imposing than a reliable pill. The weather was now becoming very cold, and 
before the party left the neighbourhood a heavy fall of snow had draped the 
mountains in its thick white mantle. At last, on October 16th, camp was 
struck, and the caravan moved slowly down the valley, winding from side to 
side like some monstrous serpent. Several large villages were passed, and 
word having gone ahead, the inhabitants turned out en masse and stood in 
groups, mouths agape and eyes wide open, to stare at our procession. We 
felt gratified at the thought that they evidently regarded us as some sort of 
travelling circus. After the first two or three miles of rough and rocky going, 
the valley opened to a width of about a quarter of a mile, and the path 
became less uneven, sloping gently to the west. Soon the high ridges and 
wooded slopes were left behind, and we found ourselves once more amidst the 
shale and loess. Camp was pitched at Ma-féng, a village situated at an 
altitude of about 4500 feet, and some ten miles from Yiin-t’ing Shan. The 
inhabitants, about three hundred in number, took the greatest interest in our 
proceedings, crowding eagerly round the camp. This was natural enough, as 
the only Europeans they had seen before were Roman Catholic missionaries, 
who adopt the native style of dress. The explorers, with upturned moustaches, 
outlandish clothes, leather saddles, and countless strange accoutrements, were 
indeed something to see, and will probably afford a subject of conversation 
for many years to come. 
That night our larder was raided by a wolf. He got away safe, and no 
doubt satisfied, for the servants thought it necessary to send to the village for 
Josephus and his gun, though several members of the party would have been 
only too happy to exchange their chances of sleep for a shot at the robber. 
On October 17th the journey was continued down the valley, which here 
bends to the south, and Féng-hsiang-ch’éng, a village of some size, was reached. 
From Ma-féng to this point, a distance of about eight miles, and on to 
Yung-ning Chou, a good cart-road exists, though no carts were met with. 
Just beyond Féng-hsiang we turned up into the loess hills to the west. Our 
road ascending gradually, and becoming more and more rough as the loess 
gave place to shale, finally reached the head of the pass, at a height of about 
5300 feet. From here the valley of the Yellow River was distinctly visible. 
Descending slopes, covered with scrub-oak and hazel, into a deep and narrow 
ravine called Sung-chia-k’ou, we passed three tiny hamlets, and pitched our 
tents in a ploughed field lying between a towering cliff and a sheer drop of 
about fifty feet. This latter bid fair to become a death-trap to many of the 
mules, rampaging madly round after being relieved of their loads. At this 
11 
