ir neighbors across the jungle for an hour
or two, the hoolocks howl for about twenty minutes as they swing through
the branches and are silent during the remainder of the day. They called
most frequently on bright mornings and we seldom heard them during cloudy
weather.

Apparently they had regular feeding grounds, which were visited every day,
but the herds seemed to cover a great deal of territory. Like the gibbons
of the Nam-ting River, the hoolocks traveled through the tree tops at
almost unbelievable speed, and one of the most amazing things which I have
ever witnessed was the way in which they could throw themselves from one
tree to another with unerring precision.

On April 5, we received the first mail in nearly three months and our share
amounted to 105 letters besides a great quantity of magazines. Wu had
ridden to Teng-yueh for us and, as well as the greatly desired mail, had a
basket of delicious vegetables and a sheaf of Reuter's cablegrams which
were kindly sent by Messrs. Palmer and Abertsen, gentlemen in the employ of
the Chinese Customs, who had cared for our mail. Mr. Abertsen also sent a
note telling us of a good hunting ground near Teng-yueh.

We spent an entire afternoon and evening over our letters and papers and,
through them, began to get in touch with the world again. It is strange how
little one misses the morning newspaper once one is beyond its reach and
has properly adjusted one's mental perspective. And it is just as strange
how essential it all seems immediately one is again within reach of such
adjuncts of civilization.

On April 6, we had the first rain for weeks. The water fell in torrents,
and the roar, as it drummed upon the tent, was so incessant that we could
barely hear each other shout. Because of the long dry spell our camp had
not been made with reference to weather and during the night I waked to
find that we were in the middle of a pond with fifteen inches of water in
the tent. Shoes, clothes, guns, and cameras were soaked, and the surface of
the water was only an inch below the bottoms of our cots. This was the
beginning of a ten days' rain after which we had six weeks of as delightful
weather as one could wish.

CHAPTER XXXV

TENG-YUEH; A LINK WITH CIVILIZATION

After a week on the pass above Ho-mu-shu we shifted camp to a village
called Tai-ping-pu, ten miles nearer Teng-yueh on the same road. The ride
along the summit of the mountain was a delight, for we p