LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE o tJ SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE SINO - MONGOLIAN FRONTIER The Author. Frontispiece. SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER By ARTHUR DE CARLE SOWERBY, F.Z.S., F.R.G.S. Joint Author with Robert S. Clark of "Through ShSn-Kan," and Author of " Fur and Feather in North China" and "A Sportsman's Miscellany" " Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated — so : ' Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go ! ' Kipling. LONDON : ANDREW MELROSE, LTD. 3 YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. 1918 D ^ '7 i c> To MAJOR ROBERT STERLING CLARK. In memory of many happy days' hunting on the Sino-Mongolian Frontier. Introduction EVER since the Original Hundred Families wandered eastward from Central Asia into the land now known as China, and settled in the broad and fertile valley of the Wei River in the present province of Shensi, forming the nucleus of the Flowery Kingdom, its people have been harassed continually by the ravaging hordes of Tartary. The frontiers between the two races, one peace- ful and addicted to the practice of the Arts, the other warlike, and caring only for plunder, rapine and conquest, have always been marked by scenes of bloody conflicts, ruthless raids and brutal massacres ; yet, strange though it may seem, it has been the peaceful nation which has won in the end, and continually the Sino-Mongolian boundary has been pushed further to the north. The Chinese have repeatedly been conquered by the Tartars, and subjected to a rule of tyranny and oppression ; but it has always ended in the same way — either the absorption or the ejection of the Tartar conquerors, and a further advance of the Chinese upon the acknowledged territories of these predatory Nomads. INTRODUCTION From the \\\'i valley, oeeupied twenty centuries before tlie Cliristian era, tlie Chinese, tlieniselves an invaihuLi: race, driving out or exterminating tlie aborigines, spread steadily eastward and northward, till, in tlic reign of the illustrious Shih Iluang-ti, the boundaries of the Empire were marked by the Great Wall. This for many centuries divided the actual territories of the Chinese from those of the Mongols, in spite of further invasions and conquests on the part of the latter ; that is to say, the dwellers on the south side of the ^^'all remained Chinese and those on the north ^Mongol, regardless of the nationality of the ruling Emperor. This state of affairs was maintained up to the middle of the nineteenth century, when as the Tartar Power, both Manchu and Mongol, Eastern and \Vestern, gradually declined, the Chinese pushed beyond the \\'all, settling further and further out on the Mongolian Plateau. This was not done by force of arms, but by intrigue and purchase, and it has led to much bitterness and ill-feeling on the part of the Mongols. To-day, we again have before us the old drama, being played in much the same old way. The Chinese have risen, have shaken off the enfeebled Tartar yoke, and are endeavouring to add yet another portion of Mongolia to the ever-increasing domains of the Middle Kingdom. The aggression of the New Republic, whose vi INTRODUCTION rights over Mongolia are only such as she may maintain by force — Mongolia having been tri- butary to the Manchu and never to the Chinese — is naturally resented by the Mongolians. Thus we see armed bands of both nations lining the present frontier, in many places far beyond the Great Wall, while we hear of depredations and incursions made by wild undisciplined horsemen, who swoop down from the grassy plain or sandy desert to burn, plunder and kill, returning whence they came before the slow-moving Chinese troops can offer resistance, or strike an effective blow in return. The most recent political boundary between Mongolia and China, that is the one extant before the declaration of Mongolian Independence in September 1911 and the present ensuing complica- tions, extended from the border of Manchuria near Liao-chou in the province of Feng-t'ien in a west-south-westerly direction north of Lama Miao (Dolon Nor) to the north-eastern corner of Shansi province. Thence bearing more to the south, it kept north and west of K'uei-hua-ch'eng, till it reached the Yellow River near He-k'ou. From