COVER Andrews May. Aug. 1919 TYPEWRITTEN INSERT: GOBI EXPEDITION OF 1919 - Plans and Specifications OBJECT - To getto Urga eventually MOTTO - "We should worry PERSONEL Mr. R. C. Andrews -- "Gobi" Head Cook, skinner, butcher and general camp arranger and grouch Mrs. [R. C.Andrews] -- "Gobina" Photographess, Assistant cook, Meal and table arrangements Mr. Mac Callie alias "Delco" Chief Electrician, tent pegger, Water purvevor [purveyor] and wood cutter Mrs. Mac Callie "Delcette" Coffee, tea, and soup supply chef, table linen and cutlery Mr. C. L. Coltman "Boss" Motor Engineer, time keeper, argol expert, and general commander Mrs. [C. L. Coltman] -- "Bossene" Assistant cook, quatermastress and finder of lost articles. Mr. Owen "Uncle John" Assistant Motor Engineer and all round help-less REGULATIONS 1. No cussing the weather 2. No insinuations if there is sand in the soup 3. No grouching against the gasoline in the drinking water 4. No profanity unless of picturesque variety 5. All hands assist at unpacking and packing in evening and morning stops and starts 6. All male members must take share in pumping tires and other work requiring more than hot air. 7. Camps will be made, starts, made, stops made, and such disarrangements by vote, four votes carrying the day. 8. Any breach of regulations will be considered by court martial after dinner and during smoking hour (when most lenient treatment can be hoped for) and penalty judged will be walked off by the culprit in miles recorded by spedometer at start the following day. 9. If male members of expedition cannot supply fresh mean [meat] on any one day they will not be allowed to smoke after dinner PLANS 1. To have a thoroughly good time 2. To get good specimens of all game available 3. Camp early and start late on general principle 4. To stop and investigate, or leave the road and explore whenever desired. --- The grouchless Gang --- This book belongs to Roy Chapman Andrews American Museum Natural History 77th St & Cent. Pk. West Phone Schuyler 77 00 [PAGE MARKED] K&T. 219: [Service?] [?] by R.R. [Rail Road] to Sai-[?] by steamer & by carriage to [Sharausame?] Chung wha-su (Chinese) for [?] $178 - food for 2 persons with game for meat Butter -- 2 lbs last 10 days for eating only [Butter -- 2 lbs last] 7 days for eating & cooking Sugar -- 10lbs [last] 2 weeks Milk -- 1 can [last] 3 days for cooking only [Milk -- 1 can last] 1 days for cooking & eating [creva?] -- 1/2 lb [last] 10 days for 1 person Condensed milk for coffee only (3 times daily) [last] 5 days Coffee - 1 lb - lasts [11 days?] From [?] 1 Savage & 1000 shells send to Am. Consul Gen. For [CT?] N. Shanghai From Casile 1 [Raccoon? Dog?] 1 Crab [&?] mongoose 1 [Palin?] civet 1 muntjac Fax & Smith 1 gun each [?] & 500 shells each [?] over to N.Y. Office [Gup?] 1 Savage & 2000 shells 1 Fox [soga?] & 500 shells #4 [shoot?] cigarettes $4 cotton 2-3 radish R6 potato 1 onions 10 bread 20 hobble $5 pork 1.50 13.80 1.80 15.60 [numbers] Administrative office [?] 3756 Jun 12 1953 UNMARKED PAGE: S.D. [Suru Dorche] & Yung Hunter 1 roebuck juv. [antlers?] from S.D. Aug 2 to 7th [?] – 6 days Aug 10 with S D – 1 day Aug. 13 [with S. D] & young till 14 [inc.?] – retd A.M. 7.15 Aug. 18 [with S. D & young] till Aug 28 inc – 11 days Extra hunter Aug 19 till Aug 22 inc. – left A.M of 23 – hunted 4 days Adv. [Advance] to yg [young] hunter $14 on Aug. 8th [PAGE] 1 [list of supplies with prices] [PAGE] 2 [list of supplies with prices] [PAGE] 3 hobbles, [?] & bread, vegetables & potatoes & cigarettes Urga In the central temple is the great standing statue of Buddha. We approached it through a side door where we were required to remove our hats - at our right under a pavilion-like entrance sat nine priests clad in dirty yellow robes, beating on drums & symbals [cymbals] & chanting in hoarse voices. As we passed [into?] the door of the main temple behind a picturesque crowd of women & men, an old priest [crossed out: gave to each a few d] poured in the hands of each person a few drops of holy water from an ornate [urn?] bottle. The people rubbed it on their faces as they passed into the temple. Directly in the middle of the room, standing on a huge brass covered lotus flower was a colossal gilt statue of Buddha, about 80 feet high. His [crossed out: hands [were?]] great elbows were [?], and his enormous fingers just met across his breast. At his side were two snake-like spirals of brass. On [his?] side was a [?] pillar, swathed in [crossed out: brilliant] pieces of brilliant [list of date spans and figures] [PAGE] 4 [blank] [PAGE] 7 Urga trip 1919 [crossed out: Sept.] May 15 Thurs. Left Peking 8.35 AM with Mr. Mrs. Chas. Coltman Mr. Mrs. E.L. MacCallie – met John Owen (driver) in Kalgan. Packed stuff & to send off next a.m. [crossed out: Sept.] May 16 Fri. Got stuff away on two carts with my 2 Chines [Chinese] taxidermists & cook at daylight for Ham-a-hao [Hei-ma-hou]. Spent day at Kalgan. Sat [crossed out: Sept] May 17 Girls & Coltman drove a Dodge car over pass at Ham-a-hao. We men went by horse – fine weather – just warm enough – stayed at Father Weinz, Belgian Mission, at 4 P.M. all went out in auto to a pond 3 mi away – shot a teal & and avocet, [two?] ruddy shelldrakes [sheldrakes] & mallard also – [ducks?] very wild. Sunday [crossed out: Sept] May 18 Left at 5:30 A.M. No sun & rather cold - roads fine. Dodge cars running splendidly – 2 D. “ [cars] & 2 Fords. Mac has complete Dalco [Delco] electric plant he is taking to Urga. Saw a number of demoiselle cranes & shot three - birds in flock & pairs. Not very wild - 2 stayed beside road until car was 30 ft away – saw two others one of which was “dancing” about the other - I killed one with BB’s at 85 yds paced distance. In pond saw a lot of ducks & killed one shoveller [shoveler] & one common shelldrake – beautiful bird with large red [husk?] [PAGE] 8 on bill – [?] shot another ruddy shelldrake & Owen also - saw several camel caravans – camels shedding & look very ragged. The Chinese cultivated [portion?] men plowing & fields beginng [beginning] to show green – trees at Ham-a-hao just budding. Saw one fox but no antelope – killed 18 Citellus mongolicus – from car – live just like our gophers at home – do not build mound in front of hole – not live in extensive villages as our western prairie dogs but still usually have number together females all carrying young but still have winter pelage – Camped 90 mi from Ham-a hao at 4:35 – skinned all gophers & two cranes - tents lighted at night by Dalco – first time ever have electric light on Gobi. Monday [crossed out: Sept] May 19 Left at 7 a.m. wind fairly strong – saw [?] a few gophers – numbers of gulls (black capped) reached Panjan [Pan-kiang] about noon – just beyond P on the plains saw a big flock of golden plover – shot one – while waiting for me the [people?] saw an goitered antelope (gazelle) which ran across the road in front of us – car was going at 45 mi per hr & the animal was doing at least 15 mi more – shot at it but it disappeared over a bluff & we lost it – Shortly after saw another [PAGE] 13 bunch of goitered antelope & chased them with the car. I jumped out too soon & rolled over in a sumer-sault [somersault] but came up kneeling in position to shoot. Mac got his car in our line of fire by mistake & we got none. [Crossed-out: Ran on down the road & [we?] saw a single antelope - it went over a hill & when we [?] A little later we saw four antelope and [ran?] them, jumped from car at 200 yds & began firing. the three got well away but the 4th went off by herself – she ran across in front of us & after 3 shots I dropped her at 422 yds paced off. We went on for short distance on road & saw a single antelope it ran over a hill & when we followed we saw a big herd – we ran them with car at 40 mi per hr & [we?] arms our bow – [crossed out: they] I shot one in the leg & she ran on [and?] [took?] a hard chase with car at 35 mi per hr. to catch up with her – she was running at least 25 mi per hr. on 3 legs. The same thing happened a little later when we found another herd and I [broke?] two legs before we could finally catch her. The plain was alive [PAGE] 14 with antelope of both species & we decided to go back to cars & camp. We camped on the plain not far from the road a put up our tents preparatory to stay part of the next day. The tents were up at 4 o'clock and leaving the girls in camp, Mac, Coltman, Owen & I started out in the Dodge car after antelope. Two animals which Owen has been shooting at with his army [Springfield?] were in sight from the tent, tho’ a long way off. We made for them and they separated. One ran off rather slowly & when we were about 200 yds away Chas. stopped the car & we all jumped out. At the first shot the antelope flattened out & simply threw over the ground. I fired once & struck behind her. For the second shot I led her about four feet & she went down [crossed out: like] as tho’ struck with a sledge hammer. The Savage bullet had caught her squarely in the body & she was dead when we got to her. It was one of the prettiest shots I ever made for she was going like the wind. She was a goitered gazelle (G. [Gazella] subgutturosa) Putting her in the running board [PAGE] 17 of the car with her head under the lamp we ran on over the plain to pick up another bunch. Within two miles we saw three herds, one containing about 20 animals. The antelope were loping slowly along and did not begin to really run until we were about 400 yds from them. Then they strung out in a long line and streaked it across the plain like wind blown [crossed out: ribbons] bits of yellow silk. We were running at 25 miles per hr. but Coltman gave more power as the animals came into full speed & the car jumped to 35 mi. & then to 40 miles. As usual the animals began to swing about us in a long circle & we gained rapidly. Soon we were not more than 200 yds away. Mac & I were [crossed out: resting?] hanging over the edge of the car with one foot on the running board & as the motor stopped we leaped to the ground dropped to our knees & opened fire. Owen & Coltman both sprang out also and banged away. At Mac’s second shot he dropped a fine buck and Charles got a young doe. The herd was six hundred yards away & going [PAGE] 18 like the wind when we ceased firing and ran over to the dead antelopes. Mac’s buck was about four years old with a good pair of horns but in poor pelage for the animals were all in the midst of shedding. We put them in the car and ran over toward another bunch of antelope which we could see silhouetted against the sky on the summit of a swelling rise of ground. There were 14 in this herd and as we came towards them they trotted nervously about, with heads up for evidentally [evidently] trying to [crossed out: make] decide what we were. The sun was setting in a red glow behind them & I shall never forget the picture they made, [crossed out: cut sharply into the sky] the black forms standing out sharply against the glowing horizon. We saw one buck among them & as we wanted no more does, all agreed to shoot only at him. The animals strung out at full speed as we came nearer and when we leaped from the car were nearly 250 yds away. The buck had dropped back into the center of the herd & at his third shot, Mac dropped our animal. We stopped shooting but the [PAGE] 19 antelope was up & off before we got into the car. It was running apart from the herd but only a short distance behind the others. Evidentally the foreleg was broken but with the car going at 25 miles per hour it was still drawing ahead. We struck a bit of rough going and ran for two miles at 25 miles per hr. Finally we came on to a smooth plain & our speed shot up to 35 miles. We gained slowly & when about 100 yds away, I jumped out and fired at the animal breaking a hind leg and on the opposite side. We could see now that it was another doe, much to our disgust, & even with two legs useless she still made about 15 mi per hour. A third shot killed her. The antelope does are exceedingly difficult to distinguish from the bucks box for their pointed ears are carried straight up & back & give exactly the appearance of horns when one is some distance away. We ran back to camp, reaching the tents at seven o’clock and [PAGE] 20 turned in at 9:30. It was a beautiful star light [starlit] night with no wind and we dropped & slept to dream of the fun we were to have in the morning. Tues. [crossed out: Sept.] May 20 We slept late and the sun was three hours high before we had finished breakfast. Charles and I rigged the tripod of the motion picture camera in the back of one of the Dodge cars and at 9:30 we started for the antelope. Mrs. Mac & a Chinese driver were in the front seat while Y. [Yvette] was with me in the rear to help manage the cameras. Mac, Mr. & Mrs. Coltman & Owen were in the other car. We saw a herd of antelope within a mile of camp and they strung out in a beautiful line. It would have made a splendid picture as the men in the first car jumped out & began to shoot, but our motor was running in [3?] cylinders & we could not keep near the others. We [tried?] it again in a second [?] but finally had to give it up as the motor was still [bothering?]. Leaving the three girls in the [crossed out: plain?] second car [PAGE] 21 we four men set up the motion picture camera in the other Dodge and started after the antelope whilst had disappeared over a low hill. When we reached its summit We saw four bunches of antelope scattered about in the plain below us. We picked the largest herd, which contained about 50 animals, and ran for it as fast as the car could go over the rough ground. The herd divided when we were still several hundred yds away and we followed the larger animals which gave promising [imaging?] about so that the sun would be at our backs. Fortunately, the going improved and we got up to 35 mi per hr. with the car. The antelope did not seem very wild and tho running fast were by no means at top speed. We gained on them & they swung about in front of the car. The herd divided and 10 or 12 ran straight away from us. It was a difficult thing to [PAGE] 22 stand up in the car & work the movie camera for we were bumping about like a ship in a heavy sea. I [ground?] off 100 feet or more of film before they were out of range and we stopped for a breathing span. The 200 foot roll of film was exhausted and very foolishly I neglected to replace it with a fresh film. We started back to camp for we were getting short of gasoline and my neglect cost me one of the finest pictures I could ever had obtained. We had not gone two miles on our way back when we saw a wolf standing on a little rise of ground. He was looking at us and as the going was splendid we put on full speed after him. The speedometer registered 40 mi per hr. when we were at our fastest and the wolf was rapidly losing ground. I estimated that at his highest speed when he was fresh, he was going at 30 mi per hr. He ran like the very devil for about two miles but we were too much for him and were rapidly gaining. Suddenly as we came over a little rise we saw a big herd of antelope directly in [PAGE] 23 front of us. They were not more than 200 yds away and the wolf made straight for them. Panic stricken at the sight of the wolf & the car they [crossed out: darted] rushed wildly about for a second and then swung about to cross our [cars?]. The wolf dashed straight into their midst & they divided as tho’ cut by a knife. One half turned short about, but the others kept on coming until I thot’ [thought?] we would actually run them down. The wolf, however, had troubles of his own, with the car so close on his heels and kept straight ahead with his nose to the ground. We were almost on him & I could see his tongue hanging out when Charles slowed up. Mac & Owen jumped out & began shooting while I sat still & cursed myself for a [fool?] in not putting in a fresh roll of film. I’ll probably never have the opportunity to get another picture like it. The boys did some very bad shooting & the wolf got off without a scratch I could see him going like mad [about?] between two antelope but he was almost out of sight [PAGE] 24 before the boys got back in the car & we were after him again. The going was good & we jumped up to 40 miles within a few yards. The wolf was tired and in [five?] minutes we had him well in view again. He was evidentally all in and as we neared him, I could see his tongue hanging out & foam dripping from his jaws. We ran so close that Charles had to swing the car suddenly to one side to avoid running over him, & narrowly missed upsetting us. Charles pulled out his 45 automatic, slowed down & fired at the wolf which was almost under the front wheels again. His bullet struck just behind the animal & Mac leaped out, kneeled down & sent a .30 bullet from his rifle into the wolf back. He rolled over snapping & biting at the wound and we pulled along side. With his lips drawn back over a [crossed out: n ugl?] set of ugly white teeth, he glared at us as much as to say “it’s your next move, but don’t get too close! Coltman shot him animal it gave a sudden swerve [PAGE] 25 [three?] times with his automatic before he finally rolled over. Had it been any other animal I should have felt a twinge of pity but the miserable brute called for little sympathy. There will be more antelope next year because of his death! We ran back to camp after the episode of the wolf and on the way saw a lone buck antelope. He gave us a short chase but left us behind when he struck rough ground. At this time of the year the bucks are alone, and in most small herds there will be only does. If a very large herd is found there will probably be a few bucks but the females compose all the small groups. We saw an interesting thing on the way home for there were two doe Mongolian gazelle with a dozen or so goitered gazelle. They were running with the herd and could easily be distinguished by their larger size, lighter color & short tail. When running the goitered gazelle keeps his long tail straight up over his back as stiff as a poker. [PAGE] 26 We found the girls at camp with tiffins ready & immediately afterward packed up. We got away about 2 P.M. & it began to rain a little later but soon cleared off. The wind was very strong & cold however but we had a comfortable camp in the lea of a hill not far from a well. Wed. [crossed out: Sept] May 21 Next morning we ran in toward Urga with a strong cold will wind in our faces. On the way we saw several herds of antelope but we did not wish to shoot any more so passed them by. About 11 o'clock we saw two wolves standing on a hill crest & they were too big a temptation to be missed. Asking Dalco to remain on the road we swung off over to the rise of ground after the larger wolf. It had a [ground?] start of about 600 yds but the going was splendid & we ran up to 40 mi per hr. without difficulty. At that we gained rapidly and after about three miles had a wolf almost under the front wheels. Coltman wanted to shoot it with his pistol and tho’ I was chaffing to finish him off with my rifle I waited for him. When we were almost on top of the animal it gave a sudden swerve [PAGE] 27 & just missed our right front wheel and crossed in front of the car. Coltman avoided hitting him by a clever pull of driving but we were close to turning over. The wolf ran off a [at] right angles to the way we had been going & we had to slow down to swing about. He got well away again and we did not soon over take him for the going was getting rougher every mile. Coltman tried again for a shot with his pistol but the brute repeated his maneuver of crossing in front of us. He made for a ragged mass of rocks which we could see cutting the sky two miles away and took us over some bad going where we could only just hold our own with him, even tho’ he was well tired by this time. We had already run him 12 miles but he was by no means finished. Coltman had given up all hope of killing him with his pistol & we were only concerned with getting a shot at any range with our rifles, but the animal was too clever for us. He gained the rocks before we did and stood for an instant silhouetted against the sky. I leaped from the [PAGE] 28 car before it had fully stopped but the wolf slipped over the crest before I could shoot. Thinking I could get a shot in a moment I ran to the ridge just in time to see the animal disappear into a second ridge of rocks a hundred yards from the front & parallel with it. I signalled Coltman & leaving me, he ran around to head off the wolf. He arrived too late and I saw [PAGE] 29 [blank] [PAGE] 30 [blank] [PAGE] 31 [blank] [PAGE] 32 [blank] [PAGE] 33 [blank] [PAGE] 34 [blank] [PAGE] 35 June 6 [crossed out: Friday] Thursday [crossed out: Last night] We left Andrew Meyer’s place at 7.45. Our three carts got off ahead of us and we came along on our horses with Mr. Larsen, & Mr. Mrs. Olfasen [Olufsen] who were to ride out part way with us. We went went [tru? [thru?]] Urga, past the Lama city and out over the plain toward Bogdon-ol [Bogdo-ol]. The sun was brilliant and played like gold upon the [crossed out: gold] yellow & green roofs of the temples. In the distance, on the banks of the Tola River, we could see the palace of the Hu-ku-tu [Hutukhtu] like the mystical dwellings in the Arabian nights lying peacefully amid the green of the budding willows. All about us on the plain, white felt yourts [yurts] were dotted over the grass amid herds of grazing sheep & camels. At the river we said good by to our friends and rode on alone over the springy turf south westwards toward the faint outlines of the Bogdur-ol which faded off into purple hills on the horizon. For five miles or so, the lowering summits of the ridge were clad in green, but the trees disappeared as we went on and ceased altogether long before we reached the pass where we were to cross. We had tiffin at the bottom of the long slope and started up the hill [PAGE] 36 at one oclock. Then our troubles began. The horses had been pulling well but [?] in the long hill the big Russian horse & my white cart pony began to behave badly stopping every few moments & at last refused to go. To add to our discomfort the heavy clouds which had been [seeping?] toward us from the west, gave a deluge of rain. Then the Mongols pony ran away and I had a hard chase before I caught him on the hill side. My pony behaved beautifully and entered into the spirit of the chase, edging in so that I could reach for the bridle, & heading off the runaway whenever he tried to avoid us. The big Russian horse finally balked absolutely & refused to pull at all no matter how hard we beat and pushed him. So we had to take out Pater, who had who had reached the top of the hill & have him take up the Russian’s load. There was trouble all the rest of the way [either?] with the Russian or the white horse, and in the rain & wind we had a most disagreeable time of it. About five o’clock as we came down a big hill, I saw two yourts far over toward the river & Y [Yvette] & I [with?] [PAGE] 37 Mongol galloped over to them leaving the carts to follow. We went inside & found a Lama, a tall Mongol & a woman & baby sitting around an [argol?] fire. It was warm & dry and they made us welcome so Y. & I curled up on a tiny at one side to await the carts. They came in an hour & we unloaded just outside the yourt. It was bitterly cold & raining hard but we put up the servants tent & got our beds inside. The boys were to sleep in the yourt & had a comfortable place after their hard work. Lo [Lü] cooked dinner inside and we all ate together. The yourt was large with an [urn?] stove in the middle, two tiny beds about 6 inches off the ground, at the sides and several chests at the back. On one was ranged the family gods & a Buddhist painting. It was a strange setting for our dinner, with the Mongols gathered around us, but by this time we had become so accustomed to being in strange places that in half an hour it had lost its novelty. We went to bed at nine oclock while it was still half light & [PAGE] 38 thanked providence for our fur sleeping bags. It froze solidly during the night. June 6 Friday The sun was warm & bright when we got up at 5 o’clock. