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CHAPTER XXll— Continued. 



YANGTZE NOTES. 



KIUKIANG AND THE RIVER AS FAR AS NGANKIN. 



By Geo. Jamieson, C.M.G., F.S.S. 

 Late H. M. Consul General in China. 



l/'IUKIANG lies near the foot of the lofty mass of hills known as the Lushan (^ llj), 

 **• which form a conspicuous object as you get up towards the Little Orphan and the 

 mouth of the Poyang Lake (f|5 Wf)- Between the city and the mountains there stretch some 

 5 or 6 miles of low hills, partly wooded and interspersed with cultivated valleys. Though 

 not so well stocked with game as its appearance would lead one to expect, this region 

 contains a fair sprinkling of pheasants, hares and woodcocks, and in the early season 

 before the grass has been completely cut down a very fair afternoon's sport may be had. 

 To the resident in Kiukiang it has the advantage of being readily accessible and for the 

 lover of sport it goes far to reconcile one to the otherwise somewhat monotonous existence 

 in this river port. 



In the Lushan Mountains wild-pig are occasionally to be found, as their ravages 

 among the villagers' crops testify, but the trouble and labour of getting at them are hardly 

 repaid by an occasional shot, and I believe none have been killed in the neighbourhood for 

 a number of years. 



An occasional leopard or other wild beast of that nature is sometimes heard of, and I 

 believe a Chinaman was taken to Dr, Underwood's hospital a few years ago badly mauled 

 by an animal which must have been of considerable size and strength. But none, so far as 

 I am aware, have been seen by foreigners, and the reports that reach me are for the most 

 part fictions of native imagination. 



On the north bank of the river opposite the city there is a long stretch of grassy plain 

 lying between the river and the cultivated fields behind where the migratory snipes are to 

 be found in May and June in great abundance. Further inland on the same side, duck and 

 teal frequent the small ponds in the winter time. On the river itself, here as well as above 

 and below, immense flocks of water-fowl may be seen, especially in a hard winter, but they 

 are so wary that it is difficult to get a shot at them. 



There used to be excellent shooting ground at a place named Tungliu (^ $6) which 

 lies some 6o miles below Kiukiang on the south bank of the river. Even yet, though it has 



