of;
+    dress of;
+    Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, meeting with;
+    education of;
+    villages, description of;
+    etiquette of;
+    New Year;
+    collecting debts of
+Chipmunk (_Tamiops macclellandi_)
+Chi-yuen-kang
+Chou Chou
+Christians, native, persecution of
+Christianity, lesson in
+Christmas;
+    celebration of
+Chu-hsuing Fu
+Chung-tien
+Civet (_Viverra_)
+Clive, Captain
+Clothing
+Colgate, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M.
+Collecting case
+Color plates
+Confucius, rules of
+Cook, difficulty in obtaining;
+    description of
+Coolies
+Cormorants
+Corn
+Cows, used as burden-bearers by Chinese
+Cranes;
+    habits of
+Crossbows
+Cui-kau;
+    description of
+
+Da-Da
+Daing-nei
+_Dak_ (mail) bungalows
+Da-Ming
+Darjeeling
+Davies, Major H.R.;
+    quoted
+Dead, burying of
+Deer
+Deer, barking
+Denby, Hon. Charles
+Dennet, Tyler, quoted
+D'Ollone, Major, member French Expedition
+D'Orleans, Prince Henri
+Dog, red, death of
+Dogs, description of;
+    for food
+Doumer, M., Governor-General of French Indo-China
+Duai Uong
+Ducks brahminy;
+    shooting of
+Dupontes, Georges Chemin, assistance of, to expedition
+
+Eastes, Mr., Consul
+Education, foreign
+_Elaphodus_
+Elephants
+Elk
+Ellsworth, Lincoln
+Embry, Rev. and Mrs., China Inland Mission, members of
+Empress Dowager;
+    issued edict prohibiting opium growing
+Equipment, purchase of
+Erh Hai or Ta-li Fu Lake
+Etiquette
+Europe
+European war
+Evans, H.G.;
+    assistance of
+Expedition, announcement of;
+    applicants for positions on;
+    results of
+Expeditions, preliminary
+Eye on Chinese boat
+
+Farmer, Mr.
+Fauna, mammalian
+_Felis temmicki_
+_Felis uncia_
+Ferry
+Fletcher, H.G.
+Flying squirrel
+Foochow;
+    foreign residents of;
+    streets of;
+    mail from;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    woman's college at
+Food box
+Foot binding, origin of;
+    method of;
+    Natural Foot Society of;
+    agitation against
+Forbidden City
+Ford, James B.
+Foreign Office
+Forest conservation, lack of
+Formosa
+Forrest, Mr.
+Fossil animals;
+    beds
+Francolins
+French Consul
+Frick, Childs
+Frick, Henry C.
+Fukien Province, China;
+    deforestation of;
+    mammals of;
+    climate and temperature of;
+    collecting in summer at;
+    birds of;
+    herpetology of;
+    trapping for small mammals at;
+    zooelogical study of;
+    language of;
+    travel in;
+    servants in;
+    serows hunted in;
+    missionary work in
+Funeral customs
+Futsing;
+    blue tiger hunting at
+
+Galapagos Islands
+_Gallus gallus_
+_Gallus lafayetti_
+_Gallus sonnerati_
+_Gallus varius_
+Gamblers
+Geese
+Gen-kang
+Gibbon (_Hylobates_);
+    description of;
+    hunting of
+Goffe, Consul-General at Yuen-nan Fu
+Goitre, prevalence of
+Gorals;
+    first hunt for;
+    ceremonies at death of;
+    collecting for groups;
+    color of;
+    invisibility of;
+    description of;
+    horns of;
+    distribution of;
+    hunting of;
+    fighting of;
+    habits of;
+    feet of;
+    hunting of, at Hui-yao
+Great Invisible
+Grierson, Ralph C.
+_Grus communis_
+_Grus nigricollis_
+
+Habala;
+    hunting at
+Hainan, description of;
+    fauna of
+Haiphong;
+    arrival at
+Hanna, Rev. William J.
