SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



forest of very heavy timber, through which we 

 travelled for upwards of two hours. Here the 

 snow was above our knees, while in long chains 

 over its surface were innumerable tracks of deer, 

 wolves, leopards, pigs, foxes, cats, martins and 

 minks. Unfortunately we could not camp in this 

 district, the weather being much too cold, even 

 had we had our tents with us. 



The divide, which was marked by a small shrine, 

 I estimated at 8,000 feet. To our left the massive 

 height of Lo-yah Shan towered above the timber 

 line, while to our right the heavily-wooded slopes rose 

 gently to some bare snow-clad uplands. Below 

 and in front of us lay a frozen tributary of the 

 Fen Ho, beyond which a magnificent panorama 

 of blue hills and purple mountains, jagged peaks 

 and winding valleys, spread itself as far as the 

 eye could reach. Behind us were the rugged 

 forest-clad ridges of the Tien-p'ing district. 



Reluctantly we descended the southern side 

 of the divide, for we realized that nowhere in all 

 North China could such scenes as we had just 

 gazed upon be rivalled. 



That night we reached Wu-chia-kou once more, 

 and being anxious for a little more shooting, we 

 decided to spend two days here. 



Our decision was fortunate, as a pig was bagged 

 each day, bringing our total up to five ; while a 

 single specimen of the rarest of all Shansi mammals, 

 the little wood-pika (Ochotona sorella), was secured. 



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