A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



The name " Ovis Ammon," by which this fine 

 beast is most usually known, is a misnomer, the 

 genuine Ammon being, I believe, an inhabitant 

 of Eastern Siberia, while the proper scientific title 

 should be Ovis Hodgsoni. But the native name, 

 and the one by which he is known to all sportsmen 

 who have shot in Thibet, is " nyan," so as nyan 

 I shall allude to him henceforward. I may here 

 state that the usual Latin name seems to be an 

 insuperable difficulty in pronunciation to the Kash- 

 miri shikari, and after I had spent hours in trying 

 to teach Salia how to say it, the nearest approach 

 that he could manage sounded something like 

 " Oblesimmon," pronounced with much labour and 

 apparent satisfaction, as if to imply, " Ha, you see, 

 I have got it at last ! " I gave him up. 



A full-grown nyan ram stands about twelve hands 

 or over, and is of a darkish-brown colour above 

 and on the forequarters, shading into a paler hue 

 on the belly and lower parts ; he wears a great 

 ruff of almost white hair on his neck, by which 

 he may be distinguished at a long distance from 

 the female, and has a ridiculous little apology for 

 a tail (if anything pertaining to so noble a beast 

 can be called ridiculous), about an inch in length ; 

 but what strikes one most is his build and legs, 

 which remind one much more of those of a deer 

 than a sheep, and no doubt account for his mar- 

 vellous activity and swiftness of movement. His 

 horns, though much shorter than those of the 



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