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes & bacon in the yourt, packed the carts & got away at 8 o’clock. It was a perfect day with no wind & warm enough just to be pleasant. We were in the beautiful plain beside the river & followed it all day. The grass was like velvet & the willow trees lining the bank where in their first spring leaves of vivid green. We saw a demoiselle a crane within a mile & I broke the birds wing. It ran like a deer across the plain with the Mongol, the two Chinese taxidermist &n myself after it. Finally we headed It off & I killed it with another shot. Cranes were everywhere and a few moments later I shot a second. A big flock of swan geese had alighted on a sand bar & we rode toward them, even tho’ they were on the opposite side of the stream. We passed a crane walking about on the beach and it paid not the slightest attention to us [?] tho we were only a few feet from it. [PAGE] 39 I did not shoot for I was more interested in the geese but they got up beyond range. Turning about I saw the crane still there. I wanted to see in [if] my pony would let me shoot from its back so took a snap shot. I broke the birds leg but it flew slowly away. The pony never moved. I was about to ride away when the Mongol pointed to the ground & there were two brown, spotted eggs among the stones, without the semblance of a nest! We packed the eggs carefully in the Mongols down and rode over toward a sand flat covered with willow bushes where we could see several cranes walking about. I left my horse and [stole?] toward thru which were behind a bunch of willow scrub. When they flew I got two with a quick right & left. Both were only winged & I had a hard chase thru’ the bushes after the first. When I finally killed it & came back for the second it was gone. After hunting about for five minutes I called to my Mongol, & there was an answering squash from the crane a few yards to the left. I caught a flash of white as the bird ran [PAGE] 40 among the bushes and scrambling after it , I got a snap shot which knocked it over. It was not yet dead and i's squawks brot [brought] two more cranes circling above my head. As they [flew?] over, I killed one dead in the air with a charges of 6’s— pretty fine shot for such a big bird. Our Mongol was busy about [more?] cranes when we galloped back to the carts and deposited the load. The boys were glad to set the birds for it meant “chow” for everybody. These cranes are good eating altho’ not as delicately flavored as the ones we killed in Yunnan. About 11 oclock we saw a camel caravan approaching us from a distance. They were taking a short cut across the prairie, where [?] them [crossed out: in] to our road, and were strung out in a long line behind a group riding abreast. Only a color photo could give an impression of the picturesqueness & and brilliance of the procession. Three Lamas, dressed in blazing yellow, rode ahead on ponies, with two red clothed Lamas behind. Then neck to neck rode five men & [PAGE] 41 one woman, mounted on camels. The woman was resplendent in a new head dress and the silver filigree cap upon her head shone in the sunlight. [crossed out: We made] It was a typical picture Of the days of Kublai Khan! It might have been a painting from a story book of the middle ages when the Mongol court was more splendid than any the earth had ever seen. Only a great artist could have painted it properly, and all its life and color & barbaric splendor, with its background of the rolling plains themselves dressed in vivid green. We waited beside the road and Y. took a photo as they passed. Then I asked them to stop & snapped a picture of the leaders. One only man became greatly interested in Y’s spectacles and insisted on trying them on. [crossed out: When] She let him look at them to amuse them while I took a photo and the old man started to ride away with them. I caught his bridle & he finally gave them up with a laugh. He probably meant it for a joke but he wanted the spectacles badly. Y & I joined the caravan and [PAGE] 42 rode beside the leaders, but we must have rubbed it off its picturesqueness even tho we added a note of contrast. The red man who had become enamored of Y’s glasses several times offered us snuff from a tiny stone bottle & seemed much surprised that we did not care for it. Snuff seems to be in [numeral?] use by the Mongols and was offered to us as soon as we came into the yourt last night. All the afternoon we continued along the river valley sometimes skirting the [crossed out: hills] water’s edge & at others crossing the hills to avoid a precipitous slope. The plain & hills were covered with heavy grass and I have never seen a [fresh?] grazing country. Shortly after Tiffin we struck a bit of bad road and the white horse’s cart got mired into a mud hole. The brute simply quit & refused to pull it pull at all. A [crossed out: few] half hour before a Mongol with five horses had joined us & rode along beside the cart. When we could not move the white horse, the Mongol offered to lend us a small bay pony to pull out the load. We hitched up the little brute and he yanked the cart out of the hole in fine shape. We then asked the Mongol if he [PAGE] 43 would be willing to swap horses. He agreed and we let the bay pony pull the cart over two or three bad hills to test him further. He seemed like a fine little fellow & we gave the Mongol $5 extra & and our white horse. He really got the better of the trade for when the white horse has been out in the grass for a few weeks he will undoubtedly be a good animal. But we needed a horse who would do his work now and both of us were satisfied with our bargain. It was a bit of good luck finding a cart horse at the psychological moment for they are not easy to get even in the market. We had been anxiously looking for marmots but saw only one. There were many old holes about and the Mongols had evidentally cleaned them all out of the country. This is a favorite winter camping ground & naturally all the game had been killed by the natives. We saw a number of flocks of swan geese roosting on the sand bars & paddling about in the water. They are beautiful big fellows with a broad brown band down the back of the neck & a good deal of rufous on the face. They were not very wild and I killed one with [PAGE] 44 for my shotgun by slipping off my horse & walking behind a horse while Y. & the Mongol rode toward the flock. All the birds are so accustomed to seeing the natives on horse back that they pay little attention to a mounted man. But a man on foot will send the Flock off like a shot. Cranes were everywhere but the six I had killed in the morning were all we needed for food at present and I did not shoot any more. Most of the cranes were in pairs feeding on the meadow and were very tame. I saw one chase a magpie which was feeding near it, & the said bird made the most amusing & ridiculous [crossed out: picture] spectacle as it hopped & flapped about after the little black & white bird which kept just out of reach. The Mongolian skylarks were lovely as they fluttered up [crossed out: into the air] from the ground simply spattering the air with song. At 6.30 we came over the hill & saw a beautiful little green place [plain?] spread out before us beside the water. It made an ideal camp and we pitched our tents & had all [away?] in half an hour. I put out a line of traps in the willows & caught 2 Microtus [see bottom of p. 46] [PAGE] 45 Sat. June 7 It was a warm morning but heavy clouds began to gather before we broke camp. I caught 3 more Microtus but we saw no mammals at all. We had a series of difficult hills to negotiate as soon as we left camp & did not pass the last one till 11 A.M. A strong wind through blew up about 9 A.M. & gusts of rain came just at tiffin. After leaving the hills we came on to a large plain surrounded [crossed out: with rolling ridges] by grass covered bridges. Here was a dozen or more yourts & a little wooden temple. It was evidentally a permanent winter grazing ground. Many sheep & a few carts were scattered over the plain & much marmot sign (old) but no animals. After tiffin we struck a long stretch of sand which cut across the plain [crossed out: into] to the river. It was difficult going & the terrific wind & rain squalls made it [crossed out: such] so Disagreeable that we camped at 4.30. On the plain, we saw a hundred or more demoiselle cranes & one big gray crane. I also shot two swan geese and saw many lapwings. [PAGE] 46 Sunday June 8 Got away from camp at 6.30. The road continued through a [sandy?] country with [crossed out: the] hills to the south (left) and a grassy plain at the right through which ran the river. A monotonous country but good grazing on the plains and many herds of sheep cattle & horses. Yourts every few miles and this is undoubtedly responsible for the lack of game. During the winter the Mongols camp in the valley and kill off all the animals of every sort. I have seldom seen a finer country with such a total absence of wild animal life. We saw one hare in the long grass of a sandy plain [crossed out: ?] but except for the marmot ww saw two days ago there has been absolutely nothing to collect in the way of mammals. It was a monotonous day for there was no chance of shooting and no caravans passed us. Save for an occasional Mongol herder or traveller we were the only persons on the road. When ever Mongols appeared they would ride with us for a short distance or if we happened to be stopping they would sit down and offer us snuff. The Mongols seem to be a wonderfully hospitable race and their frank good nature, love [???] very [PAGE] 47 appealing and in pleasing contrast to the Chinese. They are lazy to a degree, however, except in such work as can be done on a horse. They make poor servants for they will not exert themselves in the slightest or walk ten steps if it can be avoided. A Mongol ‘ might make an excellent cook if one gave him a horse to write about in the kitchen. They love such work as herding for they need not be off a horse and they certainly know how to handle animals. In place of the lasso used by our western cowboys the Mongols have a slender pole about 20 feet long with a running noose Fastened at the end. With this they single out of horse from the herd, deftly throw the noose over his head & they lie back in the saddle & pull giving a twist to the pole now & then to tighten up the noose. About 2.30 the brown cart horse, “Pater the Great,” gave up & absolutely refused to pull his load. We took Yvettes chestnut pony [crossed out: and] to see if he would work in the cart. It was an education to see our Mongol go about it. The pony was badly frightened [PAGE] 48 when he was but near the cart so the Mongol hobbled him on three feet. Then swining [swinging] a rope about his hind quarters he trussed him up & swung him into the shaft. [crossed out: ?] Trussing the bridle to the cart in the front of he startled him off [crossed out: and]. At first the pony tried to kick & plung [plunge] but soon settles down. Then the Mongol took of [off] the hind hobble and later one [crossed out: of] from the front feet. The animal pulled fairly well & after a [an] hour let the Mongol mount the cart. We went on for an hour more when the Mongol rode off to some yourts far away towards the [river?] to inquire about the road and Lo tried to drive the pony. It walked all right when it was leading him but when Lo attempted to climb on the cart the little beast kicked & plunged and after ten minutes succeeded in smacking the front of the cart. The Mongol [crossed out: af] returned at this junction & we took out pony for he was too frightened to be of further use. We went down to the river camp beside some yourts. It was evident than we would need another horse if we were to go on so the Mongol rode off to see what could be done. [PAGE] 49 About ten o'clock he came in with another Mongol bringing a white horse. He said that 3 yrs ago it had been used to pull a cart and so we hitched him in. He raised Cain at first but the Mongol said he'd do so we took him at $36. Mon. June 9 The white horse that well after a few preliminary Jumps, etc. and appears to be a strong animal. We went [crossed out: thru a fairly level valley] over fairly level ground in the valley but far over to the south with the river 2 or 3 miles to the north. After tiffin the river swung in toward the road and we continued not far from it all day. The road disappeared & the road was hard & fine. At six o'clock we saw a fairly large town on the north bank of the river, with several large temples in its center surrounded by the “pill-box” houses of the Lamas. Yourts were scattered along the outskirts & it made a most picturesque effect. A little above the town the road left the river & swung southward [crossed out: along] toward the hills. At this point it [?] the Tola Valley & crosses the mts. We camped at 7.30 beside a yourt where we expected to get information as to the further route. Up to this time the only animals [PAGE] 50 we have seen are one marmot & one rabbit. Evidentally the Mongols have killed off everything during the winter. Tues. June 10 It rained hard during the night & blew so strongly that I had to get up & re-peg tent to keep it over us. A Mongol tent such as the boys have is the only thing. It can be put up in a few moments & presents everywhere a sloping surface to the wind so that it will stand any blow. Our wall-tent is a nuisance! We learned that there was no water for our ponies for two days, & that afterward to avoid crossing a mt. with the carts it was necessary to make a long detour so that we would have to take water with us on carts or camels. The gameless conditions of this valley and the fact it would require 10 or 12 days more before we could reach Syn Noyn Kahns [Sain Noin Khan’s] place decided us to return. In this short season it was imperative not to waste time in traveling but use every moment for collecting specimens. It was a hard decision to make but was the only thing to be done. Those people who think collecting is all fun ought to have a few disappointments such as this [PAGE] 51 and they would get a different idea. Sometime I hope to be able to sit in front of my old camp fire & not have to worry about “making good.” It takes all the pleasure out of life when information which is not correct leads one into wasting time & money! At one P.M. we started back with heavy hearts & camped at 6.15 at the spot where we had tiffin yesterday. On the way I shot a mallard female & a drake shoveller. These birds are breeding here as are the ruddy shelldrakes. We see many of the latter in pairs & they are very tame. Also a good many swan-geese in flocks but they are probably not breeding. Demoiselle cranes are everywhere in pairs. Yesterday we watched two two cranes across the river walking about feeding. At last one of them probably the female, quietly settled down, undoubtedly upon her eggs while the male continued walking about not far away. Lapwings are breeding and often when crossing at [?] [mark?] the pretty birds flying about just overhead and such evident distress that their eggs must be nearby. [PAGE] 52 The second day from Urga I shot a female bustard with my rifle but this is the only one we have seen. Several other species of plover have been performing their mating antics along the river and today we saw a number of black capped terns similar to the ones I shot at Urga. Yellow headed wagtails are plentiful as also the black and white wagtail. I saw two small ducks today – probably teal but I could not positively identify them. Yesterday we passed several caravans of ox & camel carts loaded with yourts & supplies. They were Mongol families moving their belongings from their winter camps along the river to other grazing grounds for the summer. Some of the camel carts were all closed in with felt like a [?] house on wheels. Wed. June 11 Last night we camped on a hill 100 yrds from the river. It was a beautiful camp, & a perfect night. The sunset was marvelous, the whole western sky being flooded with blood red light. Y. & I left the road [?] after the carts started at 6.30 A.M. and rode along the river. I shot a long bean goose, the only one we have seen [PAGE] 53 so far. Also a flock of redhead ducks alighted in a pond and I got one of them. We saw during the day probably 150 ruddy shelldrakes. They were usually in pairs and exceedingly tame, letting us come within 30 feet very often. Their beautiful rufous feathers, black wings & white heads show with startling witness against the green grass. The birds are all breeding and show such nervousness very often when we approach them [crossed out: not?] that their nests must be nearby. They are in every little pond in the low lands and swampy places & less often on the river itself. I watched two feeding today & was surprised to see them “tip up” exactly like a mallard. On the P.M. a shot a beautiful swan goose. This species was a fine large goose, bigger than the bean goose. Its back is dark gray & the wings very light gray on the secondary. The breast is tinged with ruffous & there is much rufous about the face & head. Down the back of the neck is a brown band, one inch wide. The bill is black large & very swan-like. I have seen several in pairs today but when we came up they were [PAGE 54] all in flocks. Many lapwings, & all evidently with nests for they would fly about excitedly just above our heads giving the plaintive [?] I swum the river to get the game I had shot & had a hard fight to get back with the bird for the current was like a mill run. We camped at 6 P.M. Thurs. June 12 & Fri. June 13 Both days were beautiful in the A.M. & rainy in the P.M. We rode along by the river shooting as we went. I got six geese – 2 swan & 4 gray Geese with a white neck & black [tarred?] Head which I do not know. The days were uneventful. Sat June 14 Yvette & I rode ahead of the carts and arrived at Urga at noon. We went to Anderson Meyer’s place & put up with Mr. Olfasen & Larsen. We were all tired & right glad of a bath & rest. Sunday June 15 Have been busy all day repacking & getting ready for an early start tomorrow. Caught the Mongol stealing sugar and fired him. Got one of Larsen’s Mongols – a young Lama. Went with Larsen to the Minister of the Interior this P.M. He lives for the summer in a yourt on the hill side overlooking the city. [PAGE] 55 Monday June 16 Got away at 6 A.M. We traveled up the valley & swung off on the Kalgan road. Lots of water from recent rains. Every P.M. rains hard- hot in A.M. Today was beautiful & altho some thunder no rain. At the Russian bridge across the Tola saw a pair of swan geese & 6 young. The red birds would only leave the young when we were a few feet away. Tried to photo them but a Russian in a cart frightened them. Caught 2 young - wonderful how they would hide even tho not more than a week old & could run