t 1^ 3 



CHAPTER XXIl— Continued. 



YANGTZE NOTES. 



CHINKIANG. 



By Edgewoeth Staekey. 



117ILD PIG.— Owing to increased population the pig are withdrawing further from this 

 *' neighbourhood; on the Wuchoushan, Ch'angshan, and other ranges. Within ten 

 miles of the Bund few are now to be found, the cover being more and more cut down 

 for fuel. Previous to 1885 they were numerous on these hills, and one of our sportsmen 

 frequently bagged two or three in a day. 



To the South West on the Kaolishan, and on the Huashan, westwards towards 

 Nanking, they are more numerous, the country being wilder, but these hills are difficult of 

 access, and a trip in that direction can only be made with extreme discomfort, as the only 

 accommodation to be found is in dirty Chinese villages. The hills are some four or five miles 

 from the Yangtze River, and the few creeks leading in their direction are dry in winter. 



At the Hsiishankuan, some seventeen miles down River, a few pig are seen. The 

 country is easily reached by boat. On the other hand the garrisons of the forts in the 

 vicinity harass the pig, and they are retiring further inland. 



A former resident, Mr. F. Carnie, bagged, during 1869/85 some 50 or 60 pig: his 

 shooting trips being generally for one or two days only. He used a " Henry," preferring it 

 to the "Winchester" and other repeating rifles. The pig-shooter should be in "hard" 

 condition, as the stalking on steep hillsides, covered with loose stones and brambles, is 

 most trying, and puts every organ to a severe test. A good deal of stalking can be avoided 

 by employing well-seasoned beaters, but in severe cold weather following up the pig is in 

 every way better sport. 



Pheasants. — On all the foot-hills at the base of the ranges above mentioned a few 

 birds are to be found, but the wholesale denuding of the country for fuel is sending all 

 game further away. Another cause of the scarcity of the pheasants, quail, etc., are the 

 swarms of magpies infesting the neighbourhood ; these are the greatest enemies to the birds, 

 as they eat the eggs, and probably kill the young ones also. 



Wildfowl.— The back-waters near the low flats below Silver Island swarm with all 

 kinds of wildfowl in the winter. Swan are not uncommon in very cold weather ; duck, teal, 

 and occasionally geese are found on the large marshy ponds on the islands a few miles 

 down River, but they require careful stalking. 