+Hanoi, description of
+_Harper's Magazine_
+Hartford, Mabel
+Heller, Edmund
+Himalaya Mountains
+Hoi-hau
+Homes
+Ho-mu-shu;
+    monkeys found near
+Hongkong, purchase of supplies at
+Hoolock (_Hylobates hoolock_)
+Hornbill
+Horses, size of
+Hospital attendants
+Hotenfa
+Hsia-kuan, description of
+Hui-yao;
+    reptiles and lizards found at
+Hunan
+Hung-Hsien
+Hunters
+Hutchins, Commander Thomas
+Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain), massacre at
+_Hylobates_
+_Hylomys_
+_Hystrix_
+
+India
+Inns
+Irawadi River
+
+Japan
+Japanese newspaper reporters
+Joline, Mrs. Adrian Hoffman
+Jungle fowl;
+    habits of
+
+Kachins;
+    women, appearance of
+Katha
+Kellogg, C.R.
+Kok, Rev. and Mrs. A.;
+    Pentecostal missionary;
+    assistance of
+Koko-nor
+Koo, Wellington
+Korea;
+    pheasants found in
+Kraemer, M.
+Kucheng
+Kwang-si
+Kwei-chau Province
+
+Lane & Crawford Company of Hongkong
+Lang, Herbert, photograph of serow loaned by
+Languages and dialects, number of;
+    reason for
+Langur
+Langurs (_Pygathrix_)
+Lao-kay, first hotel on railroad
+Lapwings
+Las
+Lashio
+Legge, Prof. J., quoted
+Leopards
+Leper hospital
+_Li_, length of
+Li-chang;
+    animal life on route to;
+    arrival at;
+    camp in;
+    collecting in;
+    mammals of;
+    important fur market at;
+    inhabitants of;
+    return to
+Li-Hung Chang
+Ling-suik, monastery of;
+    description of;
+    priests at;
+    collecting at
+Lisos
+Livingstone, H.W.
+Loads, weight of
+Lolos;
+    depredations of;
+    independence of;
+    dress of;
+    capes worn by
+London Zooelogical Society's Garden
+Long Ravine, blue tiger seen at
+Lucas, Dr. F.A., acknowledgment to
+Lui, Mr., salt commissioner at Tsia-kuan
+Lung-ling
+Lung-tao
+Lutzus
+
+McMurray, J.V.A.
+_Macacus rhesus_
+_Mafus_, description of
+Mail
+Malaria
+Malay Peninsula
+Ma-li-ling
+Ma-li-pa;
+    poppy fields at
+Mallard ducks
+Mammals, small, importance of;
+    preparing of
+Man, primitive, migrations of
+Man-eater, killing of
+Mandalay
+Mandarins, relations with
+Ma-po-lo, low valley at;
+    game at;
+    fog in
+Marco Polo
+Massacre in Hwa Shan (Flower Mountain)
+Mazzetti-Haendel, Baron
+Meadow vole (_Microtus_)
+Mekong
+Mekong river, description of
+Mekong-Salween divide
+Mekong valley;
+    vegetables in;
+    zooelogy of
+Meng-ting;
+    description of;
+    mandarin of;
+    Buddhist monastery at;
+    market at;
+    Cantonese visit and buy opium at;
+    fog at;
+    valley at;
+    birds at
+Mergansers
+Methodist mission
+Mexico
+Miao village
+Mice
+_Micromys_
+_Microtus_, meadow vole
+Min River;
+    life on
+Mission hospital;
+    China Inland
+Missionaries;
+    servants of;
+    natives trading with;
+    civilizing influence of
+Mohammedan Chinese, married to a Shan
+Mohammedan hunter
+Mohammedan war
+Mole
+Molloy, Agnes F., acknowledgment to
+Money, carrying of;
+    transmitting of
+Monkey
+Monkey temple
+Moose
+Morgan, Cordelia
+Mosos;
+    description of;
+    capes worn by
+Motion pictures;
+    developing of
+Mountain goat
+"Mountain Goat Hunting with Camera," quoted from
+Mouse (_Micromys_)
+Moving picture film
+Mu-cheng
+Muntjac, description of
+Museum authorities
+Mustelidae
+Myitkyina district
+
+_Naemorhedus griseus_
+Nam-ka, Shans at;
+    description of;
+    camp at
+Nam-ting River, ferry at;
+    camping at;
+    hunters at;
+    camp on;
+    polecat trapped at;
+    monkeys, hunting at;
+    hornbill, seen at;
+    monkeys found at;
+    Shans seen at;
+    caravan crossed
+_Namur_, S.S.
