A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



llock through the glasses one ram turned away from 

 it and made his faltering way up-hill. At the same 

 moment a wolf, whom we could see sitting on his 

 haunches about half a mile above us, set up a 

 prolonged howl. Could he have smelt blood ? It 

 was a joyous sound, and I don't think that I would 

 have fired at that wolf even if he had come within 

 shot (which, by the way, is a pretty safe thing to 

 say, as he wouldn't have done it). Soon afterwards 

 Salia returned, having followed the remaining three 

 nyan, and said that there was blood upon their 

 tracks too. Welcome news then both were hit ! 

 After climbing down and verifying this latter fact, 

 I lunched by the stream, and never did cold goose 

 taste so good ! The first ram had turned away 

 from the flock and gone for about a mile up a hill, 

 where he had lain down and died ; he was shot 

 through the chest, the bullet passing close to the 

 heart. The second, which was not retrieved till 

 the following day, was hit rather far back, and had 

 gone seven or eight miles. These facts showed 

 me two things, firstly, the extraordinary vitality 

 of these sheep, and secondly, that a -450 Express 

 bullet is not heavy enough to drop them dead, 

 unless the bullet divides the spinal cord or tells in 

 some absolutely vital spot. The head of the first 

 ram, though much broken at the tips, as is the case 

 with nearly all old rams, measured forty-two and 

 a half inches, and was as heavy a load as two men, 



relieving one another, could carry back to camp ; 



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