CAMPS AND TRAILS
IN CHINA
[Illustration: Our Camp on the Snow Mountain at an Altitude of 12,000
Feet]
CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE,
AND SPORT IN LITTLE-KNOWN CHINA
ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, M.A.
ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF MAMMALS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
AND LEADER OF THE MUSEUM'S ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION OF 1916-1917;
FELLOW NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; CORRESPONDING MEMBER ZOÖLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON; MEMBER OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON;
AUTHOR "WHALEHUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA"
AND
YVETTE BORUP ANDREWS
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE ASIATIC ZOÖLOGICAL EXPEDITION
[Illustration]
ILLUSTRATED
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK LONDON 1918
Copyright, 1918, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
Printed in the United States of America
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
PRESIDENT HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN
AS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION
"Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us;
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
And the Wild is calling, calling ... let us go."
--_Service_.
PREFACE
The object of this book is to present a popular narrative of the
Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History
to China in 1916-17. Details of a purely scientific nature have been
condensed, or eliminated, and emphasis has been placed upon our
experiences with the strange natives and animals of a remote and little
known region in the hope that the book will be interesting to the
general reader.
The scientific reputation of the Expedition will rest upon the
technical reports of its work which will be published in due course
by the American Museum of Natural History. To these reports we would
refer those readers who desire more complete information concerning the
results of our researches. At the time the manuscript of this volume
was sent to press the collections were still undergoing preparation and
the study of the different groups had just begun.
Although the book has been largely written by the senior author, his
collaborator has contributed six chapters marked with her initials; all
the illustrations are from her photographs and continual use has been
made of her daily journals; she has, moreover, materially assisted in
reference work and in numerous other ways.
The information concerning the relationships and distribution of the
native tribes of Yün-nan is largely drawn from the excellent reference
work by Major H. R. Davies and we have followed his spelling of Chinese
names.
Parts of the book have been published as separate articles in the
_American Museum Journal_, _Harper's Magazine_, and _Asia_ and to the
editors of the above publications our acknowledgments are due.
That the Expedition obtained a very large and representative
collection of small mammals is owing in a great measure to the efforts
of Mr. Edmund Heller, our companion in the field. He worked tirelessly
in the care and preservation of the specimens, and the fact that
they reached New York in excellent condition is, in itself, the best
testimony to the skill and thoroughness with which they were prepared.
Our Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, contributed largely to the
success of the Expedition. His faithful and enthusiastic devotion
to our interests and his tact and resourcefulness under trying
circumstances won our lasting gratitude and affectionate regard.
The nineteen months during which we were in Asia are among the most
memorable of our lives and we wish to express our deepest gratitude to
the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History, and especially
to President Henry Fairfield Osborn, whose enthusiastic endorsement and
loyal support made the Expedition possible. Director F. A. Lucas, Dr.
J. A. Allen and Mr. George H. Sherwood were unfailing in furthering our
interests, and to them we extend our hearty thanks.
To the following patrons, who by their generous contributions
materially assisted in the financing of the Expedition, we wish to
acknowledge our great personal indebtedness as well as that of the
Museum; Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M.
Colgate, Messrs. George Bowdoin, Lincoln Ellsworth, James B. Ford,
Henry C. Frick, Childs Frick, and Mrs. Adrian Hoffman Joline.
The Expedition received many courtesies while in the field from the
following gentlemen, without whose coöperation it would have been
impossible to have carried on the work successfully. Their services
have been referred to individually in subsequent parts of the book:
The Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs of the Province of
Yün-nan; M. Georges Chemin Dupontès, Director de l'Exploration de la
Compagnie Française des Chemins de Fer de l'Indochine et du Yün-nan,
Hanoi, Tonking; M. Henry Wilden, Consul de France, Shanghai; M.