+Natives;
+    inaccuracy of
+New York, return to
+Ngu-cheng
+Non-Chinese tribes
+North America
+Northern soldiers
+Northern troops
+
+Opium;
+    growing of;
+    inspection of;
+    scandal;
+    smuggling of;
+    smoking of
+Osborn, Henry Fairfield, quoted
+
+Pack saddle, description of
+Pack, weight of
+Page, Howard
+Paget color plates
+Pagoda Anchorage
+Paik-hoi;
+    leper hospital at
+Palaungs
+Palmer, Mr.
+Pandas, coats of
+Pangolin, scales of
+Parrots
+Partridges, bamboo
+Passports
+_Pavo cristatus_
+_Pavo munticus_
+Peacock, black-shouldered
+Peacock, hunting of;
+    habits of;
+    eggs of;
+    domestication of
+Peacock, Indian
+Peafowl, killed on Salween River;
+    flesh of
+Peking
+_Petaruista yunnanensis_
+Phasiandae
+Pheasants, shooting of;
+    Lady Amherst's;
+    silver;
+    horned
+Phete;
+    country about;
+    natives of
+Photographic work
+Photographs in natural colors
+Photography, cinematograph
+Pigeons
+Pigs, killing of;
+    wild;
+    treatment of
+Pin-tail
+Pleistocene
+Pocock, Mr.
+Polecat
+Polo, Marco;
+    quoted
+Poppy blossoms
+Poppy fields
+Porcupine, description of
+Portable dark room
+Prjevalsky, Lieutenant-Colonel
+P'u-erh
+_Pygathrix_ (monkeys)
+
+Railroad, Hanoi to Yuen-nan;
+    description of
+Rain, last of the season
+Rainey, Paul J.
+Rangoon
+_Ratufa gigantea_
+Rebellion of 1913
+Reinsch, Hon. Paul
+Republic
+Rhododendrons
+Rice
+Rice fields
+Rifle, Mannlicher;
+    Savage;
+    Winchester
+Riot in Shanghai
+Roads, descriptions of
+Rocky Mountain sheep
+Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore
+_Rupicapra_
+Rupicaprine antelopes, horns of
+
+Salt, preparation of
+Salween River;
+    heat of
+Sambur;
+    hunting of;
+    blood of
+Sammons, Mr., American Consul-General
+Sampans, first night in
+San Francisco
+Scandinavian steamer
+Schools for native girls
+Sclater, Mr.
+Screaming, Chinese habit of
+Sedan chairs
+Serows;
+    hunt for;
+    habits of;
+    hunting for;
+    description of;
+    color variation of;
+    Japanese;
+    difference from gorals;
+    horns of;
+    relationship of;
+    appearance of;
+    killed on Snow Mountain;
+    obtained by Mr. Caldwell at Yen-ping;
+    distribution of;
+    habits of;
+    weight of;
+    hunting of at Hui-yao
+Servants, wages of
+Shanghai;
+    riot in
+Shans;
+    description of village of;
+    houses of;
+    heavily tattooed;
+    tribes of;
+    description of
+Sheldrakes
+Sherwood, George H., assistance rendered to Expedition by
+Shia-chai
+Shie-tien;
+    bird life at;
+    natives, curiosity of
+Shih-ku ferry
+Shoverling, Daly & Gales, ammunition, guns, tents, furnished by
+Shrew
+Shwelie River
+Singapore
+Slave raiding
+Smith, Arthur H., quoted
+Snow Mountain, camp at;
+    traveling to;
+    description of hunters at;
+    mammalogy of;
+    camp on slopes of;
+    mammals collected at;
+    serows killed on
+Soldiers, guard of;
+    guns of;
+    expense of;
+    use of;
+    treatment by natives of;
+    fight with;
+    extortions of
+South America
+Specimens, packing of
+Squirrel, flying (_Petaurista yunnanensis_);
+    _Ratufa gigantea_;
+    red-bellied (_Callosciurus erythraeus_)
+S'suchuan Province
+S'su-mao
+Standard Oil Co.;
+    launch of
+Su Ek
+Sun-birds
+_Sung-kiang_, S.S.
