SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I929 Sq 



lacked the claws, ears, and tail, but it was very welcome nevertheless. 

 The giant panda is an animal distantly related to the bears and the 

 raccoons. It is about the size of a small American black bear, but is 

 remarkable for its color pattern. It is almost entirely white Init has 

 a large, black " saddle " mark on the upper back, black ears, and a 

 heavy black ring around the eyes, giving it a be-goggled api^earance. 

 Very few specimens have ever been brought back to museums. 

 Graham also procured specimens of the small panda, black and rich 

 russet in color, and of the black monkey, both of which are very rare 

 in collections. 



Finding the immediate vicinity of Moupin rather disappointing. 

 Dr. Graham decided to go to Yao Chi, a four days' march from there. 

 The road to Yao Chi is exceedingly steep and rough, and the loads 

 previously carried on poles resting on the shoulders of two coolies 

 had to be rearranged and carried on the men's l)acks. The day after 

 leaving Moupin the party ". . . . had a great deal of trouble with 

 the military escort. The first change of soldiers occurred about eight 

 o'clock. We were to have ten soldiers, but were given only three, and 

 were delayed fully two hours. The guns are muzzle-loading, and en- 

 tirely innocent of any sights. The handles are rude, home-made 

 affairs. We now have six soldiers with such guns, one of the soldiers 

 being a boy about 12 years old. We were promised a bigger escort, 

 but the soldiers failed to show up. One well-armed man could easily 

 defeat the whole lot." 



Ten days of hard, steep climbing after leaving Moupin brought 

 the party well U]) in the mountains, their camp being at an elevation nf 

 13,400 feet in the midst of forests of rhododendron and fir. Even 

 here, in what one might expect to be uninhabitated country, the ex- 

 pedition was not able to work in peace. Graham makes the following 

 entry in his note book, ". . . . I collected on a mountain east of 

 Yao Chi and would have gone on to a higher and l)etter hunting- 

 ground but the territory was infested with robbers. Today we almost 

 literally stepped into a robbers' nest. I had hoped to work here two 

 whole days and three nights but the robbers are too near, and we 

 must clear out .... tomorrow morning." 



Going somewhat lower down, Graham came across, for the first 

 time, fresh tracks of the giant panda, one of the chief objects of the 

 trip. The " white bear " as he calls this animal, however, eluded him, 

 but later on he purchased two more skins from Chinese hunters. Col- 

 lecting of all sorts was carried on assiduously and the specimens re- 

 ceived at the National Museum consist of mammals, birds, reptiles, 

 amphibians, fish, and especially of insects. The butterflies and moths 

 form, in themselves, a notable accession to the national collections. 