nearly as fast as I could. There [They] are fuzzy little fellows covered with olive green down. Had tiffin at bridge & in P.M. went on down the valley & struck across the hills. Beautiful with forest clad slopes of Bogdo-[mal?] on our right & rolling hills on the left. Saw first marmots 25 miles from Urga - rifle shooting [to?] right & killed none - camped at 5.30 beside a little pond. In pond was pair of sheldrake (ruddy) with nine young - shot 4 - little fellow could dive & swim like old ones although only a few days old - beautiful night [PAGE] 56 Tuesday June 17 At this camp we saw several gophers Citellus sp. with long tails one of which I had obtained on the way up. They appeared about 5 miles before we reached the camp (or 20 miles from Urga) They [continued?] for about 5 mi or 10 mi further & then we saw no more. It looks as if they occupied a very restricted area. They apparently do not live in villages but we saw them all singly & considerable distances from each other. We had a magnificent day with a brilliant sun & a light breeze while which kept it from being too warm. Saw hundreds of marmots but my sights were so bad that I got none. I do not seem to be able to get the rifle to shooting at accurately. How I wish I had my Mannlicher! At two oclock we climbed over the last long hill and came up on the plateau proper. From the summit by the rise we could see half a dozen pools of water flashing in the sunlight and away to the right tucked away among the hills lay a little temple surrounded by a cluster of yourts which in the distance looked like giant bee-hives. Our Mongol rode ahead & learned that this was the last water for 35 miles, so perforce we camped at the far end of the plain, away from the yourts. It was a beautiful spot with the hills rolling away on either side of us and the [PAGE] 57 plain stretching away in front [crossed out: with the road] cut in halves by the white line of the road. When the tents were up for Y. & I with the Mongol rode [crossed out: and?] away with a bag of steel traps to set for marmots. Within 300 yards of camp we saw our first Ones & when they had disappeared into the holes, we carefully put a trap in place & anchored it with an iron tent peg. I did not dare put on a drag for I had no branches & a stick would have been pulled into the hole. I sent Chen & Kang the two taxidermists, out with a bag of wooden traps to see what they could find. We finished our work at seven o'clock while the sun was still high and came in to dinner. We were both tired for setting steel traps is not an easy job. We had eighteen out in 9 different places. [crossed out: When dinner was over we w] We had dinner at the entrance to the tent, where we could look out on the velvet-green hills to the west & [crossed out: get the last] be warmed by the last rays of the sun. It was a perfect night without a breath of wind and with a golden light flooding all the plain. At 7.30, after a smoke over our coffee, we went out with the boys to see where they had placed their traps. We found [PAGE] 58 many Microtus tunnels & one of the animals in a trap. Also Yvette discovered one of the large wooden traps dragged halfway into a hole with a baby marmot safely caught. He was a little fellow about ten inches long covered with soft yellow-white fur. We turned in at 9 o'clock. Wed. June 18 This morning before we were up the Mongol came to the tent door to tell us that a marmot was in one of our traps. We dressed hurriedly and ran over to the place but found that the animal had pulled himself loose before we arrived. While I was resetting the trap, the Mongol saw a marmot [crossed out: appear] run for a moment on the summit of a mound and then disappear. We had a trap there & sure enough he was fast in a big double spring trap, by the right fore leg. He was well down in the hole half around a curve & it took every ounce of my strength to drag him out. I never knew that an animal of its size could be so strong. He was a huge [crossed out: animal] male in fine pelage, with his yellowish hair still unworn. A few hundred yards away was another trap in which we had a female & four other traps were sprung. It requires a heavy double spring to hold these [PAGE] 59 animals and the single spring seem to be useless. Y. was prospecting about while I was resetting the traps and discovered six baby marmots playing in the grass on top of a mound. Unfortunately I had not brot’ [brought] my gun & could not get them, so we went in to breakfast. Chen & Kang had caught two Microtus & a beautiful kangaroo rat. [crossed out: The last] The animal had a 7½ inch tail riding in a tuft of black hairs like the feathers on an arrow. His enormous ears and long legs with the tiny front legs give him an extraordinary appearance, exactly like that of a diminutive kangaroo. The gray fur is long & exceedingly soft while the belly is pure white. Some Mongols told us that there were many of them on the hills near the temple. After breakfast Y. & I took out several more traps and found another male marmot. Y. also saw the young again and we went over with the gun. Six little fellows were playing about like kittens on top of a grassy mound about the hole. They look like little balls of yellow fur & were too cunning for words as they froliked [frolicked] in the green grass. It took considerable nerve to stop their play but I had to harden my heart & fire [crossed out: take?] for [PAGE] 60 we needed specimens for a family group in the Museum. I got two with the first shot and there was no time for a [run?] as they disappeared like a flash. The marmots now are just beginning to lose the pretty yellow fur with which they emerge from their holes in the spring. [crossed out: The tips of the hair are worn down off as the summer advances and leaves the dirty white underfur. The marmots raise a large mound about] their holes, [crossed out: which] and have and have sometimes eight to ten entrances to the main burrow. Their mounds are [crossed out: ?] with fresh green grass which is conspicuous in the surrounding plain. The fresh earth which is stirred up probably gives the grass. Chen caught a fine kangaroo rat (Alactaga) [the Mongol name is Alactala] and a Hamster beside a new Microtus. We got two more marmots during the day & several little ones. Unfortunately a dog stole the three large marmot skins from under the tent right beside the boys’ bed. Thurs. June 19 Today we had a hundred li march across a great flat plain and did not reach the next well until 8 P.M. We saw a good many marmots and shot three. While we were riding [PAGE 61] I saw a large bird running along the ground some distance to the right. Riding toward it, it suddenly disappeared as tho the ground had swallowed it whole. We were not more than twenty feet away when I saw a suspicious looking mound of what appeared to be dirt. Looking more closely I saw it was the bustard flattened out in the short grass with its neck outstretched. When the bird saw we had discovered it she got up & ran slowly away. I fired at her with a [#?] 9 shot but she was too far & flew off. It was evidentally a female & must have had a nest nearby for usually bustards are extremely wild & will not allow a man nearer than [?] yds. How such a huge birds managed to conceal itself so completely in the short grass is a remarkable commentary [right margin: on their knowledge of self protection] Fri. June 20 It was a raw dark A.M. with promise of rain weather when we [left?] camp. The carts got away about 7.30 and Y. & I took to the hills to the east of the road, riding along the summit in the hope that we might see antelope. Larsen had told us that the plain we had crossed the day before was the first place when we might reasonably expect to see antelope, & indeed our Mongol had seen 28 running across [PAGE] 62 the road in the late afternoon while we were away. Y. & I had not gone more than an hour from camp [crossed out: when I ?] and had climbed the summit of the high rise when I sat down for a look over the country with the glasses. The hills were low with shallow valleys between them & beginning at the left I slowly swung about examining every inch of the ground. Directly in front of us was the convergence Of two small valleys into a large one and as my glasses swept it, I saw a half a dozen yellow-red forms in its very bottom [crossed out: The] about 2 miles away. They were antelope & quietly feeding. In a few moments, I made out ten more close [left?] and then two off at the right. Yvette had a look and then we sat down to plan the stalk. We figured that we could cross he two small [crossed out: valets] depressions which debouched into the main valley and swing around behind the hill crest [crossed out: which we] nearest to the antelope. But even then we would be 400 or 500 yards from the animals. It was the best we could do and I hoped that they might move nearer to us before we reached them. We trotted slowly across the depressions where we were in sight of the antelope for even tho they were two miles away [PAGE] 63 simply moving figures might have startled them enough to put them on the alert. When we had passed beyond their sight I shot out the reins over “Kublai Khan’s” neck and we swung around at full gallop under the protection of the hill crest. In a short time we had reached a point [crossed out: behind] where I could crawl over the hill top for a look with the glasses, but the antelope were nowhere in sight. We galloped for a quarter of a mile & leaving Y. to hold the harness I went over the summit of the hill, leaving my rifle in its scabbard. It was fatal mistake for [crossed out: the] I suddenly came upon the animals directly under me & not 200 yards away. I dropped [crossed out: flat] to the ground & flattened out in the grass but one of the animals must have seen me worming my way back to the horse for when I next came over the hill top they had moved a hundred yards out into the valley and every head was in my direction. When I rose to my knees to shoot they were off like a flash of yellow light across the valley. I fired three times but did not get the range for they were nearly 400 yds away. [crossed out: The herd] The herd turned on the [opposite?] hill side [crossed out: and] slowed down & trotted up the valley. I went back to the horses is very much disgusted and Y. & I watched them rather ruefully. [PAGE] 64 Suddenly four of the antelope detached themselves from the main herd and started across the valley toward the side we were on. When we saw that they were really well started in our direction we threw ourselves [crossed out: in our] into the saddles and dashed forward to cut them off. Almost instantly the antelope increased the speed and simply flew up the hill slope. I yelled to Yvette to watch the holes And [shook?] out the reins over ‘Kublai Khan’s’ Neck. He had already seen the antelope and when I gave him his head he flattened out & was off like a bullet. I could feel his great muscles working between my knees but otherwise there seemed hardly a motion of his body in the long smooth run. Standing up in my stirrups I [crossed out: watched for the holes] waved to Yvette who was sitting her chestnut [crossed out: like a] as light as a butterfly. Her hat was [crossed out: off &] gone, her hair streaming but the [crossed out: sight? of] thrill of [crossed out: excitement] it all was in every line of her body and she was running me a close second, hardly thirty feet behind. I saw a marmot hole in front of me but we were over it in a flash. Another green patch which [PAGE] 65 I knew concealed a death trap excavation showed ahead & swing Kublai to the right. Another & another followed but the horse was watching like a cat & leaped [crossed out: or side stepped] every danger spot. The antelope were well up the hill, strung out in a line almost across our part. It was the fatal attraction which seemed to draw them irristibly [irresistibly] in a semi-circle about their pursuer. We had made a magnificent run & they were not more than 200 yds away when I pulled in my horse. As I scrambled off, with my left hand I drew the rifle from its scabbard and came into action. The first shot struck low & behind but it gave [crossed out: me] the range & at the second the rear most animal stopped & began to run wildly about in a circle. He was plainly hit but I missed him twice & he disappeared over a swell of ground. I had dropped my reins on the ground when I began to shoot & Yvette had my pony. Jumping into the saddle we tore after the wounded antelope. He was not to be seen when we topped the rise but I saw [?] [?] was the animal far away to the left running downhill. I had gone a hundred yards after it when I discovered that it was a marmot. I was just slowing up [PAGE] 66 when I heard Yvette screaming frantically behind me and saw her dashing at first full speed to the left where the antelope was lying down. I saw the animal was not dead & waved to her await. She let me come up & I dismounted to the ready if the animal should run. There was just one more shell in my gun & my pockets were empty. it was the last chase to get the antelope. I fired again at 50 yds & the animal rolled over dead. I waited for Yvette & together we walked up to the beautiful orange-yellow form lying in the young grass. We both saw its horns at the same instant & hugged each other in delight for we had not known it was a buck. At this time of the year the bucks are usually alone and [crossed out: it is?] one will seldom be found with the does except in the largest herds. This one was in full summer Pelage, its new hair spotless & unworn. Y. held Kublai Khan’s head while I hoisted the buck to his back and strapped it behind the saddle. He watched proceedings interestedly but without a tremor and even when I mounted & started off at a trot he paid not the slightest attention to the head dangling on his flanks. Not many Mongol ponies [PAGE] 67 would stand for that but Kublai enters so completely with the spirit of a hunt that he never seem to mind what I do, except to approach him from the rear with my gun. That always starts him off, for once I frightened him unintentionally by poking him in the hip. Mongol ponies will never stand unless they are hobbled and Kublai is no exception to that rule, so Yvette watches him while I shoot. The shooting itself, even from his back, bothers him no more than as tho’ it was a buzzing fly. While I jogged along with the antelope Y. galloped down the valley to stop the carts & find where [crossed out: the n] we could camp at the nearest water. We were both thrilled with the excitement of the hunt and happy beyond measure. I have had many kinds of shooting but none which compares with this. Hunting antelope from a motor car is exciting for the moment but it is not sport. The animals do not have a sporting chance for unless the ground is rough one can be certain of coming up to within fair range. But from horseback it is a different matter. The antelope can run twice as fast as the best horse. There is always the imminent possibility, & even probability, that your [crossed out: horse] pony will put his foot into a marmot hole & sent you flying over his head & [crossed out: no one knows what far] a broken neck. When [PAGE] 68 one does get near enough to shoot the range is always known (from 200 to 400 yds) and at a target which is simply flying. So the chances are all in favor of the antelope except for the modern long range rifle. That helps to balance the score. But from the standpoint of pure sport, skill, & excitement there is nothing to equal it in my opinion. First one has the joy of feeling a good horse under [one?] & if the pony really enters into the hunt,m as Kublai Khan does, it is half the game. The danger from the wild ride adds more than detracts, & the wild thrill of excitement when one losses the reins & is fairly off is beyond words to describe. It must be something like an old time cavalry charge when one rode down the enemy at full gallop. Five miles down the road we found water a mile back on the plain. It was a deep well & we camped some distance from it to be nearer the marmot holes. There were over half dozen yourts scattered over the plain and their inhabitants rode over to see us during the day. The picturesque clothed fellow would ride up at a gallop, slide off his horse & hobble it almost with one motion, and walk up to our tent. With a “sai” he would squat on the ground & usually offer his snuff box. [PAGE] 69 They were curious to a certain extent but never disagreeably so, & were in pleasant contrast to the Chinese in this respect. The men, and women too for that matter, do smell like the [deuce?] but since there is plenty of ventilation in a tent they are not so bad. A few hours after our tents were up the old Mongol who occupied the nearest yourt rode over to pay his respects & brot’ [brought] a bowl of cheeze [cheese] & milk curd as a present. I returned a couple of packages of cigarettes which he accepted with evident pleasure. When they wish to express satisfaction and when a person is leaving these Mongols as [others?] we have seen would put up the thumb. The same thing was a custom in Yun-nan. It is interesting to note that in Greece the “thumbs up” was a feature of the gladiatorial contests. In the P.M., Y. & I put out a number of marmot traps in the holes near our tents. Our little Lama Mongol went with us & it was a pleasure to see his enthusiasm & interest in the proceedings. I have never seen a harder or more enthusiastic worker & the way he built cairns to mark the traps, stopped up the holes & brot’ dirt in his shoe to cover the traps was a delight. It had cleared off during the P.M. and we had a glorious sunset. The sun does not did not disappear until 7.30 and [PAGE] 70 left a glorious afterglow of gold & red. We did not need to light our candles until 8.30 and read for half an hour before we went to sleep. Sat. June 21 We woke at 5 A.M. with a delightful sense of anticipation of what the day held in store for us. After breakfast of pancakes we rode out to examine our traps. Four marmots [was?] the bag and every trap had been either sprung or held an animal. In one the marmot had gnawed off his leg & gotten away. In another we found Only a toe nail & in another a pinch Of yellow fur. It is wonderful how the big marmots can hold on & if they get around a curve in the hole it is well nigh impossible to drag them out. We saw at least twenty little fellows while we were at the traps & [crossed out: caught] shot three before they slipped into the hole. Chen & Kang caught 3 hamsters, pretty [crossed out: grey] little fellows with a dark strip down the middle of the grey back, & furred feet. Also they had a [m?] which is quite unlike the one we got at our last camp. After I had measured the small mammals Y. & I rode north east of our camp with the Lama. The sun was well up [PAGE] 71 but it was only comfortably warm. The plain rolled away in great [crossed out: swelling] billows like the long swells of the ocean and at every rise I stopped for a moment & scanned the horizon with my glasses. One would hardly believe that the country is so rolling until one rides over it. Almost none of it is absolutely flat and at every few hundred yards there is a depression deep enough to hide an antelope. We were only about half an hour from camp when we suddenly came upon a herd of antelope six or seven hundred yards away. They saw us instantly as we trotted on to the summit of the land-swell and stood looking fixedly in our direction. Instantly we swung about till we were out of sight. Then we directed the Lama to ride around behind them & try to drive them in our direction direction. In the mean while we were to circle about [crossed out: in f] under cover of the hill crest & try to get in front of them. We had hardly begun to trot when we heard a snort & knew that the animals were off. Concealment was useless now so we put our horses into a gallop and came up into full view. There was the herd in the valley below & to the right of us skimming [PAGE] 72 Along at full speed. With a shout to Yvette I loosened the reins of Kublai Khan’s neck and we were off like the wind. Y. was close beside me, leaning far over her horse’s neck. Heading diagonally toward the herd I saw them begin to swing toward us, like a band of steel drawn by a powerful magnet. On & on we went, down into the hollow & up again on its slope. It was an abrupt rise & we could not spare the horses for the antelope were already over the crest & lost to view. Our ponies took the hill with hardly a loss of speed & at the summit we saw the [crossed out: antelope] herd just swinging across our line, 200 yds away. I had my rifle out & held high in my right hand. Kublai slowed & came to a stop when he felt the pressure on the reins & I threw myself from his back just as the antelope were beginning to turn away from us. At the first shot I saw a spurt of dust in front of the [crossed out: herd] second animal & leading a little further for the next shot I pulled the trigger. The antelope dropped like a piece of white paper, shot thru’ the neck. Two other shots were misses & by then the herd was out of range, & going like the wind. Throwing myself onto my pony I galloped up to the dead antelope. It was beautiful doe, without a mark a scratch upon her body except [crossed out: where] a bright red spot where my bullet had entered her neck. [PAGE] 73 [blank] [PAGE] 74 The herd has had stopped half a mile away & leaving Y. to mark the spot where the dead animal lay in the