A 



CHAPTER XI 

 SPORT IN WESTERN CHINA 



Pheasants and other Game Birds 



TRAVELLER in Western China who is fond of the sport 

 will, in season and from time to time, have opportunity 

 of enjoying some good rough shooting. During my 

 travels in that land I have had with dog and gun some splendid 

 days — days which afford keen pleasure to look back upon. 

 My aspirations in the matter of shooting never extended 

 beyond the Pheasants, though at odd times I have shot a few 

 River Deer, Muntjac, and, of course. Hares. But my extensive 

 and prolonged journeys in the more mountainous parts of 

 China have afforded me great opportunities of gaining a know- 

 ledge of the game-fauna of Western China. 



During the years 1907-09, the expedition under my 

 charge paid particular attention to the fauna, and amassed 

 a collection of some 3135 birds, skins of 370 mammals, and 

 specimens of various reptiles and fishes. My associate on 

 this particular expedition, Mr. Walter R. Zappey, had especial 

 charge of the collecting work in this department, and it 

 speaks volumes for his enthusiasm, untiring energy, and 

 skill that in so short a time he succeeded in making such 

 a magnificent collection. The specimens he obtained are, 

 through the munificence of John E. Thayer, Esq., Lancaster, 

 Mass., U.S.A., preserved in the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology at Harvard College. The entire collection has been 

 worked up by various specialists, and the results published 

 in the Memoirs (vol. xl. No. 4, August 1912) of that 

 Museum. 



This expedition gave me facilities for acquiring an intimate 



acquaintance with the fauna of Western China, and enables me 



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