We saw several skins of the beautiful cat (Felis temmicki) which, with the snow leopard (Felis uncia), it was said came from Tibet.  Civets, bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops.  The scales of the pangolin are considered to be of great value in the treatment of certain diseases and the skins are usually sold by the pound as are the horns of deer, wapiti, gorals, and serows.

Almost all of the fossil animals which have been obtained in China by foreigners have been purchased in apothecary shops.  If a Chinaman discovers a fossil bed he guards it zealously for it represents an actual gold mine to him.  The bones are ground into a fine powder, mixed with an acid, and a phosphate obtained which in reality has a certain value as a tonic.  When a considerable amount of faith and Chinese superstition is added its efficacy assumes double proportions.

Every year a few tiger skins find their way to Hsia-kuan from the southern part of the province along the Tonking border, but the good ones are quickly sold at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty dollars (Mexican).  Ten dollars is the usual price for leopard skins.

Marco Polo visited Ta-li Fu in the thirteenth century and, among other things, he speaks of the fine horses from this part of the province.  We were surprised to find that the animals are considerably larger and more heavily built than those of Yuen-nan Fu and appear to be better in every way.  A good riding horse can be purchased for seventy-five dollars (Mexican) but mules are worth about one hundred and fifty dollars because they are considered better pack animals.

On the advice of men who had traveled much in the interior of Yuen-nan we hired our caravan and riding animals instead of buying them outright, and subsequent experience showed the wisdom of this course.  Saddle ponies, which are used only for short trips about the city, cannot endure continual traveling over the execrable roads of the interior where often it is impossible to feed them properly.  If an entire caravan were purchased the leader of the expedition would have unceasing trouble with the mafus to insure even ordinary care of the animals, an opportunity would be given for endless “squeeze” in the purchase of food, and there are other reasons too numerous to mention why in this province the plan is impracticable.

However, the caravan ponies do try one’s patience to the limit.  They are trained only to follow a leader, and if one happens to be behind another horse it is well-nigh impossible to persuade it to pass.  Beat or kick the beast as one will, it only backs up or crowds closely to the horse in front.  On the first day out Heller, who was on a particularly bad animal, when trying to pass one of us began to cavort about like a circus rider, prancing from side to side and backward but never going forward.  We shouted that we would wait for him to go on but he replied helplessly, “I can’t, this horse isn’t under my management,” and we found very soon that our animals were not under our management either!