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- 7 - have had an escort of fifteen soldiers. They, the Lolos, take people off into their country and keep them for life as slaves or hold them for a heavy ransom. Let us hope my escort can drive them away. I will have to have an escort of 35 soldiers over a high ^[[(]]Shiao^[[3]] Shiang^[[4]] Liu^[[2]] Pass^[[)]] mountain. This will partially explain why much of the expense on this trip will have to be spent on escorts. It is probably no worse this year than it will be in the future, so it is well to cover Ningyuenfu by collecting this summer. A big battle will ensue near here in a few days between Chinese and the aborigines. (Later--the difficulties were talked out and settled without a battle). Today we secured 7 birds, two of which are of a variety I have not secured before. We are again in a territory where the crops are drying up and dieing for lack of rain. Famine will surely show its teeth in this section this winter. Exchange is a great problem. It varies in each city--the rate between copper cash and the "big" or real silver dollar, and another partly steel dollar used in Yunnan and in this section. I have had a hard time getting the coolies to move along at a rapid rate. The hills are steep, the weather hot, and a load of eighty pounds is very tiresome. We expect to reach Ningyuenful the 13th day from Yachow. The place we are in is Nang ^[[Wang]] Jia Tan. Its altitude is 6400 feet. Today I ate a new kind of dish made from potatoes that was [[underline]] extremely [[/underline]] delicious. Potatoes uncooked are cut into slices, then ground practically to water, then this sifted through a rag. The sediment that goes to the bottom is separated from the juice by pouring off the juice. Then the sediment is dried in the sunlight and becomes a white powder. Boiling water is poured into a dish containing the powder and stirred, and sugar added. I have seldom eaten a more delicious dish. The potato must be mixed well with cold water (just a little cold water, enough to wet the powder) before the boiling water is poured in. It is like a transparent jelly. I simply could not make this trip into Ningyuenfu if I did not have pull enough with the military officials to get an adequate escort. To keep this pull I will have to give presents, which are a necessary part of the collecting expenses. There is some very beautiful scenery to see at certain times on this trip. July 22. Today we passed through Yueh Shi or Ueh-Shi, or Yoh-Shi. I had to go to the postmaster to secure the Yunnan half-dollare usable in this district. We saw more crops that are beyond reviving even if it rains. The Lolos or Nosos are great beggars. They nearly beg your head off. They kneel and kotow to you in order to get a gift of money with which to buy liquor, of which they are very fond. At [[underline]] Yuel [[/underlined]] ^[[Yueh]] Shi the beggars played a cute trick. They fired off firecrackers when I started off, a way of giving a friend much face, in order to get me to give
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