Wo had one of the huskiest boat crews it has ever been my good fortune to records on our way up rive an we passed each of the old places, I gloried in returning streng-in' the anticipation of what lay ahead. First through the Duck's-egg rapids then up and on through the more turbulent "safety" rapids; past Nanya and Kienning and former anchorages beyond, until, six days after palling out of Yenping, we passed under the great wooden bridge and tied up again at Kienyang.
Twas leaving the boat here, for the river ahead was too tedious and slow and I was anxious to push on with all speed into the motiatains and make the most of the all too short month that! Twas to spend there, So after rood night's rest at the mission house, and with the assistance of the ood fathers, I secured a hair and set out the next morning cover the 115 li to Chungan.
was a wonderful trip through' wonderful country "with Spring bureting into life on every hand, and at various stages, I would eave the chair to try my new-found egs, while picking up beetles and other insects along the way. We! only reached Chi-Shi-kai that night, and I found the sleepy tittle town'all abristle with business, for the ten season was on, and ' the hotels were packed with buyers from all over the country, every public place was a gambling jen where sharpers of every sort had also come from all over che country to separate the, credulous tea bearers from their hard earned wages.
The Bohea Hills The next day we passed through the wonderful country of the Bohea ills and, just before noon, filed nto the busy street of Chungan! and on to the mission house to find Fathers Grace and Luciano hale and hearty and full of a bounteous: welcome. There too I found Da-Da, whom Pope had sent down from Sankan to speed us on our way! and by two o'clock on the same! day he had got together a_ new: set of bearers and we were off again on our way to the mountains, which we hoped to reach ina two days march.
We were not more than an hour! onthe road, however, when it became very' apparent' that we: would never be able to reach Sankan in that time, for every' mother's son of the ought was addicted to opium and. they very soon showed signs of petering out for lack of a shot of the trug, until I" finally saw the tility of trying to push on to the place we had settled upon for camp that night, and, instead Gleeted to make for Ghin-Shun-Kai where the coolies could get the necessary bracer to carry them on. We made that too in record time, for though worn cut in towering mountains deeply seam- animal life. included one and tndned with gorges' out by bear, of the black variety with Wakewys, "and forest after a white crescent on the chest unve, ose men were cen in|forest of eat cla, space god fe] wow pigs, several appetite, and, they fal rai htglnct of great altitude, as mountains number of different wild, cats, Keen in cee The mnountaing of Fukien are diferent sorts' anda our large Where they would soon forget all{sea level instead of perching on the) however, in fe midst "of, the tea spacious inn on the main street/#0, but shay rise from almost dead 65 also some monkeys. It was
their troubles in the pipe. In-lio old soon forget all to of n 12,000 for plateau, as they season, in' Tibet, and," conscquenty, [the year that these people know, the only" busy cidentally mot ® man way On the the immediate rises are considerable,|and__every man, woman and follo da: But I had foreseen and for abruptness I have seen noth. child in the community was at work som¢ of the sort, at Da. ing in the far west morg stupendous,|on the crop, so that, for the was up to the mark,'for by athing of the sort, and, Da-Da, time" we were ready to be he had an entirely new crew hand to shoulder the burdens, the continuous forrests of towering evergreens extend over 1 making perfect peak and valley, ever for forest loving animals of and by daylight we were well, every sort, Teould now well under-out of the town and climbing into Stand that this region should the fess: atten. of on. rey frst that cradled Kuatun, ange! the home of a great variety Ponce big game and that it should indeed Where Sun Fish Flash be one of the most famous type, localities in all the world.
The passage into the mountains We had a deep ravine to negotiate from Chin-Shun-Kaj is abrupt. You before we aga in started upward, time being, little hunting was done and the specimens came in less frequently. The old. man who my taxidermist had hired, however, was a gentleman of leisure and' daily shouldered his gun and tramped off into the woods, and although I was not able to personally take a hand in the hunting, as I was still too weak to do much climbing about on foot, there was much to be done in camp and we were kept pretty busy handling the specimens which the old man brought in.
Beautiful Beetles Also I was able fo get some of! the village youngsters interested in entomology. There were daily excursion parties in search for beetles and someone had to fon hand to keep things moving. and to take delivery of the specimens as they were brought. in, The beetles of Fukien are wonderful, both in shape and colour, and during the time that 1 was prevented from following the more exciting business of big game shooting, I passed many happy hours and got a great deal out of life with our collection of are fervied across the river; _2igzag across some paddy-fields; climb up and over a low pass, and descend side, they strike the ached' to its and then climbed through ten of some of the roughest country I! have ever seen, and so dropped into beetles, My young tants would " bring in 20 or more each day, and after they had all been prepared and pinned down in their trays, I could spend hours gloating over the beautiful profusion of colours and the wonder-fol provision nature had made in ishioning some of these small creatures in such perfect imitation of leaves and forest plants that: it, [required a very careful inspection mediately into a deep ravine.|a small valley, between' towering '2 "distinguish the real thing from From then on un sides the ile vilege the make believe, Movement from one ravine into another but} of Sankan, which was to be our] fatal betrayer and were it not always "up and, up while blow home for the next two wath (ey ttt gate get engobees Tushes a mountain torrent, It is|Thore I found Pope busy. amonget most of the time hidden from view his frogs and snakes, and" there! °f them and pose them by as some by the dense growth of foliage|also was my own—trusty! rin of plant life. that covers both banks, but occasion. taxidermist, for I had sent him We sot between five and six ally the path-way comes out to the|ahead into the mountains when hundred altogether and the capture edge of a sheer drop, and one may ast T had started dow and preservation of these smaller Took down into a deep pool of crystal from Chungan.
And he had done specimens pleasantly filled inthe clear water where sun fish flash like excellently well for, with "the two weeks before I could take up diamonds along the sides of the rock, Sasistance of two native hunters, the more severe work of going out and a Witch' greater Ash, two or [he had already bagged several head] t2. shoot.
But at the end of that!
1¢ feet in length, lies on' the bot-of larger game. and, ina nearly. time T was to take up the chase tom and lazily fans the water with 200 specimens of siller animale. of the big fellows in that collector's its tail. All day long we climbed paradise, Kuatun, and some of our! up ravines, over pass after pass, 'Travelling Chamber of Horrors experiences there' will be dealt with until at night, we came to the Pope's camp was a sort of in mext week's article. summit of the first range and passed chamber of borgers.
He had' the into a gully like the crater of some whole of the attic for a laboratory Jong dead voleano and found lodging and in every crook and in a tea-planter's house, built on the Were tucked gri
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.