green grass, I gave them another run but my horse was too near spent to bring me within possible range. Kublai did not like it when I came up to him with my gun & trotted off. I tried to catch him but every time he kept just beyond my reach & finally I signalled [signaled] to Yvette to come to my assistance. She caught him without difficulty but I should have had a long chase along. It taught us a valuable lesson, which was never to go out to hunt alone if it is possible not to do so. If one’s pony runs away one may be left alone miles from water with serious consequences. I think there is nothing which makes one feel more helpless than to be alone on the plains, without a horse. For miles & miles there is only rolling grass land with never a house to break the horizon. [crossed out: One feels] It seems so futile to walk, so utterly useless for one’s own legs carry one so slowly & such a pitifully short distance in these vast spaces. There is one other sensation which is exactly similar. That is to be left alone in an open boat out of sight of land. There is the same feeling of helplessness, with the only ones arms [crossed out: to ?] with which to roe. One feels so very small and one [PAGE] 75 realizes then [crossed out: ?] what an insignificant part of nature one really is. I have had it too amid vast mountains where I have been toiling up a peak which stretched thousands of feet above me with others [crossed out: just as high rising] rearing their majestic forms on every side. Then nature seems almost alive & full of menace a thing to the to be fought & conquered by brain & will! Another thing which we learned early in our life on the plains was how easy it is to lose one’s way. Every rise looks exactly like the others and in all the vast sea of land there seems never a mark to serve as a guide. After a time, however, there comes to one a land sense. The Mongols have it to an extraordinary degree. We could drop an antelope on the plain & leave it for an hour or two. With a quick glance around he would fix the spot in his mind by some marvellous [marvelous] instinct and dash off with us on a chase which might carry us back & forth in circles & toward every point of the compass. When it [crossed out: would be] was time to return he would head unerringly for that single spot on the plain and take us back as straight as an arrow. At first he used to laugh at us when we were completely lost, but gradually we learned [crossed out: to] ourselves to note the sun & ground, taking [crossed out: an] a hillock or a rise of ground to act as guide. But only by years of training [crossed out: could] can one hope [PAGE] 76 to even approximate the Mongols. [crossed out: Who] They have been born & reared on the plains and [crossed out: who] have [?] generations of ancestors behind them whose very life depended upon this their ability to go and come over those [crossed out: desert, or mo?] pathless plains. The hills & sun & grass & sand have all become the street signs of the desert. In the afternoon Y. & the Lama rode out toward our hunt of the morning to locate an antelope which a Mongol had reported as dead not far away. I remained in camp to supervise the skinning of the other animals and at 6 o'clock they came galloping back to say there were two antelope on the hills not far away. I saddled Kublai Khan and left with them at once. We galloped for twenty minutes & then came slowly up the crest of a rise. There on the edge of a plain about 500 yds away were the animals quietly feeding. It was [crossed out: im] just possible for a stalk with a long range shot and I slipped off my horse, & flattened out on the ground. Sometimes on my knees, sometimes on my stomach I wormed my way through the grass for 100 yds. The cover ended there and I must shoot or come into plain view of the antelope. They were so far away that my front sight entirely covered the animal and to make it more difficult they were walking [PAGE 77 Slowly, heads to the ground. My first shot was low & to the right, & the antelope only jumped & stared fixedly in my direction. That gave me a better opportunity and throwing in another shell, I fired again. Down with one animal & the other flew with the speed of an arrow straight away. I sent a bullet after its white rump patch but the shot was hopeless. The Lama made a seat for himself on his pony’s haunches [crossed out: behind the saddle &] with a blanket and [crossed out: throwing] threw the antelope across his saddle, [crossed out: we trotted back to camp. The sun had set and with the aftergloss painting the sky in streaks with crimson & gold] we trotted back to camp with the afterglow of the sun which painted the sky in streaks of crimson & gold. The night air was like a draught of wine after the heat of the day’s sun and brot’ to our nostrils [crossed out: all?] the fragrance of the new born grass. Sunday June 22 Our days hunt was unsuccessful but full of excitement. We [crossed out: did not find] found antelope on the edge of the plain where I shot the one last night but they were hopelessly wild & I did not get a shot. I did make a splendid stalk, however, on what I thot’ [thought] was a feeding antelope - & proved to be a marmot. [crossed out: In In this clear this clear air with absolutely nothing to use for comparison, small objects stand out with startling distinctness and seem of huge proportions. Time after time we have [PAGE] 78 all of us mistaken marmots for antelope – animals ten times their size. Yvette one day mistook an eagle for me on horseback and often I have thot’ a dog was a camel. It is the clean air, the flat plain and the lack of any [crossed out: compar] other object, even a tree or a bush, for comparison which is responsible for the illusion. Thus one is [cross out: we? finally] continually mistaking the distance away which the game is while hunting. Usually one underestimates for on an ordinary plain here, an anterlope is visible for 1000 yards. At 500 yards, he seems as large as he would at 100 yds. in the mountain or forest. However, one sometimes over estimates the distance because one has continually in mind the fact that the opposite must be guarded against. So it was with me when we did find antelop about eleven o'clock. Y. saw a single animal on the hillslope opposite to us & while we were galloping around under cover of the crest we suddenly came upon two feeding in the valley right below us. They were really only about 200 yds away but with the thot’ in my mind of the usual underestimating distance, I thot I thought they were probably about 400 yds. and held a little above the one I fired out. Result, I missed the easiest shot I have had in Mongolia. They swung away to the right while we came around the hill to look for the one we were one originally stalking. It had joined [PAGE] 79 a herd and was far away beyond range. Following it we found several other herds and had some hard gallops but without success. But even tho’ the day did not yield us game we went back to camp [crossed out: with] tingling with the excitement of the hunt and almost glad of our non-success for it made us all the keener for the next days hunt. Monday June 23 We were up early today for we had just put out a long line of traps the night before. Holes were few & far between for the soil was very sandy & not good for small mammals but we had spotted the plain with traps whenever there was the slightest chance of success. We got eight or ten hamsters and two Microtus. The hamsters are cunning little grey fellows short & dumpy & almost without a tail. They are protected from the cold by eggs by extraordinarily thick soft fur, and & their tiny feet are covered with fur even on the soles. They are interesting as being survivors of the hamsters which migrated into Europe from Siberia doing the Glacial period. With their short legs it is impossible for them to run fast and they are easily caught. I got one in my hands last night while we were putting out the traps. In one of the steel traps which we [PAGE] 80 had set in a marmot hole we were surprised & delighted to find a polecat. It was a remarkable beautiful animal [crossed out: with?] covered with long soft yellow & black fur. The animal belong to the genus of weasels (Mustela) & I have seldom seen such an incarnation of [crossed out: ?] fury and savagery as this animal presented. It looked like the original of the Chinese dragon except for its small size. Its long slender body twisted & turned with incredible quickness, every hair was on end, and its snarling little face emitted horrible squeaks and spitting squeals. It seemed to be cursing us with every inch of its body. The fierce little beast was evidentally bent upon a night raid [crossed out: after] on a marmot family when our trap cut it short. One can easily imagine what consternation & fright the line [crossed out: beast] deamon [demon] would throw a nest of marmots comfortably smuggled up for the night in the [bastion?] of their burrow. Probably the young marmots were its especial desiderata and it would undoubtedly make away with an entire family of six or eight in a few moments for it has the pleasant little habit of biting into their throat & sucking the blood. All the weasel family kill for the pure joy of killing [PAGE] 81 and it is said that they will entirely depopulate a hen roost in a single night if left to themselves. We caught several marmots and it was ten o'clock before we finally got away for our hunt because all the animals [crossed out: had t] must be measured & numbered so that the two Chinese taxidermists could begin work. We decided to hunt to the west of camp and on the way to the hills we saw what appeared to be two antelope not far from the tents. I dropped off my pony and with the glass saw that our antelope were bustards. I was in hopes of getting another male when its remarkable blue gular sac developed, as in the one Coltman shot en route to Urga and when we were 150 yds away I gave a carefull [careful] look with the binoculars. I could see no difference in them & so decided to take the rearmost one. At my shot, it dropped like lead but I was disappointed to find that it was a female. Of course the other flew off, & gave no time for a second shot. Sending the Lama back to camp with the bird we continued on to the hills. He rejoined us shortly and [PAGE] 82 when we had reached the highest ridge I stopped to take a look over the country. Almost at once I saw a herd of eight antelope feeding on the crest of a little hill fully a mile away. I waited until they had worked over the summit & disappeared, meanwhile planning the stalk. I could see that a shallow depression swung around in the direction which they had gone & when I was again on my pony we galloped into it & kept in its bottom. The creek bed, for such it was, took us just where we wanted to go and in 15 minutes, the Lama who was in front, suddenly slipped off his horse and signed for us all to dismount. I crawled up the gentle slope and there not 200 yards away was the herd, quietly feeding. Their heads were down & in my anxiety for a shot before they looked up I fired quickly & missed. They were look like a flash but [crossed out: at n] I threw in another shell & picked the rearmost animal. As his head appeared in the line of sight I fired & it went down in a heap. [crossed out: Th] By the time I had fired twice more unsuccessfully, the antelope [PAGE] 83 were out of range. I turned my attention to the one which had fallen just in time. To see it [crossed out: get] suddenly jump to its feet & dash after the herd as tho nothing had happened. I ran back to the horses, shook out the reins over Kublai Khan's neck and we were off with the Lama & Yvette close behind. Three of the antelope separated from the others & as the swung about I thot’ they would come nearer to us and turned after them. They ran up a hill and as we Thundered up the slope we suddenly found ourselves among a mass of loose rocks. It was madness to go on but the antelope were close in front & that thot’ only was in our minds. I jumped off my pony just as Yvette dashed along side & fired twice but missed. Off to the left we could see the Lama & his little gray pony tearing along behind the other animals. They disappeared over the hill top and we galloped up to rejoin him. On the crest we saw the little Lama off his pony dodging his way & that close on the heels of an antelope. It was the one I had wounded & which he [PAGE] 84 had followed. By the time we arrived it was evident that the Llama could not catch the antelope on foot & I put Kublai Khan into gallop after it. It was wonderful to see my pony twist & turn after ghe animal without a touch of the rein. He knew what we were after as well as I did and I had to watch myself to keep in the saddle when he would suddenly side step to keep his nose behind the animal. In a short time the antelope gave up & lay down so that I could kill it with my knife. When the Lama rejoined us we found that his little gray pony has stepped in a hole during the chase and badly harmed himself, so with the antelope strapped behind my saddle Y. & I went into camp leaving him to follow. On the way we saw a lone buck and even with the heavy animal on the saddle my gun & myself, a load which must have been well over 200 lbs. my gallant pony gave it a hard chase up hill. The animal did not give us a shot however for it always managed to keep a rise of ground between us & himself. [PAGE] 85 Tuesday, June 24 In the morning we went out early with a Mongol who had guaranteed to show us a wolf den. Our Lama carried the carcass of an antelope which I was to poison & I had two traps. We found the hole, about 5 miles away, & [crossed out: fur] hair upon the rocks showed that it had unquestionably been occupied by a wolf, but the sign was by no means fresh. Therefore, we had small hope of getting a wolf altho’ we set the traps & put out the poisoned carcass. We saw a number of antelope but they were all single ones & very wild. Wed. June 25 We had a hard day’s hunt & a disappointing one for the antelope would not let us approach near enough for a decent shot. They had evidentally been too much hunted there & we decided to move camp. We got to more polecats in the marmot holes. Thurs. June 26 We rose at 4 A.M. but did not get away til 7. It seems impossible to get any one to move after a long stay in camp. The old Mongol whose yourt is near us asked us to come for a cup of tea when we left & so we rode over while the carts kept to the road. The interior of the yourt was so dirty & the preparations for tea so unprepossessing, that we excused ourselves on the grounds of [PAGE] 86 having to regain our carts. We photographed the old man & his family which pleased them immensely, & rode off her carrying with us several pieces of cheese with which the Mongol had presented us. It was hardly edible, however, to people no hungrier than we were & we threw it away as soon as we were were out of sight of the yourt. The day of travelling was uneventful & rather disappointing for we had hoped to see antelope & never caught sight of one. The reason was apparent for there were numerous yourts along the way & many herds of sheep & horses. Where there are many Mongols we can be sure that there will not be antelope. All day we kept along hills, through beautiful rolling country but gameless save for 3 rabbits. We camped at night not far from Three or four yourts where one of the Chinese Motor companies keep a supply of gasoline for their cars. Friday, June 27 During the A.M. the country continued gameless but shortly after tiffin we passed a well near the road where we had camped the last night on our way to Urga. About three miles beyond I saw a single antelope on the plain & tried unsuccessfully to stalk it. Seeing that it was useless we decided to gallop after it and get it to cross in front of [PAGE] 87 Camels, sheep Us. It turned beautifully and Kublai Khan simply flew. I think he never went so fast. The antelope was about 250 yds away when I slipped from my horse and fired. The first bullet caught it squarely in the neck & it [crossed out: went down l] wilted like a wet rag. I fastened it [crossed out: to the] behind my saddle and we trotted on after the carts which were several miles ahead. I forgot to say that in the bottom of the well where we got water there was thick ice even tho it is now nearly July 1st. The nights have all been cold. We left our fur sleeping bags at Urga but we have really needed them. While the sun is out [crossed out: the] It is very hot (about 85°) but the moment the sun is under a cloud one needs a coat. And at night [crossed out: there] we have to dress up as for an arctic expedition. In Yun-nan the extremes of temperature were very great but nothing like it is here in Mongolia. Our blue fly for the tent has been delightful & even on the hottest days we have been wonderfully cool under it. When Y. & I had regained the carts we trotted along parallel with the road for a few months. Suddenly we saw Lo on top of the cart frantically waving to us. We galloped up and he ran out to [PAGE] 88 meet us, trembling with excitement and almost incoherent. “Too many antelope” he managed to get out “Over there -- too many to many! “ I jumped off my pony & put up the glasses. Sure enough there were animals but I thot’ they must be sheep or horses. Hundreds of them were in sight, feeding in a vast herd & in many smaller ones. I realized however, that we were far out on the great plain, north of Turin & that there was no water for 18 miles. Therefore they could not be horses. I put the glasses up again & this time, there could be no mistake. They really were antelope. Hundreds upon hundreds of them feeding quietly or trotting about from one group to another. I had heard of this from Larsen & in Sept. last had myself seen a moving hillside which proved to be a herd of at least 800 antelope. Here at last was what we had been hoping for. Lo [crossed out: ’s excitement] was not alone in his excitement from that moment on and as I looked at my rifle to see that the magazine was full & the sights properly adjusted my hands were trembling. In a moment Y & I trotted off. There was no possibility of concealment for the plain rose in gentle waves for miles around. We had to [words on last line crossed out and illegible] [PAGE] 89 We trotted slowly at first [crossed out: for] obliquely toward the main [crossed out: main] largest mass of animals. One must never go directly [crossed out: at t] toward antelope and must not go quickly at first. The animals see a horseman long before he sees them, of course, but so many Mongols are continually galloping about that the antelope will not run off immediately. [crossed out: When] These animals threw up their heads when we were perhaps half a mile away & stood looking at us, nervously trotting about, stamping & running a few steps only to again stop & stare at us. We kept steadily on for perhaps a quarter of a mile. Then they made up their minds that the danger coming toward them was really imminent, and off they started in a long line. [crossed out: With a shout to Yvette] Then I gave Kublai Khan the rein, swung sharply to the right & cut across their course, and we were away. My pony had seen the animals long ago & was nervously pulling at the bit throwing his head up, with ears erect anxious to be off. When at least I gave him the word, [crossed out: down] he gathered his leg for a terrific bound forward, down went his head, and he dashed forward putting every ounce of strength behind his flying legs. His great muscles rippled between my knees [PAGE] 90 but his [crossed out: mot?] run was as smooth as tho I had been on the ground. I [crossed out: held my] the Once only I glanced back at Yvette. She was coming like a bird on her chestnut pony. Her hair had loosened & [it?] was flying back like a veil behind her head. She was the incarnation of Diana the huntress, tense with excitement, heedless of all but those [shinning?] yellow forms before her. It was useless to look for holes. Ere I had seen one we were over or around it & my pony’s keenness was my only hope. His head was low, muzzle out & he needed not the slightest touch of my hand to guide him. He knew where we were going, what for, and how [crossed out: to do] to get there. Perhaps four hundred antelope were flying along diagonally across our course. The remainder has scattered into groups of fifty or 100 and were going in every direction. We were almost near enough to shoot & gaining rapidly. In another moment we would be almost on the herd. Then they did the unexpected and suddenly changed their course running directly away from us. This was fatal for my hopes for it is as useless to follow a herd of antelope on a horse as it would be to chase an aeroplane in an automobile. Moreover, only their white rump patches are provided [PAGE] 91 as a target and Heaven knows they are small enough objects to shoot out when they are broadside on & going like the wind. As soon as the herd turned I pulled in my pony & threw myself [crossed out: on the] to [crossed out: gro] my knees, rifle up. The antelope Were enveloped in such a cloud of yellow dust that it was impossible to distinguish [crossed out: a single] an individual animal. I knew it was hopeless but the temptation was too great & I emptied the magazine of my rifle into that yellow cloud. Of course, I got nothing! One [crossed out: never?] seldom does when one shoots en masse at a flock of birds, or animals, without [crossed out: pr?] singling