history. The mound was noticed certainly, but so great is it, that we actually 

 took it for a hill. A large grove of cypress trees, planted near the town in 

 memory of the same monarch, was also observed. 



The country immediately to the south of Chung-pu Hsien was unin- 

 habited, and very wild. As in the case of the deserted area south of Yen-an, 

 this district was well wooded, and large flocks of pheasants were seen. The 

 travellers amused themselves by shooting at these with their revolvers ; so 

 much good shooting had been enjoyed that it needed something more than a 

 pheasant to draw anything but a few revolver shots. It snowed heavily half 

 the day, and in consequence much difficulty was experienced in negotiating 

 the heavy gradients of the road. It was fortunate for Clark that he was riding 

 a particularly sagacious and careful pony, for he was, of course, unable to 

 dismount at difficult places, as the others did. Even as it was, poor Blacky, 

 as the pony was called, slipped once, and rolling over, threatened to crush his 

 rider. Sowerby and the groom left their ponies and rushed to the rescue, 

 helping Clark up on to his sound foot. At this juncture all three ponies took 

 it into their heads to bolt, and were soon lost to view round a bend in the 

 road. Things looked decidedly bad, as the mules were a considerable distance 

 away, and the nearest village was ten miles off. The ponies did not go far, 

 however, and, stopping to feed on the stubble by the roadside, allowed them- 

 selves to be caught. Later on, one of the mules went down a steep slope, and 

 as it frantically struggled to regain its feet, was momentarily within an ace of 

 destruction by falling over the edge of the deep ravine. From this terrible 

 predicament it was only rescued with the greatest difficulty. A halt was made 

 that night at a small town named Yi-chun Hsien, seventy U from Chung-pu 

 Hsien. 



The following day we passed through a splendid game country, where the 

 beauty of the scenery seemed emphasised and enhanced by its covering of 

 new-fallen snow. The road for the first eight miles led along the top of a long 

 ridge of high shale mountains. Many deer were seen from the road, and in 

 one place a huge wild boar was chased right across our path by a pack of 

 hounds, followed shortly by their master. Unfortunately the necessity for 

 haste on this journey prevented us from joining in the chase. The last two- 

 thirds of the day's march were along a deep, rocky, and very beautiful ravine, 

 which widened out into a fine valley towards the end of the day. In the 

 ravine we saw, besides many other birds, a large number of handsome blue 

 magpies. Here, for the first time in North Shensi, was any faultiness noticed 



37 



