More about the Bujmird Sheep 20 1 



the last Kurd village and the first Turkoman 

 obah ; but it was size, not numbers, we wanted, 

 to shoot a head with horns of forty inches or 

 over. Such a head I certainly saw once. Early 

 in the day I had seen an enormous herd, con- 

 taining, I thought, not less than three hundred 

 beasts, one that raised a dust like a regiment of 

 cavalry ; but, as is usual with these very big 

 herds, there was not a shootable beast among 

 them. Later on, I spotted a herd of exactly 

 forty, every one of them a big ram. It is usual 

 at this season to find the biggest rams by them- 

 selves, but never before nor since have I seen 

 such a collection as that. This herd lay down 

 on the steep bare side of a deep ravine. To get 

 to the opposite side of the ravine was easy, but 

 from there I found the herd was not in shot, 

 as I had hoped. Three or four hundred yards 

 still separated us, the serious part of the situation 

 being that there was no possibility of getting 

 any nearer. I could get behind them and reach 

 the top of the face they were on ; but apart 

 from the great risk of the wind, the chance 

 would be a long and difficult one, and I should 

 not be able to pick my ram. I might also reach 

 a little spur that ran down the slope the sheep 

 were on, but they mostly faced that way, and 

 it was so close to them that a head raised and 



