Bird-hunters never shoot their quarry upon the wing. They disguise themselves in skins or feathers, bringing down their game from some well-concealed coign of vantage. Deer are hunted during June and July. The hunters form into small parties, and beat up the mountains for several days until their prey is within gunshot. The horns are sold to the native physicians, or exported to China and Japan. When in pursuit of the bear, hunters are more than usually careful to delay firing until the effect of their shot is certain. Good prices are fetched by the various parts of a bear. In addition to the proceeds from the pelt, the flesh, fat, sinews and gall of a bear, supposed to possess certain medicinal properties, sell for their weight in silver. The one royal quadruped associated with Korea, as the white elephant is with Siam, the dromedary with Egypt, the bison with the United States, is the tiger. Unlike the Indian species, that delights in the tropical jungles, this animal is found in Korea in the snow and forests of the north, and as far as the fiftieth parallel. In the mind of the Korean, the tiger is the symbol of fierceness, an emblem of martial pomp and glory. The tiger hunters affect to despise their noble game, and upon occasions they even attack them single-handed with a lance or short sword, assisted by trained dogs. Tigers are sometimes caught in pits, covered with earth and bushes, and filled with stakes. In this condition it is easy to kill them. The hunters eat the meat, selling the skin and bones. [Illustration: A SUMMER PLEASAUNCE] Tiger hunters are exceptionally courageous. Their services are requisitioned by their Government upon occasion in the defence of the Empire. Armed with matchlock, spear and sword, they defeated the French, under Admiral Roze, in 1866, and heroically resisted the advance of the Americans in 1871. In 1901 they were assembled to protect the northern frontier from the incursions of Manchurian bandits. CHAPTER XIX The monks and monasteries of the Diamond Mountains—The Temple of Eternal Rest—The Temple of the Tree of Buddha—Buddhism Game abounds in the region between the German mines and the Diamond Mountains, and as we moved slowly forward to the famous Monastery of Chang-an, many short halts were made in search of birds and deer. Unfortunately, the deer evaded us and it became impossible to put up the pheasants out of the dense growth in the bushes in which they found cover. We had, however, some sport among the wood-pigeon. Korean hunters accompanied us some little distance upon our journey, leaving our caravan when our ways diverged. Beyond the Hai-yong River their track lay to the west into the heart of the mountains; our own continued north-east.