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Smithsonian Notes
David C. Graham
-2-
October 27. Everything is held up temporarily because of the disturbed political conditions with threatened civil war. Our men have been unable to collect for a short time, but I hope to get them busy soon. The carpenter has been making boxes.
October 30. War conditions are improving and I am trying to find a way to get Ho and Yang to Kuan Shien where they can work collecting. I sent a radiogram to Shanghai, urging a friend who is coming to Chengtu to bring the ammunition with him.
November 2. I have managed to get a passport for Yang and Ho to go to Kuan Shien to collect. I spent the evening preparing for their trip, giving out traps, reckoning accounts, etc.
[[check mark in left margin]]
November 3. Box 1 contains snakes $2.00
" 2 " " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains snakes"]] 2.00
" 3 " " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains snakes"]] 2.00
" 4 " " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains snakes"]] 2.00
" 5 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] 2 animal skins 2.00
" 6 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] 2 monkey skins,
1 rabbit skin $5.00
" 7 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] 1 tsu tsi skin, 1 skull (pig) 5.00
" 8 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] 1 coon skin, 1 skull of boar 5.00
" 9 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] 18 common birds,
1 baby leopard skin $6.00
" 10 " [[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains"]] wild boar skin $6.00
" 11 " " " "[[ditto marks for "Box" and "contains wild boar skin"]] $8.00
Today we packed these and labeled them, or addressed them for Shanghai. I called men to carry Yang's and Ho's loads to Kuan Shien, but they arrived so late that the collectors will have to start tomorrow morning.
November 4. Ho and Yang departed.
Nov. 17-19. There had been civil war in Chengtu with heavy cannonading and machine gun and rifle firing. One side is slightly victorious but the other side is still entrenched in the city. It is nearly impossible to get into or out of the city. We are glad we are out. Today a scout aeroplane flew over the city several times, then departed. One foreigner's home has been looted and some other foreigners have moved out here on the University Campus. I did not dare let the collectors take a shotgun, for they would have gotten into trouble. They are trapping.
^[[shien]]
[[check mark in left margin]]
Dec. 14-1932. Yang and Ho got back last night. They have collected just beyond Kuan [[underlined]]Shein[[/underlined]]. Having no guns they have only secured a few birds and over 100 mountain rats, moles, etc. The mammals of this collection are numbered from 1010 to 1117. The collectors did only fair work and I have had to remind them of many of the fine points to observe to make the specimens neater - points they have learnt and unlearnt several times. They seem to have two or three species of moles. We spent the evening labeling and wrapping specimens.
[[check mark in left margin]]
Dec. 15, 1932. I spent several hours with Ho and Yang labeling specimens. All but seven or eight of the mammals have skeletons corresponding with them. There are a total of 108 small mammals in this collection, and a few birds. Transcription Notes:
Handwritten "shien" in left margin is likely a correction for underlined "Shein" in text.