here it followed the course of that river, running due south as far as the north-eastern corner of Shensi province. From this point on it coincided with the course of the Great Wall, extending into the heart of Asia, and terminating only with the western boundary of Chinese Turkestan. vii INTHODITTION \Vcst\vard from tlio point wlicrc it strikes the Yellow Kiver near lle-k'ou this boinulary is the natural one, heinc: marked, first by a scetion of tlie river, llien by the sandy edges of the Ordos Desert, next by a seeond streteh of the Yellow River, and finally by the southern border of the Gobi Desert. Eastward from He-k'oii it is more difTicult to traee a natural boundary, as the whole country is broken up by irregular ranges of hills and moun- tains interspersed with wide river valleys, which in some instances assume the dimensions of plains. On the whole the course of the outer loop of the Great ^^'all may be said to define most satisfac- torily the natural boundary. Especially is this the case immediately north and north-west of Kalgan, where a line of high cliffs of volcanic origin marks the edge of what is generally known as the Mongolian Plateau. From Kalgan the Wall runs first east and then, after making a big loop to enclose the valley of Pei Ho, turns south-east, following the crests of the mountain ranges, finally ending abruptly on the sea coast at Shan-hai-kuan (lit. Mountain-sea pass). The line of demarcation between the land actually occupied by the Mongols on the one hand and the Chinese on the other follows the political boundary, but, so far as the wTiter has been able to observe, the floral and faunistic, as well as the viii INTRODUCTION geologic boundaries coincide with the natural one, excepting only th^t part extending from Kalgan to Shan-hai-kuan. Here the faunistic and floral boundaries undoubtedly lie far more to the north, coinciding rather with the political boundary. In the present volume the term " Sino-Mon- golian Frontier " indicates not so much the political boundary as here set forth, but rather the bound- ary marked out by Shih Huang-ti when he built the Great Wall, which as already stated defines to a great extent the natural boundary. The subject of this book is a series of explora- tions, carried out by the author accompanied in each case by at least one other European, through districts, which, lying in close proximity to the Great Wall, may be included in the title as already defined. The work carried out on these explorations was in the nature of scientific and geographical re- search, including the collection of biological speci- mens, the making of geological notes, the carrying out of compass traverses, and the general investi- gation into the lives, customs and conditions of the natives. These explorations were as follows : — 1. A journey through North Shensi, the Ordos Desert and Western Shansi, by Malcolm P. Anderson and the author in connexion with the Duke of Bedford's Exploration ix INTHODUCTIOX (»f KastiTM Asia ; S|)riiiu^ and SuniiiuM* 1«H)S. "2. An expedition tliioui;!! tlu' nppcr basin of tlic Vvn \Uvvv in \\(.'stiMn Shansi, by tlie author and his wilV : Wintt-r, 1900-10. 3. Short collcc'tin*; trips round 'r'ai-yiian Fu, Shansi : Autumn 1911. 4. A shootinir trip in tho mountains north-east of Kalgan ; February 1912. 5. A journey from Kalgan to K'uei-hua-ch'eng in North Shansi ; Spring, 1912. 6. A journey in Inner IMongoha ; Summer, 1912. It may be noted that the Chirk Expedition, which forms the subject of Through S hen-Kan, took place between the first and second of the explorations enumerated above, and the present book may ])e considered supplementary to that work. Chapters dealing with the scientific aspects of the work of the several expeditions are given at the end of this book. An itinerary, which, it is hoped, will be found useful by future travellers in these parts is also given. The results of the compass traverses have been carefully reduced to a convenient scale ( r,i»oo.