GREAT RAM OF THE SHANSI MOUNTAINS 185 



Goliath advances to the combat armed only with a bag 

 of silver dollars. Then an even trade ensues — a dollar 

 for a cartridge — ^and the implement of war changes 

 hands. 



The soldiers" return to the city with bugles sounding 

 as merrily as when they left. The commander sends a 

 report to Peking of a desperate battle with the brig- 

 ands. He says that, through the extreme valor of his 

 soldiers, the bandits have been dispersed and many 

 killed; that hundreds of cartridges were expended in 

 the fight ; therefore, kindly send more as soon as possible. 



All this beca^use the government has an unfortunate 

 way of forgetting to pay its soldiers in the outlying 

 provinces. When no money is forthcoming and none is 

 visible on the horizon, it is riot surprising that they take 

 other means to obtain it. "Battles" of this type are by 

 no means exceptions — ^they are more nearly the rule in 

 many provinces of China. 



But what has all this to do with the wild sheep? Its 

 relation is very intimate, for the presence of brigands in 

 those Shansi mountains has made it possible for the ani- 

 mals to exist. The hunting grounds are only five days' 

 travel from Peking and many foreigners have turned 

 longing eyes toward the mountains. But the brigands 

 always had to be considered. Since Sir Richard Dane, 

 formerly Chief Inspector of the Salt Gabelle, and Mr. 

 Charles Coltman were driven out by the bandits in 1915, 

 the Chinese Government has refused to grant passports 

 to foreigners who wished to shoot in that region. The 

 brigands themselves cannot waste cartridges at one dol- 



