NO. 1990. MAMMALS FROM THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS— HOLLL^TER. 509 



dung is the principal fuel for cooking. The country about the site 

 of our Tchegan-Burgazi camp is steep foUing mountains, with rocky- 

 slides and beautiful alpine tops. Close by, to the southwest, is the 

 snow-capped border range, and from the higher points the country 

 as far as can be seen is rolling grassy alps, interspersed with rocky, 

 desert areas, and snowy ranges. The altitude of our camp in the 

 vaUey bottom Avas 8,300 feet, and the highest j^oint near camp for a 

 day's collecting, about 12,000 feet. The rolling alplands average 

 about 9,000 to 10,000 feet. 



While we were engaged m work in the Tchegan-Burgazi, Doctor 

 Lyman had a most interesting and successful trip into Mongolia, by 

 way of the Tchegan-Burgazi Pass, returning by the Tarkuta Pass and 

 over the range to our camp. His hunting was chiefly in the Suok 

 Plain and Tayliike Valley country, desert mountains and plateaux, 

 and his notes on this trip will be found beyond with the text on the 

 sheep, ibex, and other game animals. 



The Tchegan-Burgazi camp was occupied, and active collecting 

 carried on until July 27, when. Doctor Lyman having returned, we 

 broke camp and moved northward to the center of the Chuisaya 

 Steppe. • One night's trapping and a day of shooting and preparing 

 specimens gave us a small collection of steppe species and we reached 

 Kosh-Agatch on the return trip July 29. Two days were occupied 

 with packing and preparing for the homcAvard journey, the plans for 

 which included a week's stay in the heavily forested mountains north 

 of Ongudai, and on July 31 we departed over the post road to the north. 



August 5 we reached the point we had selected as a good place to 

 work in the forested mountains, and pitched camp at 6,875 feet, just 

 in the edge of the forest, at the north end of Tapucha Pass, about 5 

 miles south of the village of Tapucha. This locality is about 125 miles 

 southeast of Biisk. The camp was m a beautiful forest of nut pine 

 (Pinus cemhra), heavy with moisture and thick with underbrush and 

 windfalls, with alps and rocky tops near by, and snow peaks in the 

 distance. Here collecting was carried on until August 11, when, the 

 weather having warned us of the severe mountain winter approach- 

 ing, and our time being nearly up, we left on the last part of the 

 tarantass trip, and reached Biisk late on the night of August 14. 



The trip by steamer down the Obi was made without incident 

 worthy of note, and on August 21 we took the westbound train at 

 Novonikolsevsk for St. Petersburg. We were fortunate in many ways, 

 and though the weather throughout our stay in the Altais was 

 unspeakably bad, and rain, sleet, hail, and snow the rule rather than 

 the exception, yet the trip passed off without serious trouble. We 

 were treated with great kindness and attention by the Russian officials 

 at every point, and the settlers along the post roads always gave us 

 the best to be had. 