(nTo)» and maps will be found in the cover-pocket at the end of the book. I am indebted to Mr. Malcolm P. Anderson for photographs illustrating the first of the series of explorations, to Mr. Robert S. Clark for others INTRODUCTION of North Shensi, and to Dr. P. H. Atwood, who is the best big game shot in North China, for those of the wild boar and the leopard. My best thanks and appreciation are due to Mr. Frederick W. Warrington, who at his own expense accompanied me on the last two expeditions, rendering the ablest assistance. ARTHUR DE C. SOWERBY. NOTE This book was written in 1913, but on account of con- ditions brought about by the European War, which broke out on the eve of publication, it was thought advisable not to issue it till now. On the whole conditions in China and Mongolia are much the same to-day as they were in 1913, with the exception, perhaps, that the suzerainty of China over Mongolia has been re-established, while the tlu"eat of annexation by Russia has, for the time at least, been removed. Litermittent fighting still takes place between the Mongols and Chinese, but this partakes more of the nature of raids by lawless bands than direct military conflict between the two countries. The railway from Kalgan westward has been completed as far as Fen-cheng (see page 105) on its way to K'uei- hua-ch'eng, thus reducing the journey a day's march. The effect of the recent outbreak of pneumonic plague in this region has not yet been made known, but since the whole of the area from Fen-cheng westward was affected, it is certain that the population, already sparse enough, has been further reduced. It has been reported that whole villages have been wiped out by this terrible disease. 1918. A. DE C. S. xi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction v CHAPTER I The Ordos Border . . . . . . 3 CHAPTER II The Forests and Lakes of the Fen Ho Basin . 39 CHAPTER III Sport round T'ai-yuan Fu ..... 63 CHAPTER IV Trip to Hsi-wan-tzu ...... 83 CHAPTER V Journey to K'uei-hua-ch'eng : the T'ai Hat . 101 CHAPTER VI After Argali and Wapiti . . . . .113 CHAPTER VII The Mongolian Plateau 139 CHAPTER VIII Biological Work . . . . . . .173 CHAPTER IX The Flora of the Si no-Mongolian Frontier . 215 i. Trees 216 (a) Gymnosperms . . . . .218 (6) Angiosperms . . . . . .221 xiii CONTEXTS PAGE ii. Vnuts 22G iii. FlowiTS ....... 237 iv. Cryptogams ....... 245 CHAPTER X Geological Notes ....... 251 Part 1. — The Gcolofjy of the Country traversed by the Chen-T'ai llaihvay, Western Chihli and Eastern Sliansi ...... 253 Part 2. — The Geology of the Country traversed by Anderson and the Author in 1908, Northern Shansi, the Ordos and Western Shansi . . 258 Part 3. — The Geology of the Upper Fen Ho Basin, Western Shansi 263 Part 4. — The Geology of the Country traversed by tlie Peking-Kalgan Raihvay, North Chihli . 268 Part 5. — The Geology of the Ch'ing IIo and Hsi- wan-tzu District, North Chihli . . . 270 Part 6. — The Geology of the Country traversed by the Ch'ang-sui P2xtcnsion Line, North-Western Chihli and North-Eastern Shansi . . . 272 Part 7. — The Geology of the Country from Yang- kao to K'uei-hua-eh'eng, North Shansi . . 273 Part 8. — The Sedimentary Roeks north-west of Pi-eh'ien-ch"i, North-Western Shansi . . 276 Part 9. — The Geology of the Mongolian Plateau, Inner Mongolia ...... 278 Appendix ; Itineraries ...... 283 MV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PLATE PAGE The Author Frontispiece I. Yen-an Fu, looking up the Yen-shui . . 6 II. Cave Dwelhngs near Yen-an Fu ... 14 III. Idols in Temple Cave, near Yen-an Fu. . 30 IV. Leopard {Felis fontanieri) shot by Dr. P. H. Atwood in Shansi . . . . .42 Wild Boar {Sus sp.) shot by Dr. P. H. Atwood in Shansi. Weight, 330 lb 42 V. Mr. and Mrs. A. de C. Sowerby with Bag of Wild Pigs, Bustards and Small Game . . 58 Water-Mill in Winter 58 VI. Hunting Party on Summit of High Peak, near Tai-yiian Fu 72 Front View of North China Wild Pig, shot at Sheng-yieh, near Tai-yiian Fu . . . 72 VII. Crossing the Yellow River .... 88 Yen-ch'uan Hsien, North Shensi ... 88 VIII. The Author and his Big Ram, photographed where it fell ...... 114 IX. Mongol Women wearing Full Dress Headgear of Silver-Mounted Coral and Turquoise . .142 Mongol Woman in Ordinary Headgear . . 142 X. Procession leaving Prayer Hall, Lama Miao, Mongolia . . . . . . .154 XV LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS n Mi: XI. Xll. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. FACIN'O nil,' I'nivt r WlunI, Lain:i Miao, Moncfolia . 160 l)i\ iI-il.uu'(Ts. LaiiiH Miao, MdiiotoIui . KJO Ptniv Lassoid ...... 100 A lIiTtl of Mon|,'ol Ponies .... 