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[[underlined]] Chapter XI. [[/underlined]] 240.
The next day, April 20th, we decided to divide our party, in order to save time and cover more ground. The Yü Ho having fallen considerably during the past few days, Mr. Tung and Mr. Ch'iu set out on horseback---this time with a guide---for the Fang Shan plateau, situated in the hilly country visible nearly a score of miles a little to the west of north. Their object was of course to locate and investigate the mounds that we had seen on it from a distance on April 15th [[/strikethrough]] (see page 232) [[/strikethrough]]. Mr. Wenley and I, on the other hand, also on horseback, proceeded to explore the region lying immediately south and southeast of Ta T'ung, to see if it offered anything of archaeological interest.
Getting an early start and carrying lunch, we rode slowly past the west side of Ta T'ung and then along the main (and much traveled) south road leading to the distant provincial capital of T'ai-yüan [[2 Chinese character]]. As we went, we carefully scrutinized the country on either hand for ancient remains of any kind. Then leaving the road, we turned off to the left or east, toward the Yü Ho. The terrain that we encountered reminded me of some that I had seen in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. Level to distant appearance, in reality it was much cut up by dry water-courses or [[underlined]] arroyos [[/underlined]] with steep banks, their sandy floors affording us our only routes of progress.
Several of these miniature canyons we explored, the task occupying us most of the day (pl. [[strikethrough]] CVIII). [[/strikethrough]] ^[[37, fig. 2).]] In their sides we saw, exposed by earth-falls, many interments, a few fairly recent, the majority quite old. It occurred to us that perhaps we had located a cemetery belonging to the ancient city across the river.
With one skeleton, buried (contrary to later Chinese practice) without a coffin, we found a small globular pot of dark gray ware, about 18 [[underlined]] cm. [[/underlined]] high, with wide mouth and low vertical collar. Smooth of surface, though porous and unglazed, it seemed to be wheelmade but was unlike anyTranscription Notes:
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