THE HEAD OF THE VALLEY 215 



the birch forest and occasional swamps, where the 

 advance was slow ; on reaching the zone of shrub 

 I could see several miles in front the head of the 

 valley, crowned with rows of pinnacles similar to 

 those I had negotiated round the Kamchatskaia 

 Vershina, and having gone some distance up the 

 river-bed, dismounted after a couple of hours' ride. 

 The sky was cloudless, and promised a scorching 

 hot day. We followed up the long, precipitous snow- 

 slides, which filled the bottom of the gullies, until 

 eight a.m., when we came across fresh tracks of bear. 

 Continuing the ascent, we finally alighted on the 

 rough summit of a ridge running eastwards, at an eleva- 

 tion of 5,200 feet, and settled down with our glasses 

 to spy. But there was no sign of game, save a young- 

 ram lying on the summit of one of the kckuna. 

 We pursued our weary course in his direction, in the 

 hope of finding others in his company, over almost 

 perpendicular slopes of loose shingle, which constantly 

 gave way under our feet. Presendy, Silly, who 

 seemed to reconnoitre our position, declared that we 

 now were on the very ground where Littledale had 

 shot his three rams from last camp a few days before! 

 My chances were melting away like morning mist, 

 and the further ridges being beyond that day's reach, 

 nothing was to be done but to retrace our steps. 