100 Watching the Uaocs . . . .160 Hrcakinp a Wild Pony .... 166 Kxamiriini,' Tcrtli of Wild Pony . . .106 Itrandini,' Wild Pony ..... 106 Giant llainstir {Crict'tuhis triton incanus) . 180 YounjT Antelope . . . . . .180 Wild Sheep 180 Mink {Mustela sibirica) Eating Teal . . 192 Golden Eagle 192 Kuddy Sheld-Duek 192 Wild Peaeh in Blossom near Ycn-an Fu. March 220 Wild Peaeh Blossom {Amygdalus davidiana) near Ycn-an Fu. Late March . . . 238 A Tower of the Great Wall, Ordos Border . 258 Loess Ravine in North Shensi . . . 258 XVI THE ORDOS BORDER CHAPTER I THE ORDOS BORDER VERY early in life my travels began. I was only four years old when my parents took me from an interior town of China to the coast, and thence to Europe. Vaguely I remember the mule train " coughing in the dust " of a Shansi road, and the house-boat journey down a Chihli river, with my mother lying at death's door in the cramped and tiny cabin, overcome by that cruel journey. Then came the strange sights and scenes of the sea journej'' to England, followed by the even stranger (to me) life of my native land. Three years later we were back again in the interior town, and from that time on I have scarcely lived in one place longer than a year or two at a time. All this doubtless accounts for my love of travel, which has led to my kicking the traces and becoming a wanderer. What more natural than that the wandering should have for its scene the land of my nativity, where I know the people and their language, where I can live, if necessary, 3 SPOUT AM) SCIENCE ON THE upon the hiiul, without the help of stores from Euri^pe or Anieriean eaiuied jroods ? What more natural than that the unknown places in this land of mystery should beckon to me, and that I should hear that voice rintrina its " interminable changes .... something hidden. Go and find it. . . . " ? I cannot claim with Kipling's Explorer to have found country unknown to man ; but I can say that I have been the first white man to tread many a forest and wild mountain, many a sandy waste and boulder-strewn wilderness, many a rich pasture and fertile valley. I, too, have seen the promise of future prosperity in *'the big fat marshes that the virgin ore-bed stains," in the '* nameless timber," and " illimitable plains." \Vill others go up and occupy ? Will my coun- trymen aid in developing that potential wealth ? I hope so. Strange though it may seem it has not been the solemn grandeur of the great back ranges, nor the mysterious silence and gloom of the virgin forests, nor yet the smiling fatness of the valleys and plains that have appealed to me most. It is the sun-baked, barren ridges, the shifting, windswept sand-dunes and the saline, brackish swamps of the Ordos Desert that have cast upon me the strongest spell. Even as a boy I had been fascinated by what I had heard of that howling wilderness, that 4 SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER waste of sand, that "Never-never country." The romance of those wild Tartars, living their lives of untrammelled freedom always appealed to my imagination and I longed to go and see it all. At last the chance came, and never shall I regret the step that once and for all settled my destiny, when I exchanged a town life of com- parative ease for that of the explorer and col- lector. It was in Tientsin in the summer of 1907 that I first met Mr. Malcolm P. Anderson, who was out in the East collecting mammals and specimens of zoological interest generally for the British Museum at South Kensington, in connexion with the Duke of Bedford's Exploration of Eastern Asia. At the time I was engaged in mounting the fruits of a hunting and collecting trip in Western Shansi for a local museum. With common interests a friendship sprang up between us, which culminated a month or so later in a decision to join forces in carrying out an expedition into the hitherto practically unknown Ordos Desert. As I would not be free till the end of the year Anderson went to T'ai-yiian Fu in Shansi, where he continued to collect, till, everything having been arranged satisfactorily, I joined him towards the end of January 1908. The proximity of the Chinese New Year pre- 5 SPOUT AM) SCIKNCK ON THE vented our startinLr for another fortni«j:lit, but at last on February 10, we set out from T'ai-yiian Fu with a somewhat meagre equipment of four mules