154 



brought me to the foot of the snow, and also to the last 

 village, called " Ufsul." I found the inhabitants of this village 

 a most rude and demi-barbarous race, knowing little, and wish- 

 ing to know less, of Englishmen, of whom they seemed to 

 have the greatest dread. However, two days' soft sawdering 

 with a plentiful supply of hill "Buckshee," (spirits,) made 

 them more communicative ; and they at last informed me, 

 if I would promise only to remain a week, they would show 

 me the wild sheep. This promise, of course, I gave ; and on 

 the following morning at daybreak, shivering cold as it was, 

 we started to ascend the snow-capped mountains and glaciers, 

 which the animal patronized. On the road up, I was often 

 sorely tempted to draw my ball and ram down shot, in order 

 to bring down some of the many woodcocks we were constantly 

 flushing, and which were so unaccustomed to be disturbed, that 

 they only flew a few yards away ; but I resisted the temptation. 

 As we progressed into the regions of eternal snow, we began 

 to find pedestrianism a difficult task. Some parts of the path 



