One of my chief reasons for want ing to follow this route, on my way south, was that I felt certain, from the geographical nature of the country and reports I had heard, that this part of China contains interesting variety of big game, Jand I wanted to get what first hand information I could from the natives This stream, in my map as the Ps crystal clear river of about a third the volume of the muddy mail stream and) flows out of a deep valley, with high, heavily wooded slopes, suggesting ideal haunts for big game further up. At this stop-ting place I was more successful in getting information concerning wild animal life, and I was able to identify with reasonable certainty roeder large "cats" and a very oat" called shan-yang tain goat). The latter, ho was described as weighing shout 500 catties and of a yellowish clears wih cersiny wil not Say Known gsf and fs move than ete suggest Win. Christie, a missionary reside: of over 20' years in. north.wost ama, had told me of parsi native reports of the presence of takin near Kwangyuauhsien, not themsel especially regarding the far to the south west, where' how. [24 takin which, if found here at all, ever, they are called' ye-niu very likely be an intermediary Jox)." On the other hand species between the "Budorcas Bed-Wilson mentions that some of ford" of Shensi and fadoreas Fatives in west Szechuan callad the) Tibetauns" of western Szechuan, of animal Pogai Yang, while Baber which no specimen has ax yet been refers to it as Ngai Niu and Mr Geseribed.
T therefore took advant-!
Wallace records the native name in of the spare afternoon to ques Shensi as Pan Yang, 29 the animal tion various of the villagers on the Vecoms to be referred to ax Yang matter and, although the general (rout or sharp) about as often as testimony confirmed the fact that Nia (Ox-cow) which it more closely these mountains contain much game, resemble: Tu any case it is never! 5 it was 80 contradictory and con-safe to rely o2 fused that T could reach no reliable conclusion as to the certain identity of the forms reported. The mount-I think it most probably that alns to the south, though as rocky Janimal hero called shan-yang is in ever, were covered with 1 heavy reality the takin. My informants foliage of undergrowth and small evergreen trees, which cloaked the raked ruggedness of rock formation and added much to the wild beauty lof the scenery.
The road on the next stage was, possible, more precipitous than any other part of the whole south.
trail skirted the rock banks and cliffs in steeper ups and downs than ever and at one place we travelled for some hundred yards along the, bare cliff side, on a built out struc-tore of brush, flat rock and earth, dropped up by small poles braced! Deainst crevices in the rock below. This gallery looked flimsy enough and, I dare say, is never repaired until the necessity discloses itself beyond all doubt by a break down and the spilling of a few animals and men into the river with, perhaps, fatal consequences. "We travelled for miles without seeing eny building of any sort except an Geeasfonal wayside shrine. When wwe did come upon habitations they were rude, isolated cottages unsurrounded by any agricultural growth capt, perhaps, a few small patches of sickly looking maize, and the were emphatic in stating that th: best shooting was up the valley of the river by which we were encamped, at which I was not surprised. Being in a hurry to reach Kweichow vas not able to make any si cersion at the ti live in hopes of one day exploring that valley where it does not seem ins probable that there may be found-} ed some rare if not undiscovered species of mammal life, including jverhaps the giant panda.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.