Hunting at High Altitudes 



although some were darker, and several times we 

 saw, among the horses, yearlings and two-year- 

 olds, whose flanks and hindlegs had ugly wounds. 

 The old rams are the easiest prey for the wolves, 

 as the great weight of their horns causes them to 

 sink deeper into the snow or bog, and although I 

 kept a sharp lookout, I never saw the skeleton of 

 a ewe or young ram. This would be explained to 

 a certain extent by the fact that the heads of these 

 would not be so easily seen. We saw numerous 

 ewes and young rams which were comparatively 

 tame. 



Chew afterward got a very fine ram with horns 

 55 inches on the curve and 49 inches from tip to 

 tip. I noticed that this animal had, as usual, very 

 thick skin over the nose, no* doubt as a protection 

 in fighting; and in Kuldja I also noticed that the 

 rams of the domestic sheep kept for fighting had 

 this feature very highly developed. These rams 

 were kept solely for fighting, just as game cocks are 

 in other parts of the world; and one morning we 

 offered a prize for the best ram. The rams, with 

 their handlers, accompanied by numerous backers, 

 soon arrived and were placed about twenty yards 

 apart, being let go at the same time. As soon as 

 released they ran at each other with surprising 

 speed, coming together with great force and a loud 



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