out a target. The herd ran only half a mile & slowed again. As we looked about we could see antelope on every side. The whole plain was dotted with herds of from 10 to 100 & groups of two or three. It was only a question of which one wished to own. I loaded my rifle again & gave the pony a few moments to rest. He stood dejectedly with heaving sides & drooping head seeing [seeming] to voice my own disappointment that the herd had escaped without the loss of a single animal after his gallant effort. [PAGE] 92 We turned to another herd of 200 or more [crossed out: near?] 600 or 700 yards to the south and had another run as unsuccessful as the first. Then a third & a fourth. The animals would not [crossed out: turn] cross our paths [crossed out: and] but inevitably turned to run directly away from us after half a mile or so, and the dust cloud which enveloped them made it impossible to distinguish individual antelope. With all it was disappointing work and we turned back to the road for more shells irritated & disconsolate. Y. was exhausted after the excitement of the day and I persuaded her in to climb on a cart & let the Mongol ride her pony. Our horses were both dead tired and I expected only to try to stalk individual animals & leave the big herds alone it ⁋ It was [crossed out: then] almost seven o’clock when the Mongol & I rode away from the road toward the west. Within half a mile we saw a mass of [crossed out: dark] spots, dark against the lowering sun, and with my glasses I saw that they were antelope. The first herd, of probably 2000, Y. & I had driven to the north but here were at least 1000 more. It seemed as tho’ all the antelope in Mongolia had gathered on the plain for our benefit. This time we tried a new device in order to save our horses. Finding [PAGE] 93 A marmot hole behind a clump of high grass, I sent the Mongol in a long circle to get behind the herd & try to drive them toward where I lay. After burrowing into the excavation until I was well concealed & fringing my hat with grass I watched the herd [crossed out: work] thru’ the binoculars. They were feeding & moving slowly about in a vast semi-circle for ten minutes – then suddenly they drew together & were off like the wind. [crossed out: They] Several hundred of them bunched [crossed out: to g] into a moving yellow mass but a dozen smaller herds split off running in all directions except mine. One lot did start toward me & momentarily I expected them to come flying about my cover, as I snuggled down out of sight, but something stirred them off & they passed far over to the left. When the Mongol had returned & I was on my horse again, we decided to make one last try for a herd over toward the road. They let us come within fair distance & then strung out in a flying line. Unfortunately they circled to the west [crossed out: and] going straight into the eye of the sun which lay like a great ball of fire on the edge of the horizon. Kublai Khan forgot his weariness when he saw the antelope flying in front of [PAGE] 94 and with a magnificent burst of speed carried me to within 300 yards. He was going fast but I could not wait longer for in another moment they would be well within the sun. The animals were streaming part broadside on when I kneeled to shoot. At the first shot I heard the dull thud of a bullet on flesh, at the second another & again at the third. With a yell of excitement the Mongol [shouted?] sanga (three) & dashed Forward. He almost hit my pony, who threw up his head & galloped off. I shouted to the Lama & watched the antelope. Two were down for good but the third raised itself & hobbled off dragging a broken hind leg. I could not shoot for the animal went straight into the sun & ere the Mongol caught my pony which was headed for the carts the antelope was out of sight. It was too late to find it that night for we did not know where the cartsd had stopped. Strapping the dead animals on our ponies we trotted towards the road. We have been riding an hour before we made out a dark blur & saw the glint of a white tent. Then Y. said came running to meet Us, & we were soon at dinner. She had had to make a waterless camp for the next well was still 7 miles away & [PAGE] 95 she dared not go further, with us on the plain alone. Sat. June 28 We travelled for two hours this morning under a hot sun. Y. & I rode upon the carts to rest our horses and finally reached a well about two miles off the road. Three or four yourts were scattered about, and a caravan with 200 or 250 camels had camped nearby. It was a fine camp, & from the door way of our tent we could look across the plains to the blue distance, & have a moving picture of camels, horses, sheep & cattle seeking water, ever in our foreground. The day we spent resting our selves & our horses, for the latter much needed [crossed out: a] 24 hours of idleness. Only one yourt was close to our tents & the well. The others were scattered about within a circle of several miles. It is past my understanding why Mongols almost always place their yourts so far away from water. One would suppose that they would cluster about the well, but on the contrary they are [crossed out: almos] usually a considerable distance away & the immediate vicinity of the well is unoccupied. All day long there was a continual Stream of animals coming to the water – sheep, cattle, goats, ponys [ponies] & camels. Hundreds of them, in flock after flock [PAGE] 96 crowding about in a dense moving [?] while one or two Mongols patiently drew up buckets fulls [full] of water & emptied it into the trough. It seemed as tho all the animals in Mongolia had accumulated at that particular well. Very soon the water was so muddy from the constant dipping that it was absolutely undrinkable. [crossed out: The wells in the plains &] The life about these wells in the plains or desert is always interesting. Here one sees all the peoples of the vast open spaces for they come of necessity. Just as we ourselves come, pitch our tents and make ourselves at home, so great caravans on the long march across the desert arrive with tired laden camels. The huge brutes kneel grateful While their loads are removed, & then stand In a long line, patiently waiting while groups of ten or twelve are detached & driven to the water & drunk [drink] their fill. Then majestically swinging their velvet padded feet, they move slowly to one side, kneel on the ground again & remain quietly chewing their cuds. until all the herd has joined them. The blue or white tents are up almost before one realizes that the caravan [PAGE] 97 has paused and fires of argul are soon blazing & kettles steaming. Sometimes they wait several days to rest their animals and let them feed. Sometimes the tents have gone and the camels have vanished next morning ere the first break of day. The camels now or nearly naked or covered with a few wisps of hair like the beard of a Chinese patriarch. Their blue-slate skin is their only covering until the new [crossed out: hair] wool of early winter transforms them from [crossed out: ?] hideous objects into splendid beasts, with full neck fringes & upstanding humps. But most of all is when a camel is in full process of losing his winter hair. It [crossed out: leaves him] goes in [crossed out: pat] patches leaving [crossed out: great trailing] him like a patchwork quilt with yellow-brown rags of wool hung from every angle of his great ungainly body. Sunday June 29 We had a long hunt today but a very successful one. After 7½ hrs. riding northward we found three antelope and after a splendid run I got a big doe. A short time later we got a second and finally a third. This one had a broken hind leg & my pony had a hard run to bring him down. Then we found a young antelope born only a few days ago, and finally [PAGE] 98 I had to shoot it after vainly trying to run it down. My gallant pony was dead tired from his hard work of the early morning but when he saw the little fellow start away like a rabbit with its white rump bobbing, he gathered himself & ran like a deer. He [crossed out: caught] reached the fawn after half a mile but the little fellow dodged to one side and ere I could turn was off again as fast as ever. I thot’ it must surely tire and mounting Y’s pony the Lama & I took up the chase again. But the tiny antelope was too much for us & after a two mile chase, our tired horses had to stop. It was wonderful to see the little fellow run & shows how nature has provided for his children of the plains. Almost as soon as they are born the baby antelope have learned to hide by lying flat upon the ground and in a day or two can run as this one did. In four or five days the fastest horse could never catch it & it need have a little fear of wolves unless taken unawares. Undoubtedly wolves must get a good many however, for the fawns will hide till the last moment. Several times we came upon them lying prone upon the ground with necks outstretched and [crossed out: ?] ears laid back, only [PAGE] 99 their brilliant eyes showing that they were things of life. We could ride up to within ten and when they saw that they were certainly discovered off they went like frightened hares. Their mothers always [crossed out: circled] ran about the spot where the fawns were lying, sometimes a miles [mile] or so away but always making that particular place the center of their circle. However, they were not easy to shoot for their speed was just as great as ever and they would let us approach no nearer than before the young were born. I suppose that nothing contributes more to successful antelope hunting than one’s horse. Mine is a perfect marvel. He has learned now that what I want to do and he anticipates my slightest wish. Kublai Khan might well be proud of the magnificent beast which bears his name. I never have to use a whip. We may be trotting along quietly over the plain went antelope appear far away. [crossed out: I le] Sometimes my pony sees them even before I do. When I lean over his neck to take my rifle from its scabbard, instantly his ears are up, & with head erect he is pulling gently at the reins anxious to be off. Always he looks from side to side until he sees the animals. When at last the antelope have begun [PAGE] 100 to run in ernest [earnest] and there is no longer use in going slowly, I only have to loose the reins & he leaps into a full run. And how that horse can go! He seems to simply fly for he puts every ounce of strength he has behind those long slender legs of his. With the reins in my left hand & my rifle in the right held high & free, I stand straight up in the stirrups like a Mongol and talk to him as Ben Hur did to his Arab horses. There is a time to stop when the antelope are about to cross one’s course or when they have begun to turn away. Then the stop must be quick with no post-gallop trotting to delay shooting. As soon as Kublai feels my legs tighten & a gentle pressure on the reins, he [clucks?] himself as tho’ on springs & stops dead with front feet braced. When I throw myself to the ground and begin to shoot almost under his [nose?], he pays no more attention then as tho’ it was the popping of firecrackers. One of the most beautiful things is to see him follow a wounded animal. He twists & turns without a touch of the reins & I simply give him his head. One day a bird ran along the ground in front of him & he was off like a bullet after it. He has learned to follow anything that runs & I could almost let him find the game. [PAGE] 101 Unlike most Mongol ponies, he is very affectionate & likes to be fondled & petted. He will snuggle his nose against my cheek and is as proud as can be when I pat him after a hard run. He will arch his neck & knows perfectly well that I am telling Him he has done well. The Mongols never stroke or pat their horses. To them a pony is something to carry them to be bot’ [bought] & sold and it is not an object on which to lavish affection. I do not say that a Mongol does not have affection for his horse but if he does he never shows it – at least as we do. How thse ponies stand the terrible cold of winter I can not understand for they are never taken under shelters. They must huddle together & warm themselves as best they can. Monday June 30 Today we went out on three ponies which we had hired from a Mongol. They did not look bad but we found that they could not run fast enough to bring us near antelope. We did it get two full grown does but it was only because I happened to do some especially good shooting for they were a long way off. We also saw two wolves. One of them [PAGE] 102 was digging a hole, and was partly covered with dirt when he jumped out about 400 yards away. We should have given him a run for it but he disappeared over a hill & we lost sight of him. Tuesday, July 1st Today we both remained in camp to give our horses a rest for they had had some hard days. I worked on specimens & wrote all day. It was very hot in the sun but cool under the shade of our blue fly. One needs a coat direc tly one is in the shade no matter how hot the sun is -- certainly this is a country of weather extremes. There has hardly been a night when we would not have been comfortable in our fur bags and often we have had to go to bed with all our clothes on even tho it is mid summer. We sleep outside under the fly whenever it does not rain and the air is perfectly wonderful, as fresh as a drink of ice cold water to a thirsty man. Wed. July 2 Today I went out on Y’s pony with the Mongol on our white cart horse. Another Mongol accompanied us to take what meat we did not want. I got an antelope out of three which we saw an hour after leaving camp. A little later we saw five & I hit two. Both had broken legs -- one a [PAGE] 103 hind leg & the other a shoulder. I ran the first & after a hard chase when I saw the pony could not catch it, I jumped off & fired at 375 yards. Killed it & found it was a fine yearling buck with horns about 3” long. A little later we saw a large herd but Y’s pony decided it did not want to run antelope any more & I had the devil’s own time with it. Got another young buck and could have had several more had it not been for the damned horse. One can not shoot & fight a horse at the same time. I learned then what a wonderful pony for hunting I have in my Kublai Khan. Thurs. July 3 We broke up and got away with the carts at 6.30 A.M. After an hour’s riding we saw antelope [crossed out: and] but they were terribly wild and several hard chases netted us nothing for they would not “cross our [haws?].” Instead they ran straight away & it was useless to follow them. At last we found a big herd & tho’ they were very wild I shot one. The [dart?] shell jammed in my rifle and while I was trying to get it out two antelope detached themselves from the herd & trotted straight back in front of me about 150 yds [PAGE] 104 Away. They disappeared before the shell was out. The one I killed contained a foetus ready for birth. Went back to the road & found that the carts had not arrived. At last they came, all but one, & thru’ my glasses I could see it far in the distance. I asked Lo why it was so late & he looked at me for a moment & then murmured something as unintelligible as tho’ he had been talking Greek. After vain attempts to fathom it I gave up. Then thru’ my glasses I saw the reason. [crossed out: All?] The boys had purchased a sheep a few days before & were dragging it along behind the cart. Half the time it was on the ground & the torture to the poor brute must have been terrible. The damned Chinese would not even put it on the cart. They have absolutely no sense of pity & only laughed when they saw its condition. I told them that the sheep would go on the cart at once or they could kill it. The former course was adopted. After tiffin we shot a young antelope at about 200 yds. It could run as well as an old one over even if it was only [crossed out: 2] 3 or [crossed out: 3] 4 days old. The little fellows are [text on line crossed out & illegible] [PAGE] 105 their bodies are so very small. I got this one at the first shot & was very pleased with myself. A little later I saw a single antelope running diagonally toward us. We had had several hard runs after single animals but they had all been so wild that I had decided not to chase any more. But I had not reckoned with the Kublai Khan and when he saw the antelope in front of him he cocked his ears and threw his head about so in inquiringly that I let him go. He was off like a flash when I loosed the reins and we had a magnificent run. I saw [crossed out: ?] the antelope would soon disappear behind a [crossed out: heap?] rise of ground & jumped off to shoot. As the shot rang out the animal disappeared & I could not see what was the effect of my shot. But I heard the thud of the bullet on flesh & knew that the animal was hit. Jumping on Kublai Khan I galloped over the ridge & there lay the animals stone dead, shot through the heart. It was a fine young buck & I was more than pleased. We saw some yourts in the distance and knew that water must be nearby. But when we reached them we found they were 2 miles from the nearest well which was the one we were making for, beside the road at the northern end of the plain. [PAGE] 106 Our carts arrived at 6 P.M. & we camped on a rise of ground a hundred yards from the well. Friday July 4 It was raining hard when we awoke & there was no possibility of hunting. Moreover, four of the horses had strayed during the night and it took the Lama 2 hours to find them. All day the rain continued with intermittent flashes of sunlight and we stayed in camp all day. I got some movies of a splendid caravan of camels which came to the well to drink. We caught 8 or 10 Microtus in the long [brush?] grass near the water. Sat. July 5 Went out early & found antelope almost at once but they were all singles & very wild. After two hrs riding saw a herd of 20 and had a fine run. Shot one [crossed out: when] in hind leg & my pony ran it down. Skinned it & half an hour later got another from same herd which had not gone far. After this we saw many antelope & had half a dozen hard gallops but they were all very wild & we got no animals. Saw one young antelope running with 2 females (the first time we had seen them together). The little one could not go as fast [PAGE] 107 as the old ones. Returned to camp at 2 P.M. Saw a number of sand grouse [crossed out: and] in pairs & one flock of about 15. At all these camps since the first one after leaving Urga have seen many eagles & ravens. The former are very tame and sit on the telephone pole or rock until one is within a few yards of them. The ravens are known as the “Mongol’s coffin” because they feed often on dead Mongols. They are huge fellows with a hoarse croak which sounds much like “corax.” One day on the plain the Lama & I passed a dead Mongol partly eaten. He was lying beside the [crossed out: remains] burnt out ashes of an [crossed out: agr] argul fire and I wondered whether the man had died alone or had been left there by the inmates of a yourt which had been moved away. This [crossed out: custom] [matter?] of leaving the dead on the plains to be eaten by wolves, dogs or ravens is one of the most extraordinary customs of natives [crossed out: every] any where that I have seen them. The body is considered unclean, once life has departed, and no Mongol will touch a [crossed out: dead man] corpse or its remains unless it is absolutely imperative. Were it known that I have packed away among my collections the 17 Mongols skulls which I [crossed out: first] obtained when we first came to Urga I would be driven from [PAGE] 108 Mongolia and if we escaped with our lives ww would be more than lucky. It is exceedingly difficult to [crossed out: have any] Know all the Mongol religious superstitions and one must be extremely careful for otherwise serious trouble would arise. Sunday July 6 Broke camp early & started back toward Urga. Y. & I rode over hills but saw no antelope as in this area there are too many yourts. We did see an enormous bustard and a shot I did with my rifle. It was a splendid male with gular patch conspicuous and long whiskers. The ♀ [female] had flown away a short time before and the ♂ [male] was alone. He was strutting about like a turkey cock, when I shot him, with wings drooping & tail spread & erect. Unfortunately the bullet tore him so badly that he was useless as a specimen. He was a little smaller than the one Coltman killed and probably weighed about 25 lbs. We camped at night at the well where we spent 5 days (Camp #1) & were welcomed by the old Mongol & his family. It was a wonderful evening and I shall never forget the peace & quiet of the plains. On the way up we caught two young demoiselle cranes. We saw the parents running along & the little ones behind them. [crossed out: Keep] As we approached the young [PAGE] 109 birds disappeared. Keeping my eyes on the spot I rode up & here they were flat on the ground, necks outstretched. They did not attempt to run when I picked them up & put them in the game pockets of my coat. They were most ridiculous little fellows with enormous legs & feet & long necks. [crossed out: and yellow] Their bodies were covered with gray down & their heads with yellowish down. This gave them a bald appearance and with their [crossed out: bl] slate colored legs, looked like two little bald old men in rubber boots. We named them Oscar & Clarence but their stay with us was not long. Clarence died two days later & Oscar Fell of [off] the cart & was lost the [crossed out: same] next afternoon. They