2 12 A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 



tciken up indicated the presence of more animals than 

 he had come across. Considering that we had now 

 sufficiently explored the surrounding" country, we re- 

 solved to strike camp on the following day. Our 

 old Ganalian guide volunteered to conduct us to 

 another nullah further south, saying he knew of a 

 path through the woods where pack -ponies could 

 easily pass. Starting late in the morning down the 

 main valley and branching away from the watershed 

 of the Kamchatka River, we proceeded southwards 

 and crossed the Bystraia, which at that place was but 

 a small stream. The path, if the hardly discernible 

 track we followed may be so called, led us through 

 dense jungle and creeping cedars, over which our 

 horses kept stumbling. A fifteen-mile march took us 

 in this way to the entrance of a valley running down 

 from the same Ganal rano^e, though the stream which 

 flowed in it belonged to the Bystraia. Tents were 

 pitched by the side of the torrent, and friendly smoke 

 soon protected us from the midges. 



Next morning I was on the move before dawn, 

 and started, under the guidance of our aged cicerone, 

 accompanied by the General and Silly ; as there 

 was not supposed to be ground enough for two guns, 

 Littledale insisted on giving me the preference, and 

 remained himself in camp. We rode at first through 