Kraemer, Consul de France, Hongkong; Mr. Howard Page, Standard Oil
Co., Yün-nan Fu; the Hon. Paul Reinsch, Minister Plenipotentiary and
Envoy Extraordinary to the Chinese Republic, Mr. J. V. A. McMurray,
First Secretary of the American Legation, Peking; Mr. H. G. Evans,
British-American Tobacco Co., Hongkong; the Rev. William Hanna, Ta-li
Fu; the Rev. A. Kok, Li-chiang Fu; Ralph Grierson, Esq., Teng-yueh;
Herbert Goffe, Esq., H. B. M. Consul General, Yün-nan Fu; Messrs. C. R.
Kellogg, and H. W. Livingstone, Foochow, China; the General Passenger
Agent, Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, Hongkong; and the Rev. H.
R. Caldwell, Yen-ping, who has read parts of this book in manuscript
and who through his criticisms has afforded us the benefit of his long
experience in China.
To Miss Agnes F. Molloy and Miss Anna Katherine Berger we wish to
express our appreciation of editorial and other assistance during the
preparation of the volume.
Roy Chapman Andrews
Yvette Borup Andrews
Justamere Home,
_Lawrence Park,
Bronxville, N. Y._
_May 10, 1917._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
The Object of the Expedition
PAGE
The importance of the scientific exploration of Central
Asia--The region which the Asiatic Zoölogical
Expedition investigated--Personnel of the
Expedition--Equipment--Applicants for positions upon the
Expedition
1-6
CHAPTER II
China in Turmoil
Yuan Shi-kai--Plot to become emperor of China--The Rebellion--Our
arrival in Peking--Passports for Fukien Province--Admiral von
Hintze, the German Minister--_En route_ to Shanghai--Death of
Yuan Shi-kai
7-14
CHAPTER III
Up the Min River
Y. B. A.
Arrival at Foochow--Foochow--We leave for Yen-ping--The
Min River--Our first night in a _sampan_--Miss Mabel
Hartford--Brigands at Yuchi--Yen-ping--Trapping at Yen-ping
15-25
CHAPTER IV
A Bat Cave in the Big Ravine
The Temple in the Big Ravine--Hunting serow--A bat apartment house
26-81
CHAPTER V
The Yen-ping Rebellion
A message from Mr. Caldwell--Refugees from Yen-ping--Situation
in the city--Fighting on Monday morning--Wounded men at the
hospital--We do Red Cross work--More fighting--A Chinese
puzzle--The missionaries save the city--The narrow escape of a
young Chinese--The mission cook--Return to Foochow
82-48
CHAPTER VI
Hunting the Great Invisible
Tiger lairs--Mr. Caldwell's method of hunting--His first
tiger--Habits of tigers--Experiences with the Great
Invisible--Killing a man-eater--Chinese superstitions--Hunting
in the lair
44-58
CHAPTER VII
The Blue Tiger
Arriving at Lung-tao--The blue tiger--Mr. Caldwell's first view
of the beast--The lair in the Long Ravine--Bad luck with the
tiger--A meeting in the dark--Ling-suik monastery--Life at the
temple--Fukien Province as a collecting ground
54-66
CHAPTER VIII
The Women of China
Y. B. A.
Schools for girls--Position of women--The Confucian rules--Woman's
life in the home--Foot binding--Early marriage--A Chinese
wedding
67-73
CHAPTER IX
Voyaging to Yün-nan
Outfitting in Hongkong--Food--Guns--Cameras--_En route_
to Tonking--The Island of Hainan--We engage a cook
at Paik-hoi--Arrival in Haiphong--Loss of our
Ammunition--Hanoi--The railroad to Yün-nan Fu--Yün-nan--The
Chinese Foreign Office endorses our plans
74-83
CHAPTER X
On the Road to Ta-li Fu
Oar caravan--The Yün-nan pack saddle--Temple camps--Chinese
_mafus_--Roads--Country--Ignorance of a Chinese
scholar--New mammals--Village life--Opium growing--An opium
scandal--Goitre--The Chinese "Mountain schooner"--Horses--Miss
Morgan--Brigands--Our guard of soldiers
84-98
CHAPTER XI
Ta-li Fu
Hsia-kuan--Summer temperature--Lake--Graves--Pagodas--Mr. H. G.