+
+Tablets, ancestral, description of
+Tai-ping-pu
+Taku
+Taku ferry
+Ta-li Fu;
+    soldiers guard to;
+    road to;
+    graves at;
+    lake at;
+    mandarin at;
+    pagodas at
+Ta-li Fu Lake, description of
+_Tamiops macclellandi_
+Taoist temple
+_Tao-tai_
+Tartars
+Temple, camp in
+Teng-yueh;
+    return to
+Tents
+_Tenyo Maru_
+Thompson, Dr.
+Tibet;
+    monopoly of gold in
+Tibetan plateaus
+Tibetans, description of;
+    photographing of;
+    dislike for strangers of;
+    influence of Chinese on
+Tiger;
+    man-eating;
+    lairs of;
+    stalking a goat;
+    habits of;
+    daring of;
+    strength of;
+    excitement of hunting;
+    weight of;
+    blood of;
+    skins in temples of;
+    food of;
+    hunting in lair of;
+    flesh and bones of;
+    marking trees by;
+    skins of
+Tiger, blue;
+    description of;
+    hunting of;
+    trying to trap
+Tonking
+Tragopan, Temmick's
+Transportation, difficulties of
+Trapping, methods of
+Traps, steel;
+    method of setting
+Trees, marking of, by tiger
+Tribes, non-Chinese, description of
+Trimble, Dr.;
+    house of
+Trowbridge, Captain Harry
+Tsai-ao, General
+_Tsamba_
+Tsang mountains
+Tsinan-fu
+_Tupaia belangeri chinensis_
+
+United States
+Universal Camera
+_Ursus tibetanus_
+
+Vegetarians
+_Viverra_
+Viverridae
+Vochang
+Vole
+Von Hintze, Admiral
+
+Wapiti
+War, Mohammedan
+Was
+Waterhole
+Wa-tien
+Wei-hsi
+White Water;
+    camp at;
+    weather at
+Wild boar
+Wilden, Henry M., French Consul
+Wolves
+Woman's college at Foochow
+Women, position of, in China
+Worship, ancestor
+Wu-Hung-tao, interpreter
+
+_Yamen_
+Yangtze River;
+    road to;
+    crossing of;
+    barrier to mammals
+Yangtze gorge, description of
+Yen-ping;
+    climate of;
+    description of;
+    residence of Mr. Caldwell at;
+    Methodist Mission at;
+    trapping at;
+    rebellion in;
+    refugees from;
+    fighting in;
+    attacked by rebels in;
+    wounded in;
+    schools for native girls at;
+    Chinese wedding at;
+    missionary buildings of
+Yokohama
+Yuan
+Yuan-Shi-kai;
+    death of
+Yuchi;
+    brigands at
+
+Yung-chang, Chinese New Year at;
+    road to;
+    water buffaloes at;
+    battle at
+Yung-chang-Teng-yueh road
+Yuen-nan;
+    size of;
+    topography of;
+    boundaries of;
+    fauna of;
+    natives of;
+    language of;
+    infested with brigands;
+    zooelogical study of;
+    meaning of;
+    summer climate of
+Yuen-nan Fu;
+    foreign residents of;
+    foreign office at;
+    Dr. Thompson's hospital at
+
+Zooelogical Garden, Berlin
+Zooelogical Park, Calcutta
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Camps and Trails in China
+by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA ***
+
+***** This file should be named 12296.txt or 12296.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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