would eat soft rice & cornmeal & would have made delightful little pets. Clarence was considerably smaller than Oscar as is usually the case with twin birds or animals. The same is true with two young cranes which Hansen has at Urga. Monday July 7 When the carts got away this AM. Y & I rode over the hills on our old hunting grounds. We saw a lot of antelope but my sights were set to high & I over shot all the time. Even when I [but?] them down to 200 [PAGE] 110 yards, I could not seem to get on. We returned to the carts at tiffin & I was very much upset with the world because of my poor shooting. The boys had seen a wolf soon after they started out. Tiffin was at the well at the 5 [side?] of the great plain & we camped midway in the plain with five or six Chinese with one quart who were tramping across the desert. These “tourists” were rather fortunate in having a horse for usually they carry their own things on the end of a pole or pull a wheel barrow. They go to work in the gold mines on the Siberian frontier. What a life to plod day after day across the desert week in & week out knowing the long miles ahead of them. If they are ill they can only lie down on the bare plain with no tent or shelter to [crossed out: cover] protect them from the wind or sun or rain. It is a wonderful commentary on the perseverance of the Chines [Chinese] & their [?] that for a few months work they will take this long march. Tues. July 8 We made camp at tiffin at the temple where we stopped the 2nd day from Urga. Set out of a long line of [PAGE] 111 traps (100) on the hillside but caught only 6 Microtus. There were hundreds of holes but strangely enough few animals. Kangaroo rats were said to be plentiful but we caught none. Wed July 9 We started late & had a long march camping at the Mongol village at the valley which leads into the Tola valley. It had rained hard much of the day & our camp at night was a wet one but we soon made ourselves comfortable. In the a.m. there was still rain & it was damp & very cold but about 10 o'clock the sun came out. At the Russian bridge the axal [axle] on one of our carts broke & we had to leave it a at a yourt & go on with our stuff piled on the other two. We had a difficult time getting into Urga for the little streamlets which [crossed out: usually] run out of the beautiful valley just east of [crossed out: Urga] Mai-ma-cheng were swollen to roaring torrents. On the banks of the larger there was a picturesque assemblage. Tents were pitched on the plain & hillsides & hundreds of carts were drawn up in an orderly array while the oxen & camels wandered about [PAGE] 112 the meadows or lay sleepily chewing their cuds about their loads. Some of the more adventurous spirits were taking their caravans across. We watched a hundred or more camels step majestically into the brown waters only to huddle together in a disconsolate yellow mass when [crossed yout: they struck the] the full force of the current struck them. All their dignity fled & they became merely frightened mountains of flesh amid a chaos of [writing? [writhing?]] necks & wildly twitching tails. There we saw a [crossed out: cart] a dozen carts cross & safely reach the other bank. I tried it with Kublai Khan & then went back for the carts. Leading the foremost, I took it safely thru & the other came on without mishap. We went on thru’ Mai-ma-cheng to Urga after a call on Hansen. [crossed out: ] And what a place we found!] All the gardens on the [crossed out: valley] flat below the town were green with vegetables & gave promise of what we could have to [?] our meat diet of the plains. There were wonderful radishes – big red fellows, the sweetest I have ever tasted. And tender onions & lettuce [PAGE] 113 In this rich soil, with abundance of rain [crossed out: such things] the growth is very rapid & there is a marvellous field for truck gardening. All of it now is in the hands of the Chinese for of course the Mongols will do nothing of the sort. Any sort of work which takes him off his horse is taboo to a Mongol. As Larson once said, “A Mongol would make an excellent cook if you could give him a horse to ride about in the kitchen” When we reached west Urga what a different town we found from the one we had left! The [crossed out: great] hard main street was a roaring river & every hutung was a mass of liquid mud or else a pond or lake. There seemed hardly an inch of dry land and progress except on horseback was out of the question. We made camp on a bit of fresh green sod a few hundred yards from “God’s Brother’s House” All the flat below on over to the Tola River was white with yourts in which blue tents gave a spot of color. In the summer many of the Mongols [crossed out: spend] erect a yourt outside the city & do not return to their houses till the cold of winter drives them in. [PAGE] 114 When we were here before M. Larsen took us to visit the Minister of Finance. We crossed a ravine full of mud & debris & made our way to the slope of a hill Over looking the city where the Lama had his official dwelling in an ordinary yourt. It was rather surprised to find him there for we had pictured the ornate splendor of one of the larger houses of the city. He was a fat old man, his close cropped hair flecked with gray, and dressed in a very dirty gown of red. We gave him his first ride in a motor car but whether or not he was properly impressed we could not tell for his round face never changed its expression, or rather lack of expression. We found that Olufsen had sent a bundle of mail for us by a Mongol but we never got it. Probably it is now on its way to Kalgan & we may receive it months from now -- or not at all. July Thurs 10, Fri 11, Sat 12, Sund 13, Mon. 14, Tues 15 The succeeding six days which we spent in Urga were full to the brim with work at packing & photography. Our stuff was all taken to Anderson Meyer & Co’s place and thru’ the kindness of Mr. Olufsen we made free with his house & [grdown?]. [PAGE] 115 eggs, prices, ([quote?] [milk?]) cigars 250 [Lohang?] – 6.50 Urga [PAGE] 116 [blank] [PAGE] 117 [blank] [PAGE] 118 [blank] [PAGE] 119 [blank] [PAGE] 120 [blank] [PAGE] 121 July 16 Wed Left early for trip to Terelche River. Duke Lobson [Loobitsan] Yangsen had given me a letter to a hunter there, Suru dorche [Tserin Dorchy], by name. We wound up the Tola River eastward and where [were] about 8 miles from Mai-ma-cheng turned north up another valley (the Go-thor) away from the Tola River. The going was bad for the road was filled with stones, but the scenery was beautiful. The [crossed out: hills] enclosing hills were covered here & there with patches of spruce & the valley was full of alders. The whole country had a decidedly northern aspect & could hardly have been more unlike the region immediately south of Urga from which we had so recently come. We saw four huge red legged & billed storks but got none. Also we shot two large gophers with grey spotted backs & bright rufous sides. Quite a surprise to find them here. July 17 Thurs Camped at night beside stream. After [three?] hours this A.M. we reached a swamp at the base of a mt called Da wat. The place looked absolutely impossible but after tiffin we arranged to cross in a place which looked the least dangerous. We got over better than we had anticipated but were were all soaked with mud & water. [PAGE] 122 Then our troubles really began for it began for it began to rain in [earnest?] and before long the mt. road which led straight up at a tremendously steep incline was streaming with water & as slippery as a ball room floor. We got the carts up a short way & then they could go no further. The only way was to take each up separately with two horses. It was a hard task to get the two animals to pull together. First one would jerk, & then the other & each finding it could not move the load would rear & plunge & raise the devil [generally?]. At last we got two up but the big Russian horse would not budge. The more he was pounded the less he’d do. Only back up & get the cart into a wore [worse] place than ever. He is a rotten animal. He has a “yellow” streak all down his back. The moment there is a bit of hard work to do, he absolutely quits & will not make the slightest attempt to [use?] his load. I hate a quitter in man or beast & this animal is a quitter clear thru’. After 3 hours of terribly hard work we got the carts all up the hill. [PAGE] 123 Then we thot our troubles were ended, but they had only begun. Over the crest the [crossed out: slope] grade was so terribly steep that it seemed there would be certain disaster. Nevertheless the first two carts went down successfully altho’ the road was terribly slippery & there was a nasty turn half way down. The two small ponies simply sat on their tails and slid down bracing themselves against the carts. Then came the turn of the big Russian horse, the strongest of them all. When he felt the cart push against him the big stiff simply began to run, without making the slightest effort to hold back. He & the cart went off into the woods & brot’ up against a tree. It was in a nasty place & we had to go up a bad slant to get it out. I was in the under side trying to push up & Chen was also below but at the shafts. Suddenly I saw that the cart was surely going over. I yelled to Chen to & jumped just in time. The cart went over with a terrible crash and missed both Chen & me by a hair’s breath. As I got up I heard the most unearthly wails from Kang who was frightened to death. He [His] face was white and streaming with tears altho’ he was perfectly [PAGE] 124 safe on the up side. Chen was unhurt but badly scared. We got the horse out of the shafts but never did I want to kill an animals [animal] as I did that one. The great hulking brute could have saved us all the work & danger if he had put forth one half his strength. By a miracle neither the cart nor the things in it were broken, except for a few eggs. We got down the remainder of the hill without accident but the road took a fairly steep ascent over another shoulder before decending [descending] into the valley. [crossed out: ?] None of the horses [crossed out: gr] could get their loads up because the ground was a mass of slippery mud. That meant the laborious process of hitching up two horses to each cart & the struggle to get them to pull together. Then the Russian horse completed his day’s [crossed out: trouble] program of trouble by refusing to pull & while we were beating him of backing the cart off the road down the hill & into a mud hole. How I should [have] liked to have killed that animal. At last, we got the two horses to pull it out, but we were all [PAGE] 125 well nigh exhausted for we had had to pull & strain at the wheels to help the horses. We were all soaked to the skin with rain & mud & as it was getting dark there was nothing to do but camp. But [crossed out: there was hard] the only spot even approximately [approximately] level was in the middle of the road & that was a mass of mud. But we got our tents up and since the beds were high we kept out of the wet by not getting off them once we had camp made. The mt. we had crossed (Da wat) was heavily forested with spruce trees on the northern side and the road led down through this dance wood into a deep valley. At the bottom was a roaring torrent, now swollen to 3 times its size, but usually a small mountain stream. Between the road & the [shortness?] of the valley there were few trees but a tangle of low bushes. Under foot the ground was inches thick with moss & grass all not like a great sponge. Far below in the main valley we could see a larger river but I did not suspect that it was the Terelshe [Terelche]. [PAGE] 126 Friday July 18 We had a terribly hard mornings work getting our carts a few hundred yards across a stretch of bad road & started down an incline into the main valley. Then there was a succession of marshes to cross for the whole valley slope is like a sponge. We did not get started ‘till ten o’clock for four of the horses had strayed during the night & it took the Lama 4 hours to find them. We are last got to the river and had tiffin beside a tent & a string of carts loaded with wood. The farmers were away but the remains of their breakfast showed that they would sometime return. The Lama then surprised me by saying that this was the Terelche River. Lobson had said that there were Mongol yourts at our destination but here there were no sign of any. The Lama said some wood cuters [cutters] had told him that the Mongols had all moved 70 li away. It was a disappointing place to come to for the Lama assured us that the they had told him the carts could not cross the river or go where the Mongols were. After tiffin Yvette & I started out to [PAGE] 127 explore. We found that the river divided & made a large island. Our horses crossed the first branch successfully tho’ it was very swift & we felt sure that we could get the carts across. We found several log stables & a log house on the center of the island but all deserted. We could find no way across the 2nd branch of the river but decided to camp on the island. We got the cart over successfully & pitched the tents. Just then we heard shouts & saw a line of bull carts fording the 2nd branch of the river far below us. They were headed our way & we found that they were the owners of the tents & carts where we had had tiffin. There was a Lama among the drivers and we corralled him for information. He said the Mongols had all moved up the valley 17 li away & the Suru dorche, the hunters had gone off for a 5 day hunt. He volunteers to guide our Lama to the yourts for the sum of $3 & they started off at once. Then it began to rain & ssimply poured in sheets. I splash about [PAGE] 128 when it let up trying to put out traps but it was useless for everything was a lake. At dark our Lama returned saying he had found the yourts 30 li away & that Mdme. [Madame] Suru dorche would send 3 bull carts next day to take our stuff to their camp. Sat July 19 In front of us was a magnificent valley between mtn. heavily forested with spruce and it was there that the cutters were getting wood. It was a fine clear day when we awoke but the gray horse had strayed & our Lama had a three hr. hunt to bring him in. He returned just as the three carts arrived. Two were drawn by brown bulls & one by a magnificent yak cow. Loading our carts lightly & also the bull carts we broke camp & forded the river above where Y. & I had tried to cross. It was not an easy matter for the horses but the bull went thru as tho it was a mud puddle. The road [crossed out: can?] swerved sharply to the north & continued up the river close to the bank, finally turning to the east into a splendid wide valley into which half a dozen smaller valleys emptied on each side. Each one was heavily forested except on the very bottom which [PAGE] 129 was clothed with alders, willows & [crossed out: carft?] carpeted with spongy moss & rank grass. The stream flowed down [crossed out: fro?] from the mts. in the bottom of every valley. It was a truly boreal country and reminded me much of Alaska except that the mts were neither so high nor steep. In fact most of the mts are about 400 to 500 feet high and have rounded summits. About 4 miles up the valley we came to the three yourts, a small temple & a log house. This was Suru dorche’s place. We were welcomed by his wife who invited us to pitch our tents close by and when the carts arrived we made camp a hundred yards from the yourts. Mde. Suru-d. came over at once bringing a present of Mongol cheeze. Once we tasted it but that was not quite enough and now we give it to our Lama. Not only [crossed out: its] is its taste disagreeable but it is made in such an unclean manner that it would not be pleasant eating. We returned [crossed out: af?] a cake of high smelling toilet soap with which the lady was evidentally pleased altho’ she tucked it away inside her gown [PAGE] 130 without a “thank you”. In fact I believe there is no word for thanks in the Mongol language. Certainly they never appear to use one. The nearest they come to it is to put up their thumbs & say “sai”, which is the universal expression for “good” or “well done”. There were two Mongol girls at the yourt – one of whom spoke Chinese a little, and they seemed much interested [also?] bring presents of cheeze & receiving soap in return. Altho the Mongols seldom wash & smell vilely, nevertheless, soap seems to be more appreciated than any other gift. [crossed out: I had] Their odor is one of mutton fat chiefly, but strongly mixed with one of simple unwashed humanity, & no Mongol seems to be free from it. Such men is Lobson & one or two princes whom I have met had it in a much less degree but it is ever present. We engaged an old man to hunt with us ‘till Suru-dorche returned & he agreed to go out at sunrise next day. Sunday July 20 Monday, July 21 We got away at 5 A.M. with the old man, Lama & Y. on horseback. We went up a valley on the north side of the main valley, riding along [PAGE] 131 Tue 22 Wed 23 Thur 24 Frid. 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tues 29 Wed 30 Thurs 31 at the edge of the wood. The going was very bad for the ground was boggy & the horses were continually going into holes & splashing thru deep mud. We put up a roebuck feeding among the alders but it disappeared & I never saw it. The Mongols called it “Bar-grus” Antelope is “grus”. We also saw a number of chipmunks. The old Mongol finally turned up into the woods at the head of the valley & crossed the mt. It was nonsense riding thru the woods in that way but the old man would not get off his horse no matter how steep the hill or how bad the going. We saw in front of us a female capercaille [capercaillie] & several chicks about the size of pheasants flew out. The old bird would not leave but when I got out my shotgun she flew into a nearby tree & I killed her. The young birds could fly a short distance but depended more upon hiding and we caught one. I took it home to camp but it was so very wild that I made it into a specimen. The next day I saw a fine old male fly up from the ground but it would not alight to give me a shot with the rifle. [PAGE] 132 In the P. M. we hunted at the lower part of the main valley and saw two deer but they were only fleeting glimpses. The roebuck feed in the early AM & late P.M. in the open marshy places at the edge of the woods where the grass is long & sweet. They lie up in the middle of the day from about 9 A.M. till 4 P.M. in the heavy cover under bushes or fallen trees. The best way is to hunt them in the open. We saw a flock of ptarmigan and I shot the ad. [adult] ♂ & ♀ [male & female] an adol. [adolescent] & chick about the size of a quail. There were several more chicks but I got all the old birds. Life zones The whole country here as well as the fauna indicates that we are well within the Siberian life zone. In fact Urga seems to be right at the edge of it. Here we have the reindeer, moose elk, [crossed out: plai] Siberian bear, roebuck. ptarmigan, capercaille, pika, Evotomys & marmots. (In this main valley are many more but holes, but the animals have all the killed by the Mongols) I have seen a black woodpecker which I think is the Arctic three toed. At Syn Noin Khan’s place S.W. of Urga the same fauna is reported with the addition of ibex & [PAGE] 133 sheep. The latter are undoubtedly present because of the high snow covered mts. which are said to be there. At Urga where the plains come up to meet the forest we get the Siberian fauna, then there is a transition zone in the rolling plainchills where we find the hamster, marmot & antelope & then at Turin real Gobi Desert begins. The kangaroo rat does not appear to come up here but to occur in the rolling bare hills at Urga. The forest here is almost entirely spruce with a few birches in the open valley along the streams alder & windows. The ground is almost always marshy where there are openings and in the forest there is a thick layer of spongy moss like that in [crossed out: the north] Alaska. Never have I seen such a wealth of flowers as are everywhere in the valley & on the hillsides. Enormous beds of forget-me-nots, daisies and dozens of other flowers which I do not know. Every color of the rainbow is present and it is like riding thru’ a vast garden. The bluebells are enormous and all the flowers are very large, as is [PAGE] 134 usual in a northern country where the season is short & wet. We were told in Urga that there were great quantities of straw & other berries all thru the woods but I have not seen a sign of a berry of any kind since we left there. The main valley has quite a colony of yourts scattered along it & numerous herds of fat tailed sheep & goats. (I bot’ [bought] a sheep for $7) Also a good many tame yaks & yak-cows. The pureblood yaks can be distinguished by their very bushy tails. The long hair starts from the very root while in the yak-cow the upper half of the tail is shorthaired & the lower half bushy. The pure blood animals seem usually to be coal black sometimes with white tails. [crossed out: and] or with a white band over the forehead & black to the tail. Sometimes also they are [in margin] dark gray. They are much like musk ox in general appearance & like to huddle together when frightened. On either side of the belly long fringes of hair hang almost to the ground while the cross breed are often black & white or brindle. The grunt exactly like a pig, only louder & seem tame enough. They are used a good deal for pulling carts both here & in Urga. Altho a certain