Evans--Foreigners of Ta-li Fu--Chinese mandarins--Mammals at
Ta-li--Caravan horses and mules--The cook becomes ill
99-106
CHAPTER XII
Li-chiang, and the "Temple of the Flowers"
Traveling to Li-chiang--Our entrance into the city--The surprise
of the foreigners--The temple--Excellent collecting--Small
mammals--The Moso natives--Customs--The Snow Mountain--Baron
Haendel-Mazzetti
107-113
CHAPTER XIII
Camping in the Clouds
Moso hunters--Primitive guns--Crossbows and poisoned
arrows--Dogs--porcupine--New mammals--We find a new camp on
the mountain
114-119
CHAPTER XIV
The First Goral
Killed near camp--A sacrifice to the God of the Hunt--Small
mammals--The second goral
120-125
CHAPTER XV
More Gorals
Gorals almost invisible--Heller shoots a kid--Collecting material
for a Museum group--A splendid hunt--Two gorals--A crested
muntjac
126-188
CHAPTER XVI
The Snow Mountain Temple
The first illness in camp--Serow--Death of the leading
dog--Rain--Two more serows--Lolos--Non-Chinese tribes of
Yün-nan
184-189
CHAPTER XVII
Gorals and Serows
Relationship--Appearance of the serow--Habits--Gorals
140-148
CHAPTER XVIII
The "White Water"
