, situated on a hill at a
fork of the river and surrounded by high stone walls pierced and
loopholed for rifle fire. Such walls, while of little use against
artillery, nevertheless offer a formidable obstacle to anything less than
field guns as we ourselves were destined to discover.

The Methodist mission compound encloses a considerable area on the very
summit of the hill, backed by the city wall, and besides the four dwelling
houses, comprises two large schools for boys and girls. Mr. Caldwell's
residence commands a wonderful view down the river and in the late
afternoon sunlight when the hills are bathed in pink and lavender and
purple a more beautiful spot can hardly be imagined.

But the delights of Yen-ping are somewhat tempered by the abominable
weather. In summer the heat is almost unbearable and the air is so nearly
saturated from continual rain that it is impossible to dry anything except
over a fire. From all reports winter must be almost as bad in the opposite
extreme for the cold is damp and penetrating; but the early fall is said to
be delightful.

The larger part of Fukien, like many other provinces in China, has been
denuded of forests, and the groves of pine which remain have all been
planted. This deforestation consequently has driven out the game, and
except for tigers, leopards, wolves, wild pigs, serows and gorals, none of
the large species is left. However, the dense growth of sword grass and the
thorny bushes which clothe the hills and choke the ravines give cover to
muntjac, or barking deer, and many species of small cats, civets, and other
Viverines. These animals come to the rice paddys, which fill every valley,
to hunt for frogs and fish, but it is difficult to catch them because of
the Chinese who are continually at work in the fields.

We spent a week trapping about Yen-ping and although we caught a good many
animals they were almost always stolen together with the traps. We had this
same difficulty in Yuen-nan as well as in Fukien. None of us had ever seen
natives in any part of the world who were such unmitigated thieves as the
Chinese of these two provinces. The small mammals are hardly more abundant
than the larger ones for the natives wage an unceasing war on those about
the rice paddys and have exterminated nearly all but a few widely
distributed forms.

CHAPTER IV

A BAT CAVE IN THE BIG RAVINE

A few days after our arrival in Yen-ping we went with Mr. Caldwell and his