1'70 WITH BOAT AND GUN H^ THE YANGTZE VALLEV. 



wall and water was a tract of waste ground of varying breadth covered in summer with high 

 reeds. These were now mostly cut and in the stubble we found plenty of pheasants, very 

 wild as a rule, but still some lay close and were accounted for, and some of the few patches 

 of standing reeds proved veritable warm corners. There were a few teal and snipes about 

 and numbers of herons, egrets and green sandpipers. A party of night-herons flew over 

 and pitched in a clump of willows whence one was bagged as a specimen. A pair of 

 hoopoes were added to the bag; several green wood-peckers were seen; and starlings, 

 mynahs, tits, buntings and black-tailed hawfinches were numerous. 



Altogether it was a very interesting day and the bag when we returned to the boat at 

 4 P.M. was calculated to gladden the eyes of both sportsman and ornithologist. When we 

 got on board a light breeze had started and we sailed gently on in the fading light, watching 

 with glasses the flocks of goosanders fishing inshore and crossing our bows just out of range 

 as we stole up to them. 



It was one of those hot, breathless days which in winter generally presage a storm, 

 and, as anticipated, about eight o'clock, with a sudden rush and whistle, a north-west gale 

 came down upon us and in a moment the boat was almost on her beam ends. The river 

 was about half-a-mile broad, a nasty sea quickly got up, it was pitch dark and bitterly cold, 

 so we had rather a bad time running across for the weather shore, under the lee of which 

 we ran with a rag of sail until we reached a comparatively sheltered spot where we lay 

 with two anchors down, bumping and straining all night in a most uncomfortable manner. 

 By next morning a wonderful transformation had taken place : the whole country was 

 clothed in a mantle of white and the atmosphere thick with a fine powdery snow, which, 

 driven before the fierce gale, penetrated every nook. It was impossible to land or to move, 

 and the only thing was to make ourselves as snug as possible and wait for fair weather. 

 These nor'-westers usually last two or three days, but on the second morning the gale had 

 blown itself out and the sky cleared. I went ashore and had a three hours' tramp on one of 

 the islands. The snow was very deep, nearly a foot on the flat, with heavy drifts here and 

 there which made walking very difficult. The place was alive with bird life, and, as is 

 generally the case when snow is on the ground, all were very tame. I was dressed entirely 

 in white, which must have made me almost invisible, and, whatever the birds may have 

 thought, they probably did not recognise me as a human being. In this way the ramble was 

 most interesting, as it was possible not only to approach birds very closely but also to see 

 their plumage very clearly against the snow. The island contained only ordinary birds, 

 however, and I killed but few. An exception to the general tameness was a peregrine- 

 falcon which would persist in keeping just out of range. 



Had the weather been more propitious and more time been at our disposal we should 

 have liked to have done some more exploring in that neighbourhood, but we had to hurry on 

 our journey, so got under way with flood-tide in the afternoon and sailed on to Sisan, where 

 we anchored. Next morning a fine north-east wind carried us up to Chinkiang, accompanied 

 by a heavy snowstorm which continued all day. 



Here my companion left to return to Shanghai by steamer but another friend was 

 waiting to continue the up-river journey. We started at daylight on February 14th, and the 

 forenoon struggled on shore for many miles through deep snow while the boat sailed slowly 



