BLUE SHEEP 141 



black stripe on the side extending from the point 

 of the thigh to within a short distance of tlie elbow. 

 The tip of the tail is black. The general colour is 

 grey-brown, though in certain aspects there is a 

 decidedly blue tinge. Hence the name " blue 

 sheep." The muzzle is dark to a line between the 

 eyes, turning to a red -brown tone at the edges, 

 where it merges into the general grey of the face. 

 The animals are rather clumsy-looking about the 

 quarters, and have a curiously lanky appearance 

 when moving over the bare grass slopes on which 

 they feed. 



The animal I killed was not at all strong- 

 smelling, which is a characteristic of the Indian 

 variety, though George said he noticed a distinct 

 odour from the herd out of which he killed a 

 couple of rams. 



The native himters declared that these sheep rut 

 in January and that the lambs are dropped in May. 



No sooner had we moved camp than we experi- 

 enced those alternations of bad weather which are 

 the despair of the himter. Snow, mist, hail and 

 rain succeeded eacli other with monotonous 

 regularity, and though there were occasional 

 breaks, for many days we pursued our quarry 

 with unvarying ill-success. The hunters were 

 nearly as aggravating as a Highland stalker when 

 asked their opinion of the prospects for the day. 

 "Well, it's rather dull (pouring rain and mist!), 

 but it may clear," etc. They invariably sought 

 refuge in the commonplace platitude, " If it is 

 wet we shall not be able to use the long glass, 

 but if it is fine we shall have a beautiful view." 



We both saw sheep, but never a good head. 