amt. of wood cutting is going on it seems to be done fairly well & only those trees are felled which are really wanted for fuel. Nothing like Tungling where the cutting is to clear the land for farming. We made two beautiful camps in the forest the last one about 3 min [PAGE] 135 above Suru dorche’s house. We are in a magnificent spruce forest on the slope of the hill above a stream at the enterance [entrance] to a fine valley. At its upper end we discovered a great mass of slide rocks, all moss covered at the base of the hills. Here there are hundreds of red brown conies and we have had great fun trapping them. The little fellows are very tame & will often let us approach to within 8 to ten feet. They sit on [crossed out: ?] a rock absolutely motionless and when we are too close dive off into a hole. They make deep runways between the stones and it is only by putting traps in these that they can be caught for they pay little attention to bait. The woods about their colonies resound with their high pitched chirps which sound like “tseep.” [crossed out: In] At the enterance of three holes I have found bundles of grass but no considerable mounds as in the case of our N. Am. conies Sowerby says the Chinese conies do not cut grass for winter use. These little chaps have thickly furred feet and long soft hair so that they are amply protected from the winter’s cold. Among the same rocks, and using the conies runways, we [PAGE] 136 caught red backed Evotomys ([Craseomys?]) and chipmunks. Down in the high grass & weeds at the base of the rocks the long tailed Microtus which we caught in the woods near camp is fairly abundant. Y. & I enjoy the ride up the valley to the utmost. When we are running such a lot of traps it is impossible to hunt big game in the morning, so we start off about 7.30. First we look at our gopher traps which are set on the open hill side of the main valley. Then when the specimens have been measured so that the two taxidermists can get their work, we start for the cony traps. The woods are beautiful and we ride just within the edge looking out over the marsh in the bottom of the valley for deer. When we reach the traps and begin to go from [cotton?] to [cotton?] we always go together for that is half the fun of trapping here what each new ones has in store for us. We have caught 5 species in this one spot but after 6 days we had about all there was to get worth while so brot the traps back to camp and set some of them in rocks above the tents. From the summit of the hill where we climbed when putting them out there is a marvelous view down the main valley [PAGE] 137 of the Terelche River. It shows in panoramic completeness how the smaller valleys on each side empty into the main one and how each little streamlet finds its way [crossed out: thr?] by serpentine windings to the [crossed out: main] river. There has been a good deal of rain lately usually in the P.M. and it is already beginning to be chilly in the mornings & evenings. On the 1st day of August the morning was distinctly cold and there was a touch of autumn freshness in the air. In the afternoons we usually ride 6 miles down the main valley to a broad [crossed out: branch with] tundra covered branch where we have seen several roebuck. The animals feed there in the early A.M. & P.M. but they are very wild and by no means plenty. There are too many Mongols here, most [firstborn?] have a gun, and the roebucks are mercilessly hunted, especially in the summer. Therefore the hunting is neither very interesting or profitable. But [crossed out: the thing? when?] we do enjoy the long ride home in the twilight. The sunsets at glorious and as we gallop up the valley the red & gold gradually fade [crossed out: from the sky] leaving [PAGE] 138 July 30 wobble the spruce trees sharply silhouetted against the sky and the somber mass of the forest becoming a mass of jet. It is a truly boreal country and we might be in Alaska, Canada, or Siberia as well as on the edge of Mongolia. On July 31 Suru dorche returned. We had sent for his wife earlier in the P.M. and had discussed the reason for his absence. She appeared greatly worried and seemed afraid that a bear had killed him for he had been away 14 days when he took food for only ten. We showed the lady the photos of Urga & the Mongols in the article I had written for “Harper's” Magazine. She at once picked out the women with their hair dress similar to hers and the expression of amazement and joy which came over her face was wonderful to behold. That was something she could understand and then one by one she began to recognize places & things in Urga which she knew. At first she had not expected to understand what she saw and it took something like her own hair dress, something that was a part of her daily life, to make her realize that it was not so bitterly incomprehensible after all. Other Mongols often come to our camp and looking into a mirror is one of their chief joys. They must have seen seen mirrors [PAGE] 139 go away first touch in Urga many times but it [crossed out: alw] never fails to bring forth interesting results. At first they do not seem to realize that it is their own faces they see but in a few moments it penetrates their sluggish brains and they laugh & shatter like children. In to [crossed out: pl] particulars the Mongols who come to our camp diffe4 most pleasantly from the Chinese. They [crossed out: man?] will sit quietly staring at us as long as we will let them but at a wave of the hand & an indication that [crossed out: they] the audience is finished, they get up immediately and leave without a sign of displeasure. Moreover, they seldom touch the things about camp and never attempt to take away [crossed out: bits] even bits of paper without first asking our permission. In the P.M. of July 31 when Madame Suru dorche had left our camp the Lama & I rode down the valley for a roebuck hunt not far behind her. We were about 2 miles from the tent when we saw the lady riding back to us her [faith? [face?] were arched in smiles, & shouting that her husband had returned. In a few moments we overtook the [crossed out: Mongol] hunter with another young Mongol. They were a [PAGE] 140 wonderfully picturesque pair. Each carried a Russian rifle with its Mongol tripod slung across his back and [crossed out: on the saddles] behind their saddles were [crossed out: strung] fastened a dangling mass of skins. Three female roebuck, three fawns, a moose skin & a pair of small moose antlers in the velvet. The young fellow also carried a fawn which they had shot that morning. Madame suru dorche rode in front behind & beside her husband chattering volubly [crossed out: & mann?] between the business of driving in half a dozen horses, while [crossed out: the hunter replied in monosyllables in] the monosyllabic replies of the hunter were delivered in a voice which seemed to come from a long way a long way off or from out the earth beneath his horses feet. I thot’ at first that he was deaf for it was the sort of voice one is accustomed [crossed out: to hear] to from a person hard of hearing. But my surmise was incorrect & I later discovered that it was only one of the many peculiarities of the man. He was an oldish man, perhaps 55 yrs, altho my guesses as the ages of Orientals are not usually good, with a fce as lined & weatherbeaten as the leather beneath his saddle. The other hunter was not more than 25 with an alert [PAGE] 141 & pleasing face. The old man had a “sai” of greeting for me but otherwise not a word. The young fellow tried by signs to carry on a conversation [directed?] to the animals they had killed. I was interested to see what sort of greeting there would be [crossed out: at?] upon his arrival at the yourt. His two daughters & an old man were waiting near the door, & the latter [crossed out: agreed] advanced with the “sai”. The hunter returned the greeting in kind but that was all. For his two daughters there was never a look or word, and only for his infant son, of 7 years, did he break his silence. The girls unloaded the ponies, put the skins in the log house, & they all returned to the yourt. [crossed out: But all Mongols are] But Suru dorche is an exception to most of the Mongols I have met & his taciturnity is individual for usually they are most cordial in the greetings. Fri Aug 1st Surudorche & the young hunter came to our camp about 8 P.M. although I had sent the Lama for them early in the morning. I learned afterward that the old man was the very personification of independence and never moved or acted in anyway [PAGE] 142 except when it suited his own sweet will. When he arrived at our camp the old fellow was adorned with a peaked hat & a red tassel, the young man wore along gown cuffed with blue. [crossed out: Th] They agreed to hunt with us readily enough but I could get no intimation as to the price expected for their work. Finally they said that they must have another Mongol & when he arrived I agreed to give him $1.50 per day & no [?]. The other two said they would wait till the hunt was over and then we could settle on the wages. Sat Aug 2 So the next morning off we started for they had agreed to go immediately. We took only our fur sleeping bags, light tent & food enough for five days, which, with the Lamas bedding & food made a light load for one horse. It was simplified camping in its most simplified form, but we looked forward to a bully time. At Surudorche’s house the old man & the young hunter were soon ready with their food & saddle bags on one horse. The other Mongol had come with us. [PAGE] 143 We rode away amid the “sais” [crossed out: & upright] accompanied by upright thumbs, of the girls, [crossed out: and] children & the Madame. The girls (there are 3 of them about 17 years old & all quite pretty) belong in the [crossed out: ?] other two yourts near Suru dorche’s but I have not yet been able to determine their relationships. Their well shaped faces are always ready to break into a smile, and for Mongols they seem unusually clean. They wear cunning little Chinese caps and have all the feminine vanities which one might expect [crossed out: even] in debutantes of our own country. They seem greatly interested in our Chinese boy Chen, & in the Lama and from the absences at night [crossed out: from] when I was told the two were at Suru dorchy’s it is evident that quite a wild word flirtation has been going on. One could hardly [crossed out: has?] imagine a more perfect A.M. than the one which we rode away with the Mongol hunters. The air had the first sharp tinges of autumn freshness and the sky was as blue as the waters of a tropic sea. We had expected to make a long march but such was not the plan [PAGE] 144 of the hunters and when we were about 8 miles from camp, they began to [crossed out: hunt] look about at the enterance to one of the branch valleys off from the main river bed, for a place to stop. We were much surprised but as the Lama & young hunter had not yet arrived, we could not [augure?] the reason of the halt. But we let them take their course (& indeed it would have been useless to protest) & the camp was soon made. It consisted of a hanging a piece of canvass over the limb of a spruce tree for the Mongols, of stringing our tent upon a rope & most of all of a fire. As soon as we had stopped in the succeeding days we learned that a fire must be started without delay even tho it was warm enough without one. The Mongols soon had an iron basin of tea over the blaze and when the water was warm they put in a [crossed out: powered [powdered]] substance which resembled nothing so much as powered tobacco but which was fresh tea. As soon as it had boiled [crossed out: th?] each dished out [crossed out: a bowl] plentiful supply in a wooden bowl, mixed it with butter from a birch bark box and [crossed out: ate a little powered] & poured it over some meal. This was with the Tibetans call tsamba [PAGE] 145 and was prepared in much the same way. All the day we slept & ate alternately while the Mongols played with the field glasses in there waking moments. They had never ending delight in scanning the opposite hillside & the valley across the river. When they tired of using the glasses the proper way they inverted them and were just as interested in seeing their comrades & the scenery in miniature. The young hunter, who has much energy, went over to the opposite hill side to hunt marmots. When we had driven an animal in its hole he would conceal himself in the grass a short distance away and patiently wait till the marmot reappeared. What if it did mean an hour or two of waiting! Waiting is the best little thing an Oriental does and the Mongols are no exception. At 5 P.M. two of the hunters rode away to spend the night on the other side of the mt. while Suru dorche & I hunted up the valley at the enterance to which we were camped. He waited till 6 P.M when the valley was entirely filled [crossed out: which] with shadow, before he [PAGE] 146 started out even tho it I greatly wished to go earlier. I have seen roebuck feeding in the open at 4 P.M. but the old man would not be hurried & one might as well try to move a [crossed out: work ?] mt. to start him before he [crossed out: was] is ready. As we rode up the valley a roebuck jumped from the alder & dashed into the woods. I had fleeting glimpses of it thru’ the trees [crossed out: but] and fired three times but there was little chance of success. The old fellow seemed quite disturbed & I learned afterward that their method is to jump from the horse, kneel down & wait till the animal stops & look back. Perhaps it won't but if it does, they have a standing shot. I rather believe their method is a good one for there is certainly little chance of hitting a roebuck when it is jumping thru the bushes appearing for only a fraction of a second between or above the alders. At dark we return to camp without having seen more game. Y. was fussing over the fire and the potatoes were done as we had [bash?], coffee & a cigarette before we turned in. We must [PAGE] 147 have made a picturesque group as we sat with the [crossed out: ?] Mongols about the fire for in their hunting garb they were [crossed out: patch?] a wild looking lot. It is half the fun of an expedition, this living with natives in the [crossed out: woods] forest & mountains, and even tho’ its novelty has somewhat worn off it [crossed out: never comes to] holds a charm of which [crossed out: never] we never tire. In such a life ones [crossed out: worldly] cares are forgotten and the world & all its doings are as far away as tho we were living on another sphere. I think that then I am more perfectly happy than it is ever possible to be when one is in touch with post & telegraph. Somehow I am able to completely shut out from my mind the past and future and can live only in the present. [crossed out: Even at Urga] a present which is that of primitive man as God means him to be, surrounded by the cool clear forest for his house & depending upon the forest creatures for his food. We slept that night with the strong sweet smell of the spruce trees in our nostrils and above [PAGE] 148 our heads a starry ceiling framed in the doorway of our tent. Sund. Aug 3 The morning hunt was unsuccessful but on the summit of a mountain we saw three barkless trees where a wapiti had rubbed its horns. Also I discovered a small patch of strawberries the first week we have seen [crossed out: but] The fruit was small but as sweet as sugar. At 10 o’clock the two Mongols who had spent the night on the other side of the mt. returned. They were emptyhanded but reported having seen & shot a bear but without obtaining it. It is fortunate for the forest creatures that the Mongols will not shoot unless an animal is standing still for its saves many a deer from its death. Every Mongol has a rest for his gun fastened at the muzzle and without it he is lost. He will not shoot at any target unless he can have his gun set up & himself on his knees behind it. We moved camp as soon as the two returned hunters had had their chow and went on down the valley. It took us just so 20 min. from the time we started to break camp to pack the things [crossed out: upon] and be on the move. [PAGE] 149 We passed by the valley which leads over the mt. to the Urga trail and crossing the river camped on the [crossed out: south] west side at the enterance to a beautiful valley the sides of which were covered with a heavy spruce forest. In the afternoon everyone went to sleep for these early hours and strenuous morning hunts tire one quickly. As soon as the Mongols waked they set about preparing food -- and I must admit that we did too. We are just like animals -- hunt in the early morning & evening, sleep in the [crossed out: heat] middle of the day and eat as soon as we wake. I had a beautiful but unsuccessful hunt in the eve. with the old man. He took me to the summit of a mountain where we could look down with a splendid valley on the other side. There he pointed out the place where he had shot a bear three weeks before and we saw a good deal of fresh bear sign on the hillside which he said [crossed out: belon] was made by the cubs of the one he had killed. [PAGE] 150 While we were sitting there watching the valley the old man, to my horror, gathered twigs & started a fire. I protested vigorously but he indicated that the smoke would blow back over the way we had come & not be sented [scented] by the animals. That was quite true but no [now?] the gathering darkness the fire heaved like a beacon light on the hill. The mosquitoes were annoying it is true but I could endure them and he [crossed out: sh] certainly should have been able to. But all my protestations were useless for when he wants to do a thing no one can stop him. It is this extreme independence which takes away much of the pleasure of hunting with him. We saw two very large pigeons in the forest, a huge malel capercaille, and several grouse which looked much like our ruffed grouse but were [in?] the long grass on the open hillside. Mon Aug 4 There was only a dull gray light in the [crossed out: tent this morning] filtering thru the trees when I heard the crackling of flames and saw the dark forms of 3 Mongols [PAGE] 151 about the camp fire. My watch said 3.45 and I would have given much for another hour of sleep. But that night when we were cooking our rice & bacon Y. said that the roebuck which [crossed out: was] we would be frying tomorrow night was now wandering in the woods eating his last meal. [in margin] but S.D. [Suru dorche] waits for no man and I knew that if I was to [crossed out: make] have my coffee before the hunt it was best to out to turn out at once. 15 minutes later [?] I had faith in her prophecy and this helped me to rub the sleep out of my eyes and join the Mongols at the fire. My coffee was soon boiling and in 15 min. we were off on the horses. It was still gray morning as we rode thru the dew soaked grass up the valley. Suru dorche stopped once to examine the rootings of a Ga-hai (wild boar) and then we continued steadily upward thru the [crossed out: forest] woods not far from the little stream which wandered between windows & alder clad banks to join the river. [crossed out: The forest was dark &] In the [crossed out: gloom of the forest] half light the [crossed out: green was] trees & bushes seemed flat and colorless but [crossed out: just before we left the wood] suddenly the sun [crossed out: shot burned thru a cloud on the horizon and] blazed out flooding the woods with golden light. What a change it made in my small [PAGE] 152 world! The whole forest seemed [crossed out: suddenly] instantly to awake. It was as tho I had come into a great room where objects were dimly visible and had [crossed out: switched on an] pressed an electric switch. The greens of the trees & bushes were flat no longer but of a hundred subtle shades. The flowers, yellow, purple, red, blue [crossed out: &] white & lavender seemed every one to lift their dew wet faces [crossed out: & ask mutely appealing for admiration of their] and ask for admiration of their loveliness. With regret I saw the old hunter dismount, tie his horse to a tree, & make for [crossed out: an open] a grassy hill side at the edge of the forest. I hated to leave that great green room where there was such radiant beauty on every side. But the deer would be feeding in the open at this time of the morning & would not retire to the forest for their mid day sleep until the sun was high & warm. We climbed upward thru the long sweet grass to the very crest of the hill. There we stopped to rest a moment while I scanned [crossed out: the] a [burned?] forest across the valley with my glasses. There seemed nothing living in the trees or meadow but as we slowly walked along the summit of the ridge a pair of grouse shot like whirring bullet from [crossed out: under] beneath [PAGE] 153 our very feet. A moment later half a dozen smaller bullets buzzed away as the chicks followed their parents into the shelter of the trees. We crossed a flat depression in the ridge and climbed again to a rounded [crossed out: summit] hill top. Below a new valley lay before us & I sat down to examine it with my glasses. while Suru dorche wandered slowly off to the right & looked across at the opposite mts. I was intently studying the edge of a marsh when I heard the muffed beat of hoofs. I jerk to the glasses from my eyes just as a [crossed out: splendid] huge roebuck crossed with a pair of splendid branching [crossed out: horns] antlers bounded into view not thirty