Y. B. A.
Our new camp--serow--We go to Li-chiang--A burial
ceremony--Ancestor worship
140-156
CHAPTER XIX
Across the Yangtze Gorge
Traveling to the river--Inaccuracy of the Chinese--First view of
the gorge--The Taku ferry--Cares
157-163
CHAPTER XX
Through Unmapped Country
Along the rim of the gorge--A beautiful camp at Habala--New
mammals--Photographic work--Phete village--Stupid
inhabitants--Strange natives--The "Windy Camp"--Hotenfa
164-171
CHAPTER XXI
Traveling Toward Tibet
A hard climb--Our highest camp--A Lolo village--Thanksgiving
with the Lolos
172-177
CHAPTER XXII
Stalking Tibetans with a Camera
Y. B. A.
Caravans--Tibetans--Dress--Appearance--Photographing frightened
natives--Reason for suspicion
178-181
CHAPTER XXIII
Westward to the Mekong River
Snow--Photographing natives--The Snow Mountain again--The
Shih-ku ferry--Cranes--"Brahminy ducks"--A well-deserved
beating--Chinese soldiers
182-189
CHAPTER XXIV
Down the Mekong Valley
Arrival at Wei-hsi--The Mekong River--Lutzu natives--Difficulties
in the valley--An unexpected goral--Christmas--The salt
wells--A snow covered pass--Duck shooting--Return to Ta-li Fu
190-201
CHAPTER XXV
Missionaries We Have Known
Our observations on work of missionaries in Fukien and Yün-nan
Provinces--Mode of living--Servants--Voluntary exile--Medical
missionaries--A missionary's experience with the brigands at
Yuchi
202-211
CHAPTER XXVI
Chinese New Year at Yung-chang
Y. B. A.
Traveling to Yung-chang--New Year's customs--Inhabitants of
the city--Foot-binding--Caves--Water buffaloes--Chinese
cow-caravans--Yung-chang mentioned by Marco Polo
212-222
CHAPTER XXVII
Traveling Toward the Tropics
Shih-tien plain--Curious inhabitants of the city--A tropical valley
at Ma-po-lo--"A little more far"--A splendid camp--Many new
mammals--Preparing specimens Sambur--Trapping
223-232
CHAPTER XXVIII
Meng-ting: a Village of Many Tongues
The first Shan Village--Priscilla and John Alden--Meng-ting--The
Shan mandarin--Young priests--The market--Photographing under
difficulties--Suppression of opium growing
233-343
CHAPTER XXIX
Camping on the Nam-ting River
A beautiful camp--The "Dying Rabbit"--Sambur hunting--Jungle
fowl--Civets--Pole cats and other animals
244-251
CHAPTER XXX
Monkey Hunting
Strange calls in the jangle--Our first gibbons--Relationship and
habits--Langurs and baboons--A night in the jungle
252-259
CHAPTER XXXI
The Shans of the Burma Border
An unfriendly chief--Honest natives--Houses at
Nam-ka--Tattooing--Shan tribe--Dress
260-263
CHAPTER XXXII
Prisoners of War in Burma
Y. B. A.
The mythical Ma-li-ling--Across the frontier into Burma--The
_mafus_ rebel--Ma-li-pa--Captain Clive--Guarding the
border--Life at Ma-li-pa
264-272
CHAPTER XXXIII
Hunting Peacocks on the Salween River
The Valley at Changlung--The ferry--Peacocks--The stalker
stalked--Habits of peafowls
273-280
CHAPTER XXXIV
The Gibbons of Ho-mu-shu
Climbing out of the Salween Valley--A Shan
Village--Ho-mu-shu--Camping on a mountain pass--Gibbons--An
exciting hunt and a narrow escape--Habits of the "hoolock"
281-290
CHAPTER XXXV
Teng-yueh: a Link with Civilization
Tai-ping-pu--Flying squirrels--Lisos--A bat
cave--Mail--Teng-yueh--Mr. Ralph Grierson--Tibetan bear cubs
291-297
CHAPTER XXXVI
A Big Game Paradise
Gorals at Hui-yao--Deer--Splendid hunts
298-304
CHAPTER XXXVII
Serow and Sambur
Monkeys at Hai-yao--Muntjacs--A new serow--We move camp to
Wa-tien--A fine sambur
305-314
CHAPTER XXXVIII
Last Days in China
Return to Teng-yueh--Packing the specimens--Results of the
Expedition--On the road to Bhamo--The chair coolies--Burma
_vs._ China--In civilisation again--Farewell to the Orient
315-322
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
Our camp on the Snow Mountain at an altitude of 12,000 feet
_Frontispiece_
Yvette Borup Andrews with a pet Yün-nan squirrel 4
Edmund Heller 4
Roy Chapman Andrews and a goral 4
A Chinese hunter and a muntjac 28
Brigands killed in the Yen-ping Rebellion 28
The Ling-suik monastery 62
A priest of Ling-suik 62
A Chinese mother with her children 70
Chinese women of the coolie class with bound feet 70
Cormorant fishers on the lake at Yün-nan Fu 84
Our camp at Chou Chou on the way to Ta-li Fu 84
The Pagodas at Ta-li Fu 96
The dead of China 96
The residence of Rev. William J. Hanna at Ta-li Fu 102
The gate and main street of Ta-li Fu 102
One of the pagodas at Ta-li Fu 108
A Moso herder 112
A Moso woman 112
The Snow Mountain 116
A cheek gun used by one of our hunters 118
The first goral killed on the Snow Mountain 118
Hotenfa, one of oar Moso hunters, bringing in a goral 120
Another Moso hunter with a porcupine 120
A typical goral cliff on the Snow Mountain 132
A serow killed on the Snow Mountain 140
The head of a serow 140
The "white water" 152
A Liso hunter carrying a flying squirrel 162
The chief of our Lolo hunters 162
A Lolo village 174
Lolos seeing their photographs for the first time 174
Travelers in the Mekong valley 180
Two Tibetans 180
The gorge of the Yangtze River 184
A quiet curve of the Mekong River 190
The temple in which we camped at Ta-li Fu 200
A crested muntjac 200
The south gate at Yung-chang 210
A Chinese bride returning to her mother's home at New Year's 210
A Chinese patriarch 224
Young China 224
A Shan village 234
A Shan woman spinning 234
A Kachin woman in the market at Meng-ting 240
One of our Shan hunters with two yellow gibbons 240
Our camp on the Nam-ting River 246
The Shan village at Nam-ka 246
The head of a gibbon killed on the Nam-ting River 254
A civet 254
A Shan girl 260
A Shan boy 260
A suspension bridge 288
Mrs. Andrews feeding one of our bear cubs 288
A sambur killed at Wa-tien 302
The head of a muntjac 302
A mountain chair 312
The waterfall at Teng-yueh 312
Map I. The red line indicates the travels of the Expedition 318
Map II. Route of the Expedition in Yün-nan 320
CAMPS AND TRAILS IN CHINA
CHAPTER I
THE OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION
The earliest remains of primitive man probably will be found somewhere
in the vast plateau of Central Asia, north of the Himalaya Mountains.