and one pony, together with three natives. A ghuiee at the map of China will sufliee to show the reader the position of the Ordos Desert. It is situated w ithin a mighty loop of the Yellow River innnediately north of Shcnsi, from whieh province it is divided by the Great Wall. The Ordos is known to the Chinese asTs'ao-ti (grass land), and the only information we could glean concerning it was that it was an immense wilderness of sand and coarse scrub, in which wild Tartars lived, and where hardy races of small ponies and cattle were bred. This sounded interesting, though hardly favour- able to our purpose of making a large collection. Nevertheless our instructions were definite on the subject, so we set about attaining the end in view as best we could. We found that by travelling due west we could have reached Yii-lin Fu on the border of the desert in fourteen days, but this would have brought us to the country at a time of year when the weather would have been most unsuitable for the collecting of small mammals, and much valuable time would have been wasted. We therefore decided to travel south-west to Yen-an Fu in North Central Shensi, and from there work north-west, to the southernmost point 6 PLATE I. ■ -A ^ ,\f'.\ mii. -f Ijt. \ '■-"''■'"A ■^^^t-C'^-K . 1,5- '^ ■:-j:_^' Ot^positc p. 6.] SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER of the Ordos. By stopping and collecting at a few places along this route, we would gauge our arrival on the frontiers of the desert to sometime in spring, the best season for our work. After leaving T'ai-yiian Fu, and crossing the low mudflats of the Fen River, our road lay in a south-westerly direction through well cultivated country. Round the villages we noticed innumer- able jujube trees (Zizyphus sativa), which grow extensively in all the low lying valleys and plains of Shansi, Chihli and Shensi. The fruit of these trees resembles nothing so much as a date, and when treated with honey makes an excellent preserve. It is largely used in the manufacture of sweetmeats, especially of the cheaper qualities, while bread-steamers ^ use it instead of currants in the manufacture of a kind of bun loaf. Our first stopping place was the small town of Chin-ssu, famous for its temple and spring. The latter gushes out of the base of the hill upon which the temple is built, and irrigates the surrounding fields, making the cultivation of rice on a large scale possible. It also forms the motive power of a number of paper mills, a coarse straw-paper being manu- factured in the district. The temple of Chin-ssu is a very beautiful edifice, composed as it is of magnificent buildings ^ In north China, excepting in Kansu, the best bread is steamed, and goes by the name of " Cheng mo." SPOKT AND SCIENCE ON THE staiuling upon a series of stone terraces running up tlie steep hillsitle. A long lliglit of stairs ex- tends from the base to the topmost shrine, while in thi' extensive grounds are artificial lakes, filled with carp. Old and stately trees stand here and there, the most interesting of which arc two huge Maidenhair trees {(lin^ko biloha), \Ve reached Fen-chow Fu two days later, passing on our way the important towns of Chiao- ch'eng Hsien and Wen-sui Hsien. The country between these two places is noted as being the finest grape producing district in China. The grapes grown are mostly purple, but some white varieties occur. In the season these fruits sell at less than one halfpenny per pound. Fen-ehou Fu itself is a large business town with an extensive floating population. It has nothing of particular interest to recommend it to the traveller, who is only too anxious to get away from its dirt and smells. On leaving this town we took a westerly course, and following a deep and narrow gorge in the limestone formation, crossed a high divide at its head. We spent the night at a large village named Wu-ch'eng. From here we turned southward, and after travelling fifteen miles, stopped at a place named Shi-shi-ling, situated in a mountainous and well-wooded district. Here we remained for some days hunting and collecting. 