January 11 Takfu. Last evening we dined at Mrs. Hamma's house, very on food cook as Mrs. Hamma is on her way to Yunnan-fu. We had Chinese cake which looked exactly like peanut brittle but made of flour coated with syrup only. Hamma has been here 6 years but does not admire the Chinese apparently as they show no gratitude & hold themselves superior to Europeans, they are rather morose a host he has found. All their talk factors are on the surface their whole attempt being to conceal what they think or have done. The prevalence of gout here he attributes to the limestone mountains, the water apparently in some unknown way causes the swelling. Flying squirrel skins are purchased here at 25.0 per 100 & the coats made up are $20.00 each. The skins are turned in the Spring when the weather is warm which produces soft furry. In cold weather, the furring loses