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I am purchasing insects from the boys by trading the Smithsonian postal cards for insects.  These postal cards actually save money.

The Roosevelts made a good impression in this district, which cannot be said of some travellors.

The village of Mupin itself is not an excellent collecting spot.  There are better collecting spots between here and Yachow, west, and south of here.  Near this village trees and vegetation are not over abundant, and much of it or many of them do not attract birds and insects.

The bearskin I bought would have gone to the Roosevelt brothers, for they offered fifty dollars for a skin, but the ears began to rot, and were cut off, so the owners sold the skin to me for six dollars.  It is a genuine specimen.  I am numbering this specimen Mammal No. 256.

June 30.  Yang Fong Tsang brought in five birds.  We have spent considerable time making boxes for insects, taking care of the insects secured, etc.  We will have over six boxes of insects tonight.  I was invited to a feast by the magistrate, to dine with the officials and dignitaries of Mupin.  We secured a good number of insects.  I think there was a new kind of butterfly--as far as our collecting is concerned.

The road to Yao Chi is so difficult that it will take four days to get there but we expect to start tomorrow.  It is not very good collecting here at Mupin.

Packed and nailed up six boxes of insects, boxes number 317-322.

July 1.  The^[[|]]road is so rough this side of Mupin, and so steep, that all loads are carried on men's backs instead of on carrying-poles.  We travelled rapidly, comparatively, but made a stage of only forty li.

There were many odd insects.  It seems to me that we are getting more strange varieties than we did on the Songpan trip.  However, so far we have seen no mammals or strange birds.

We are spending the night in a dirty farm-house, for there are no inns near here.

It seems to me that we are getting some very interesting flies.

Today we filled the ninth box of insects since leaving Suifu.  Box No. 323.  The altitude here is 4200 feet above sea level.

July 2.  Today we had a great deal of trouble with the military escort.  The first change of soldiers occurred about eight o'clock--at least, we arrived at the place where the change should be made about that time.  We were to have ten soldiers, but were given only three, and were delayed fully two hours.  The guns are muzzle-loading, and entirely innocent of any sights.  The handles are rude, home-made affairs.  We now have six soldiers with such guns, one of the soldiers being a boy about twelve years old.  We were promised a bigger escort, but the soldiers failed to show up.  One well-armed man could easily defeat the whole lot.