From this region came the successive invasions that poured into Europe
from the east, to India from the north, and to China from the west;
the migration route to North America led over the Bering Strait and
spread fanwise south and southeast to the farthest extremity of South
America. The Central Asian plateau at the beginning of the Pleistocene
was probably less arid than it is today and there is reason to believe
that this general region was not only the distributing center of man
but also of many of the forms of mammalian life which are now living in
other parts of the world. For instance, our American moose, the wapiti
or elk. Rocky Mountain sheep, the so-called mountain goat, and other
animals are probably of Central Asian origin.
Doubtless there were many contributing causes to the extensive
wanderings of primitive tribes, but as they were primarily hunters,
one of the most important must have been the movements of the game
upon which they lived. Therefore the study of the early human races is,
necessarily, closely connected with, and dependent upon, a knowledge of
the Central Asian mammalian life and its distribution. No systematic
palæontological, archæological, or zoölogical study of this region on
a large scale has ever been attempted, and there is no similar area of
the inhabited surface of the earth about which so little is known.
The American Museum of Natural History hopes in the near future to
conduct extensive explorations in this part of the world along general
scientific lines. The country itself and its inhabitants, however,
present unusual obstacles to scientific research. Not only is the
region one of vast intersecting mountain ranges, the greatest of the
earth, but the climate is too cold in winter to permit of continuous
work. The people have a natural dislike for foreigners, and the
political events of the last half century have not tended to decrease
their suspicions.
It is possible to overcome such difficulties, but the plans for
extensive research must be carefully prepared. One of the most
important steps is the sending out of preliminary expeditions to gain
a general knowledge of the natives and fauna and of the conditions to
be encountered. For the first reconnaissance, which was intended to be
largely a mammalian survey, the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition left New
York in March, 1916.
Its destination was Yün-nan, a province in southwestern China. This
is one of the least known parts of the Chinese Republic and, because
of its southern latitude and high mountain systems, the climate and
faunal range is very great. It is about equal in size to the state
of California and topographically might be likened to the ocean in a
furious gale, for the greater part of its surface has been thrown into
vast mountain waves which divide and cross one another in hopeless
confusion.
Yün-nan is bordered on the north by Tibet and S'suchuan, on the west by
Burma, on the south by Tonking, and on the east by Kwei-chau Province.
Faunistically the entire northwestern part of Yün-nan is essentially
Tibetan, and the plateaus and mountain peaks range from altitudes of
8,000 feet to 20,000 feet above sea level. In the south and west along
the borders of Burma and Tonking, in the low fever-stricken valleys,
the climate is that of the mid-tropics, and the native life, as well as
the fauna and flora, is of a totally different type from that found in
the north.
The natives of Yün-nan are exceptionally interesting. There are about
thirty non-Chinese tribes in the province, some of whom, such as the
Shans and Lolos, represent the aboriginal inhabitants of China, and it
is safe to say that in no similar area of the world is there such a
variety of language and dialects as in this region.
