SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 
For the time being we contented ourselves 
with short excursions round the city and into the 
adjoining country, and were very successful. 
September, in China the best month of the year, 
arrived, and with it the thought of the pheasants 
and other game, only waiting for the sportsman’s 
gun. We decided therefore to try our luck in the 
mountains west of T’ai-yiian Fu. 
Elsewhere I have described hunting in this 
particular bit of country, but as I have not done 
so in the present volume, and as our experiences 
were typical of what a hunter in these parts 
usually goes through, a_ brief description will 
perhaps not tire the reader. 
Hiring mules to carry our stores, and accom- 
panied by one of the railway officials, a French- 
man and a very good fellow, we left the city in 
high spirits. It was just the right sort of day fur 
travel, and our ponies, fresh from a good sum- 
mer’s rest, curvetted and careered in their anxiety 
for a gallop across the flats. 
After seeing our mules across the swollen river 
in safety, and traversing the low-lying loess. 
terraces on the western side of the valley, we entered 
a deep gorge in the limestone formation. Being 
well mounted, we had long since outstripped the 
mules, so when we found a clear stream a couple 
of miles up the gorge we dismounted to have 
lunch and await the slow-moving train. 
We finished our lunch and then put in time 
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