feet away. [crossed out: At the] He made a picture which with the [crossed out: the detail] clearness of a photograph will forever remain stamped upon my memory as he hesitated for an instant with head thrown up & nostrils distended, and then dashed along the hillside. That instead of hesitation cost him his life for it gave me just time to [crossed out: grasp my] seize the rifle across my lap, catch a glimpse of the yellow red body thru the rear sight and fire ere he disappeared. At the crash of [PAGE] 154 the shot I leaped to my feet, ran a few steps and saw four [crossed out: pointed] slender legs violently waving in the air. The bullet had caught him thru the shoulders & he was down for good. My heart bounded with exultation as I lifted this magnificent head an [and] feasted my eyes on the antlers. It was the first buck I had ever killedand I gloated over his beautiful body as a miser handles his gold. And shining gold was never a more wonderful [crossed out: ?] color than [crossed out: that] the brilliant yellow red of his summer coat. He was as perfect [crossed out: as] a specimen as I could wish for the [crossed out: do?] the central figure of the group I wished for the Museum. And [in margin:] Roebuck group right there as he lay in the sunlight upon the hillside amid a [crossed out: riot of] veritable garden of blue bells, daisies and yellow roses, I had the setting & plan of the group before me. With the flower decked hillside running into dark line of spruce trees on the ridge above, it could be reproduced in details and bring to thousands of people on the other side of the world, at least a small part of the pleasure it was giving me then. I always think when I have killed an animal, what an advantage the naturalist has over the [PAGE] 155 [crossed out: ordinary] usual sportsman. [crossed out: who] He shoots [crossed out: an animal] a buck and takes its head to be mounted later & hang over his fireplace or in his trophy room. As he looks at it, if he be one of imagination, it brings back to him the feel of the morning air, the [crossed out: smell] scent of the forest and they wild thrill of exultation as the buck went down. But [crossed out: all that] it is a memory picture only and [crossed out: it] is limited to himself. The [crossed out: camera?] mounted head can never bring to others the smallest part of the joy he felt & the beauty of the [crossed out: picture] scene he saw. To the naturalist the excitement of the hunt is only one of the fascinating sides of the sport. Not only does he have the [crossed out: knowle] pleasure of planning the group but [crossed out: the] its actual reconstruction under his direction, in the Museum when he is thousands of miles away brings back in a double measure the happiness of the carefree days in [crossed out: the wild for when as] strange lands and amid stranger people. And with what loving care he labours to reproduce with fidelity & minutest detail the scene of his hunt that it may bring to his city dwelling audience some part of his own pleasure & [PAGE] 156 teach them something of the animals he loves & the lands they [crossed out: inhabit] called their own. To his scientific training he owes another source of pleasure even greater than the other for every line of the beautiful animal before him has a meaning which adds to his [crossed out: found?] store of first-hand knowledge of [crossed out: the an?] how nature [crossed out: ‘s] [crossed out: creati] has expressed herself in her [crossed out: living] wild creatures. He sees it then in a [crossed out: different] new light, no matter how many specimens he has examined in the Museum, for [crossed out: now] it is in its own environment in the surroundings of its own choice. Perhaps characters which have puzzled him & his [crossed out: fellows] colegues [colleagues] are now made [crossed out: clear] plain & he can read [crossed out: the story of] its life history with clearness & the [crossed out: kn] certain knowledge of truth. And above all is the delight when he feels art certain that he has before him a new discovery – a [crossed out: n anim] species new to science. Be it [crossed out: big] large or [cross out: litt] small, whether the animal has fallen to his rifle or his strap, there is the joy of knowing that he has [crossed out: added in some small portion to the toward solving] learned one more of nature’s secrets, has traced one [PAGE] 157 more small line [crossed out: of] on the white [crossed out: places] portions of nature’s map. While the thoughts which I have spoken with passing thru’ my mind Suru dorche was [crossed out: ?] standing like a statue on the hill top, rifle ready, scanning [crossed out: the] forest & valley with the hope that my shot had disturbed another animal. But nothing moved within his vision and in fifteen minutes he [crossed out: j?] came down the hill where my buck lay. [crossed out:Wish] The old fellow had lost [crossed out: more?] some of his accustomed calm [crossed out: than] and with thumb up upraised murmured “sai” “sai”. Then he went thru’ [crossed out: and?] in vivid pantomime a recital of how he had suddenly come upon the buck feeding just below the hillcrest, how it had galloped away, & how he had seen me a jerk the glasses from my eyes & shoot. The fact that I can shoot off hand [crossed out: &?] regardless of the rest which is so essential to a Mongol seemed to impress [crossed out: them] him more than any other thing. We sat down beside the [crossed out: animal] buck and smoked a cigarette while I finished [PAGE] 158 the scrutiny of the valley below us which had been interrupted by the appearance of the [crossed out: buck] deer. Then the old [crossed out: hunter] man eviscerated the animal [crossed out: & made ?] while I watched him with interest. [crossed out: ?] Like the Korean, Moso, Lolo, Chinese & other Orientals with whom I have hunted, he took great care to preserve the heart, lungs, liver stomach & intestines. The two latter he emptied of their content out carefully replacing them made fast the opening in the abdomen of the carcass, tied the fore & hind legs together & with my assistance hoisted it to his back. I carried his gun & preceded him over the hill & down the valley hoping that [crossed out: the] I might see another roebuck on the way to the horses. I was sure that the old fellow would not carry the animal long & very soon he placed it on a stump & went on with me to [crossed out: ge] bring up his pony. We rode into camp at eight o'clock and at my whistle Y. came running out to meet us. She could see gthat we were carrying something and in her excitement stumbled over hidden long logs & stumps. [crossed out: Then] She [PAGE] 159 was as pleased as tho’ she had killed the buck herself and listened to my recital of the hunt with shining eyes, while I had a cup of steaming coffee & a smoke. She told me that the young [crossed out: Mongol] hunter had wounded a deer & had returned to camp to [crossed out: tak] track it with the dog. Half an hour later we heard a shot [crossed out: and] just above us in [crossed out: th] a valley to the north and in a short time the Mongol rode in with a fine [crossed out: young] 3 yr old buck behind his saddle. He had not been able to find his wounded deer but had picked up this on the way [crossed out: down] back Y. photographed the animals after which I measured & skinned them. The Mongols were already cooking [crossed out: up] the viscera which they seem to prefer to all else. It was cut in chunks & all boiled together. They gorged themselves to repletion & then rolled up in their cloaks to sleep till it was time to start for the [crossed out: afte] evening hunt. Tues Aug. 5 We moved camp the next A.M. for none of us had seen game and pitched our tents at the [PAGE] 160 enterance to the next valley [crossed out: two] a mile to the south. I worked all the P.M. on the skins and at 5.30 left with Suru dorche to ride up the fine valley into which we had looked the day before. He pointed out to me the spot where he had killed his bear and I rescued the skull which was beside the embers of their fire. It was that of a fine old female with well worn teeth and will make the skin more valuable as a specimen for I can purchase it from him. We had had some rain in the P.M. & the clouds still hung heavily over the sky so that with in the heavy the forest [crossed out: ? the black spruce trunks and the shaddows [shadows] there was a somber half light and the [crossed out: sp] wet spruce trunks were black as jet. We left the horses at the upper end of the valley & worked slowly thru the trees toward the summit of the ridge. [crossed out: which ha]. It was already so dark that Iv could only with difficulty sight my my rifle and I had about decided to return to Suru dorche who has some distance below me [crossed out: & to] at the left. Before doing so I decided to continue to [PAGE] 161 the crest of the ridge so that I might see what was on the other side. I was just entering a burned portion of the forest & the [crossed out: blacked] charred [crossed out: stumps] trunks [crossed out: stood out as] stretched out in their spectres like arms as black as might be. Suddenly I saw a peculiar stump on the summit of a [crossed out: little] knoll I looked at it causually [casually] at first, then intently. I was about to move forward for a closer inspection when there was the swish of a tail and I realized that it was gazing at a huge wild boar standing head on. In the [crossed out: gathering] gloom it had been uncertain of what I was. Throwing up my rifle I fired instantly but even as I pressed the trigger the animal moved & I knew that my bullet would strike behind it. But it was too late to change, for my brain could not telegraph to my finger quickly enough to stop its action. There was no [crossed out: time] chance [crossed out: for a second shot] to shoot again for the animal had disappeared beyond the rise. We followed its trail for Suru dorche had hopes of finding blood altho’ I knew my bullet could not have struck the brute if it had gone where I aimed. It was soon too late to see and [PAGE] 162 we returned to the horses. As we [crossed out: rode slowly] picked our way among the trees I had ample time to think & to realize my disappointment. It was born in upon me again what a narrow margin there is between [crossed out: com?] complete success & complete failure in shooting. In no other sport is the line so closely drawn. A [throbbing?] heart after a run or climb or a quick-drawn breath will throw the sight a hairs [hair’s] breath to one side & send the bullet wild [crossed out: after perhaps a stalk of hours.] The jamming of a cartridge [crossed out: may] when the game is wounded or a shot too hurriedly taken ends the day in disappointment. In the case of the boar, head [crossed out: had I realized the ? of a second ? what the animal was] or had the [crossed out: animal] animal remained the fraction of a second longer, I should have had its skin behind me on the saddle & my heart would have been filled with joy instead of black dejection. And strangely enough, it is the shots which I miss or the animals which I do not get that I remember longest. I can see that boar as clearly now with every detail of its surroundings, as tho’ it were before me in a photograph. [crossed out: Take?] Eight years ago I missed a fine goral in Korea as it stood upon a rock presenting [PAGE] 163 a perfect target and a year later a huge brown bear in Alaska looked at me quietly [crossed out: while I] a hundred yards away while I fired hurriedly and never touched a hair. I can recall dozens of other instances in various parts of the world where I have lost game by the merest chance and everyone furnishes [crossed out: ?] almost as much mental agony [crossed out: that it] had the present moment as tho it had happened yesterday. True I remember my good shots & my successful hunts but they do not eradicate my [crossed out: ?] failures. In [crossed out: golf] other sport my mental processes [crossed out: do not] act in [crossed out: the same manner] quite a different way. [in margin:] When I was in college if I made a long hit in baseball I could always forget with little trouble the number of times I had struck out. In golf [crossed out: I can remem] one [crossed out: ?] good drive or skillful approach will blunt out a dozen poor strokes and send me to the club house as happy as tho I had played every hole in bogey. But I think it is that [crossed out: very] same narrow margin between success & failure that [crossed out: puts shooting above all others sports in my] is one of the greatest facinations [fascinations] which shooting holds for me. That, and the never ending hope which “springs eternal in the human breast”. One [crossed out: can never] always [crossed out: be sure] expects that over the next hill top [PAGE] 164 an animal may be grazing and until one is actually in camp there is always the possibility of a shot. Many is the time I have ended a day with success within a few hundred yards of my tent simply because I never ceased to expect and hope that game might lie in every bit of cover. [crossed out: Every] Each disappointment, [crossed out: every] each animal missed seems to make me keener for the next day’s hunt. These were some of the thot’s which filled my mind as we groped our way back to camp thru the blackness of a rainy night. The young hunter too had his tale of woe for he had seen 3 wolves & fired 4 shots at them without success. [crossed out: in the] Also just at dusk he had seen a doe roebuck with two fawns but all his squalling with a piece of grass between his hands had not brot’ them near enough for a shot. Old Suru dorche can make an extraordinarily good imitation of a young deer’s cries in this manner and he always uses it to signal to me when we are beyond each other’s sight. The bucks are beginning to bark now and the sound is exactly like that of a dog with a cold. The animals [PAGE] 165 seldom indulge themselves in this way, however, unless they are well within the cover of the forest & it is almost useless to attempt to stalk them. Wed Aug 6 We moved camp this A.M. to the enterance of another valley on the east side of the river and hunted unsuccessfully in the eve. Thur Aug 7 The next A.M. I saw no game but the young hunter brot in a musk deer which he had killed on the mt. above our tents. The little animal is about the size of a muntjac dark gray with white markings on the throat. This specimen was a male with tusks about 3” long. Behind & surrounding the penis was the musk gland which in this instance was [blank]“ long by [blank]“ wide. The tail, which was completely bare was only [blank]” long & concealed in the midst of a rump patch of long stiff & curved hairs. [crossed out: Patches] On various parts of the body numbers of the long hairs which form the winter coat still remained but they are so exceedingly [brute?] that they break off by the end of the summer & little of them remains. In their place the short summer coat grows [PAGE] 166 up with hairs not so brittle. There was an exceedingly strong musky odor about the animal and it was so tenaceous [tenacious] that even after washing my hands repeatedly traces of it still remained. The young hunter had already cut off the musk gland for fear I would not give it to him for it is worth a considerable amount of money. I saw one of these little deer three days ago on the summit of a mt. ridge but did not get a shot. It was running among some fallen trees at the edge of a burned forest. The animals are exceedingly shy & keep well up on the mt. slopes in heavy cover so that it is by no means easy to find them. After our morning hunt we broke camp and moved on up the valley to our permanent account. Y. & I [crossed out: got Chen] rode into the beautiful forest in which the tents we pitched at 2 P.M. & immediately started Lo at work making pancakes. We ate so many that it seemed we could never [crossed out: fill] satisfy ourselves for never had I eaten such pancakes as Lo makes! Chen & Kang had been busy during [PAGE] 167 our absence with the small traps & had obtained 52 specimens, including one very small weazel [weasel]. Fri Aug 8 We moved camp this A.M. to the lower end of the main valley. On the way we stopped at Suru dorche’s house & made arrangements for the next hunt which was to be in 3 or 4 days after. The Lama had returned from Urga with our mail. While we were at S. D’s house I took a series of motion pictures of the yourt & the inmates. They all submitted with exceptional good will and during the process two picturesque Lamas with a woman rode up caring a pair of splendid 5 pt. [crossed out: elk] wapiti antlers in the velvet which they offered for sale for $300!! I got pictures of them also and we then went on with the carts down the valley. We had no difficulty in crossing the marsh & river, altho’ the Mongols had said it could not be done, & pitched the tents on a terrace [crossed out: at the fort] halfway down of a high forest clad hill. Our view is down the valley to the south & up the other valley to the east where S. D lives. I could hardly be a more beautiful spot & in the marsh in front of us we may see deer at any time. Lama & the young hunter rode into [PAGE] 168 Urga & in the P.M. I set a line of traps with Chen & Kang. Y. & I hunted in the eve [evening] but got nothing. Sat Aug. 9 Saw two deer this A.M. but no shots -- beautiful day. Eve. went out with Suru dorche & rode up the valley in which we are camped. On the way saw the hindquarters of a fawn sticking out of the bushes & shot it. Shot a capecaille & saw three others. Wonderful moonlight -- bright enough to shoot. Sun Aug 10 Last night froze hard & grass covered with white frost. Went out with S. D. & saw two deer but no shots. Shot a squirrel but did not get it. Saw a big gray owl. In P.M. Y. & I went out but came back early because of rain. Mon Aug. 11 Rain this a.m. & mist all day -- stayed in tent & wrote journal. At 9 P.M. young hunter returned but Lama not for he rode horse so hard it became ill. Could not find our mail in bag until next A.M. Tues. Aug 12 Beautiful day -- warm & sun -- all A.M. read mail & papers. Lama returned at noon. S. D. & young hunter promise to go for 2 day trip [crossed out: tomorrow?] & then return for a “field day” at S. D’s house. Then go off for a long trip. Y. & I hunt in P.M. but see nothing. Wed. Aug 13 This A.M. Y. & I rose at 4 oclock & [PAGE 169] had our meal in the servants tent. We rode out across the marsh & up into the big valley just north of where we are camped. We have seldom failed to see roebuck here & this morning as we were skirting the edge of the woods I saw a fawn jump out of the bushes & dash for the cover of the forest on the other side. I crouched in the grass & he stepped just within the cover of the trees. It was a long shot at a very small animal but the first shot [?] his hind leg & he ran only a few steps. At the second which tore thru’ his chest he went down for good. We continued hunting but saw no other deer [crossed out: & returned] Saw 3 capercaille & got some blue berries in the marsh. Returned to camp & found the two Mongol hunters waiting for us. After breakfast we packed our things and started off again. It is good to be away, to leave camp servants & comparative luxury behind us & to go off for a real hunt & a life au naturelle [naturel]. We rode up the valley in which we had hunted this A.M. & camped near its upper end. Just after our tent was up it began to rain & continued all the P.M. However, we are as comfortable [PAGE] 170 as can be for we have our sleeping bags, plenty of reading material & good food. We are so glad to be away -- not a thing to worry us & [crossed out: plat?] prospect of a fine hunt before us. It was interesting to see the way old S. D. [?] his feel for rain. He rolled an [?] log to the fire & built of huge blaze around it in such a way that it would burn underneath the log. When it was gets well started, no rain can fall directly upon it and the fire will burn regardless for the log is continually being hollowed out from [crossed out: below] beneath. All the P.M. we have slept, ate, read & written. A lazy life but a happy one & even if the rain is pattering on our tent we are warm & comfortable. It is fine country we are in, with a branch valley to the north leading up to an open rise, on the sides sparingly covered with burned trees. To the west, [crossed out: and] the main valleys loses itself in a heavy spruce forest. [PAGE] 171 [blank] [PAGE] 172 [blank] [PAGE] 173 [blank] [PAGE] 174 [blank] [PAGE] 175 [blank] [PAGE] 176 [blank] [PAGE] 177 [blank] [PAGE] 178 [blank] [PAGE] 179 [blank] [PAGE] 180 [blank] [PAGE] 181 [blank] [PAGE] 182 [blank] [PAGE] 183 [blank] [PAGE] 184 [blank] [PAGE] 185 [blank] [PAGE] 186 [blank] [PAGE] 187 [blank] [PAGE] 188 Commercial chapter where marmots fur is [?] trapping -- Used Am. traps – wool -- camel [wool?] sheep & cattle – hides – meat forests – [?] – spruce [PAGE] 189 [blank] [PAGE] 190 Urga is 6,000 ft above sea Bogdo-ol is 11,000 ft [above sea] Wireless stations Peking to Urga to Urumshi to Kashgar – Day [ought? with?] Peking Uliassitai [Uliassutai], Kobdo, Sian-fu & Hami – there will link up with Peking thru’ these first day or night stations – [but.?] now in China Marconi [?] doing in for Chinese Govt. “Chinese [natl.?] wireless Co.” formed to [?], maintain & supply Marconi patents in China Chinese & Japanese Dogs W.T. Collins Herneman’s Eng. 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