Although the main work of the Expedition was to be conducted in
Yün-nan, we decided to spend a short time in Fukien Province, China,
and endeavor to obtain a specimen of the so-called "blue tiger" which
has been seen twice by the Reverend Harry R. Caldwell, a missionary
and amateur naturalist, who has done much hunting in the vicinity of
Foochow.
The white members of the first Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition included
Mr. Edmund Heller, my wife (Yvette Borup Andrews) and myself. A
Chinese interpreter, Wu Hung-tao, with five native assistants and ten
muleteers, completed the personnel.
Mr. Heller is a collector of wide experience. His early work, which
was done in the western United States and the Galapagos Islands, was
followed by many years of collecting in Mexico, Alaska, South America,
and Africa. He first visited British East Africa with Mr. Carl E.
Akeley, next with ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and again with Mr.
Paul J. Rainey. During the Asiatic Zoölogical Expedition Mr. Heller
devoted most of his time to the gathering and preparation of small
mammals. He joined our party late in July in China.
Mrs. Andrews was the photographer of the Expedition. She had studied
photography as an amateur in Germany, France, and Italy, as well as
in New York, and had devoted especial attention to the taking of
photographs in natural colors. Such work requires infinite care and
patience, but the results are well worth the efforts expended.
Wu Hung-tao is a native of Foochow, China, and studied English at
the Anglo-Chinese College in that city. He lived for some time in
Teng-yueh, Yün-nan, in the employ of Mr. F. W. Carey, Commissioner
of Customs, and not only speaks mandarin Chinese but also several
native dialects. He acted as interpreter, head "boy," and general
field manager. My own work was devoted mainly to the direction of the
Expedition and the hunting of big game.
[Illustration: Yvette Borup Andrews with a Pet Yün-nan Squirrel]
[Illustration: Edmund Heller]
[Illustration: Roy Chapman Andrews and a Goral]
In order to reduce the heavy transportation charges we purchased
only such equipment in New York as could not be obtained in Shanghai
or Hongkong. Messrs. Shoverling, Daly & Gales furnished our guns,
ammunition, tents, and general camp equipment, and gave excellent
satisfaction in attention to the minor details which often assume
alarming importance when an expedition is in the field and defects
cannot be remedied. All food and commissary supplies were purchased in
Hongkong (_see_ Chapter IX).
* * * * *
When the announcement of the Expedition was made by the American Museum
of Natural History it received wide publicity in America and other
parts of the world. Immediately we began to discover how many strange
persons make up the great cities of the United States, and we received
letters and telegrams from hundreds of people who wished to take
part in the Expedition. Men and boys were the principal applicants,
but there was no lack of women, many of whom came to the Museum for
personal interviews.
Most of the letters were laughable in the extreme. One was from a
butcher who thought he might be of great assistance in preparing our
specimens, or defending us from savage natives; another young man
offered himself to my wife as a personal bodyguard; a third was sure
his twenty years' experience as a waiter would fit him for an important
position on the Expedition, and numerous women, young and old, wished
to become "companions" for my wife in those "drear wastes."
Applicants continued to besiege us wherever we stopped on our way
across the continent and in San Francisco until we embarked on the
afternoon of Mardi 28 on the S. S. _Tenyo Maru_ for Japan.
Our way across the Pacific was uneventful and as the great vessel
drew in toward the wharf in Yokohama she was boarded by the usual
crowd of natives. We were standing at the rail when three Japanese
approached and, bowing in unison, said, "We are report for leading
Japanese newspaper. We wish to know all thing about Chinese animal."
Evidently the speech had been rehearsed, for with it their English
ended abruptly, and the interview proceeded rather lamely, on my part,
in Japanese.
Japan was reveling in the cherry blossom season when we arrived and for
a person interested in color photography it was a veritable paradise.
We stayed three weeks and regretfully left for Peking by way of Korea.
But before we continue with the story of our further travels, we would
like briefly to review the political situation in China as a background
for our early work in the province of Fukien.