8 SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER Wild boars, leopards and roe- deer were seen, but we were too busy trapping for small mammals to pay much attention to large game. Pheasants, partridges and hares were abundant, and kept our pot well filled. The weather was too severe for good work, and beyond a few squirrels, field-mice, small hamster rats and three or four species of birds we secured very little. The country was typical of Shansi, consisting of rugged shale and limestone mountains, over- grown with scrub oak, hazel, birch, wild peach, conifers and thorny shrubs of various kinds. From Shi-shi-ling, we travelled westward to- wards the Yellow River, putting up at Ning- hsiang Hsien, and Liu-lin-chen on February 24 and 25 respectively. The former of these two places is a town of no importance and less interest. At Liu-lin-chen some fine springs, open all the year round, form a winter resort for countless wildfowl, including teal, mallards, sheld -ducks, golden eyes and mergansers. On February 26 we crossed the Yellow River and put up at a small village on its right bank. The crossing was effected by means of large ferry boats, into which mules and baggage were igno- miniously bundled, when, with long, roughly made oars, the ferrymen kept the boats at angles such that the swift current forced them along in the desired direction. In consequence, the landing 9 SPOUr AM) SCIENCE ON THE was rffi'c'tcd sonic considerable distance tiown stream. Continuing westward over barren wind-swept loess ridges for two days, wc reached a busy little town named Sui-tc Chou. Thence we travelled southward for four days along a splendid road, which had rcccntl}- been cut by the Yii-lin Fu garrison. This coimtry was very desolate, con- sisting as it did at that season of bare loess hills inhabited only by occasional coveys of partridges and a few foxes and eagles. At a place called Yen-ch'uan Hsien, not far from some recently opened oil wells, we turned westward, and after crossing a steep loess pass, entered the valley of the Yen-shui, the river on whose banks is situated the old town of Yen-an Fu. All the towns and villages we passed were in a sad state of ruin, while the inhabitants were terribly poverty-stricken. The country has not yet recovered from the devastating effects of the great Mohammedan rebellion of the sixties, fol- lowed in 1887 by a protracted famine. It is true that the greater part of the loess hills is under cultivation, but years must elapse before the country regains its former prosperity.^ * In the winter of 1911, the writer again visited this distriet, as leader of the Shcnsi Relief Expedition. The effects of the Revolution, whieh has been described as being " synonymous with anarchy in Shcnsi," were only too painfully evident. The year's crops were still standing. 10 SINO-MONGOLIAN FRONTIER Near Yen-an Fu we noticed that there were many dense thickets, consisting chiefly of the thorny wild jujube (Zizyplus saliva spinosa) along the Yen-shui valley, so we decided to stop and spend a few days in collecting. Our efforts met with immediate success, so that we prolonged our stay in the vicinity. We secured one new species and three new sub-species of rodents, besides several already well-known forms. Each morning ere it was light we would sally forth with satchel and shot-gun to inspect our traps, set the night before. Bringing in the specimens secured, we would spend the rest of the day till mid-afternoon in skinning and preparing our day's haul, after which we would once more go out to look over the traps, or set new ones. The new species referred to above was a pika {Ochoton abedfordi), sl small rabbit-like rodent, Many villages along the high road were deserted, such of the inhabitants as had escaped death having betaken themselves to hastily built stockades in the highest loess hills, while the towns were continually menaced by robber hordes and lawless bands of the dreaded Ko Lao Hui (Elder Brother Society). Since that date no word of the prevailing conditions in North Shensi has reached the outside world, but it is highly probable that the already scanty population has been still further reduced by sword and famine, and that large stretches of country under cultivation at the time of the writer's first visit to this district, now lie a wilderness — a refuge for the increasing coveys of game, and a hiding place for robber bands. — A. de C. S. II sroirr and sciknce on the while the new suh-specios were a suIpluir-hiUicd rat {Epifini/s confuciaiius luticolor), a lar