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 i6th, 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-feng, 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 Feng-hsiang-ch'eng, a village of some size, was reached. 

 From Ma-feng 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 Feng-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 



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