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Aug. 8. The accident yesterday was entirely una void 

 able on our part. The blame is entirely on the part of those 

 who look after that bridge for not replacing rotten thongs. 



The piece of skull and the jawbone secured above 

 Ken Chuan are probably of two individuals. Mr. Torrence, 

 F. R. G. S. thinks they are of the Sui Dynasty, at least 

 1,000 years old. He thinks they were mummified. The skin 

 and flesh did not rot but dried on the bodies. Mr. Torrence 

 sent a specimen of a hand to the British Museum. This is a 

 very dry spot, and either they were mummified or else they 

 dried up instead of rotting. The coffins, well preserved, 

 are of wood. There is no mark or inscription of any kind to 

 indicate the age of the specimens. The bodies were intact 

 when just discovered several years ago, but the natives have 

 broken them to pieces with stones. I would like to know what 

 Dr. Hrdlicka finds about these bones. Are they Mongolian, 

 Aryan, or aboriginal in type? 



Mammals . I do not consider my summer f s catch of 

 mammals an outstanding success. Near Songpan we were not 

 allowed to go where mammals were plentiful. Where we went, 

 a great festival which included hunting, had driven the large 

 mammals away, and nearly cleaned out the pheasants. Hear 

 Hen Chuan there are large mammals, including a white and a 

 black bear, and a long-haired monkey or ape, but every native 

 is a hunter and the animals are exceedingly wild. I used to 

 trap when a boy, but there are special things to learn about 

 trapping in West China, and I am beginning to learn some of 

 them. It might pay for me to train a native trapper and 

 hire him throughout the year, taking him with me on these 

 trips, for trapping takes time, and one of my problems is 

 to get as much as possible done in a comparatively short 

 time. If al lowed to use money a little liberally I can hire 

 native hunters and considerably increase my catch of large 

 mammals. • 



Aug. 15. I was just getting into the swing of 

 securing mammals when I left for Suifu. A month spent here 

 in winter time ought to give excellent results. 



Wilson, the great naturalist who spent eleven years 

 in West China, had with him part of the time a naturalist who 

 spent his whole time trapping mammals. People who knew him 

 say that he had a great deal of trouble and lost lots of traps 

 The Chinese would continually steal his traps. He was con- 

 stantly provoked by this sort of thing . Some of us who live 



