CHAPTER IX. 



I HAD been told and had also read, that the place 

 par excellence for goa was on the undulating ranges 

 that rise to the south-west of the Hanle plain, 

 accordingly it was towards this ground that I bent 

 my steps. We climbed a long but easy ascent to 

 the top of the first stony ridge, on the far side of 

 which is a big bare plateau, that looks as if made 

 for goa, but here we saw nothing ; up yet one 

 more ridge, where we began to find respiration 

 difficult ; at the top of this another plateau (the 

 country hereabouts consists of a series of barren 

 ''steppes"). On this plain we made out large herds 

 of kyang, and it was said to be a favourite resort 

 of gazelle, but we did not see any till afternoon, 

 when we made out a herd of does, accompanied by 

 a single buck. My bad luck after the goa (unlike 

 my singularly good fortune aftei other animals) 

 stuck to me this day, and finding it impossible to 

 get near the buck, who, of course, always kept on 

 the side of the herd that was farthest from me, I at 

 length fired some long shots at him, needless to 



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