SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 



the gunstock, and told him I wanted to recover 

 it, whereupon he walked into the quicksands, 

 secured the gun and returned without the least 

 apparent effort. He explained the ease with which 

 he managed to do what we had found impossible 

 by the fact that his legs were bare, whereas 

 we had boots and putties on. 



On another occasion the pony which Warrington 

 was riding bogged down in a place that looked 

 perfectly safe. The poor animal's desperate strug- 

 gles only caused the sandy mud to engulf him 

 further. But for the timely assistance of some 

 natives engaged in building a temporary trestle 

 bridge, who came running to our aid with ropes 

 and poles, the animal would certainly have been 

 lost. 



Thus we continued day after day, hunting, 

 riding and trapping. Still the province remained 

 quiet, till at last we began to think that after all 

 we might venture upon our proposed expedition, 

 and we were just finishing up at camp on the river 

 when an urgent letter reached us from T'ai-yiian 

 Fu, advising us to come in at once, as an outbreak 

 was about to occur. 



A few days later the Shansi soldiers revolted, 

 and raising the Revolutionary flag, declared in 

 favour of a Republic. 



This effectually interrupted our work for many 

 months to come. Advice, which amounted to 

 orders, from the Legations in Peking, resulted in 



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