196 SHOOTING IN CHINA 



game to gratify our appetites. I was suf- 

 fering from a neuralgic pain in the face, 

 and on retiring for the night I remarked to 

 my friend that he could have the whole of 

 the lakes to himself the next day as I would 

 remain aboard the houseboat and not 

 expose myself to the cold wind. Early 

 next morning he equipped himself and 

 I said goodbye and wished him better luck. 

 About 8 o'clock my Chinese servant 

 came to my bunk and said the sun was 

 shining brightly and he thought I would 

 feel better by taking some out-door 

 exercise. I dressed, drank a cup of coffee, 

 and took my light 12 bore gun, loaded 

 with No. 5 shot, and walked towards the 

 dikes which hold back the waters of the 

 lakes and prevent them from overflowing 

 the little fields of the Chinese farmers. The 

 particular dike I was walking towards 

 connected two mountain ranges and was 

 quite high and nearly half a mile in length. 

 I had just reached it and was looking 

 across the lake when my servant boy, who 

 was walking behind, shouted out at the 

 top of his voice, in Chinese, the name of 

 the animal to which he wished to direct 

 my attention. I knew that something 



