SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 
From time to time we crossed shallow rivers, 
all of which flowed in a south-easterly direction. 
They had cut down through the fifty feet or so of 
sand to bedrock, which consisted of the same red 
sandstone that we had noticed at the sources of 
the Yen-shui. At one place there was a wonderful 
natural arch spanning the river, over which the 
road lay. . 
On the third day, April 18, we reached a place 
named Hai-liu-t’u-ho, where we secured the first 
specimen of the Ordos jerboa (Dipus sowerbyi). 
Herbage of any sort was very scarce, dwarf 
willows, a coarse grass and a sort of sage brush 
composing the sparsely distributed thickets. 
In one or two places we came across a species 
of conifer, which grew in thick clusters amongst 
the sand hills, and which we found to be very 
resinous, burning furiously even when quite fresh 
and green. 
April 19 we spent at Hai-liu-t’u-ho in the hope 
of securing some more jerboas. Two more were 
brought in by the natives. That day a terrible 
sandstorm sprang up, so that when we set out 
the following day there was no sign of a road. 
We could not hire a guide as the people refused 
to have anything further to do with us. A baby 
and a cow had died in the village during our stay, 
and the superstitious natives looked upon us as 
the cause of these disasters. 
The consequence was that we soon went astray. 
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