68 CHINESE TURKESTAN 



occurrence. There ensued a scene of wild excite- 

 ment ; shouts and screams were heard, and, as if by 

 magic, the whole population came galloping up, 

 and set to work to beat out the flames, which with 

 some difficulty they succeeded in doing. These 

 fires often destroy large tracts of grass, extending 

 to miles, which in the autumn is as dry as tinder, 

 and burns accordingly. Sometimes the forest also 

 catches fire, and burns for days at a time a fine 

 spectacle at night when sufficiently far off for camp 

 to be safe. 



On the 1 8th we started, ascending a ridge into 

 the lower hills ; then, turning westwards, we pitched 

 camp in a sheltered place among the pine forests, 

 and went off in different directions, as there was 

 just a chance of there being deer here ; but neither 

 of us saw or heard anything. 



I was not at all taken with my Kirghiz, whose 

 method of procedure was to ride boldly on to a sky- 

 line, and thence examine the ground below. The 

 valleys here were covered with pine forests, except 

 when the aspect was to the south. Such places and 

 the dividing ridges were covered with a luxuriant 

 growth of grass, already beginning to die down, 

 owing to the early autumnal frosts. 



My shikari's chief desire seemed to be to impress 

 me with his noble horsemanship, which he didn't 

 manage to do, though before long I began to wish 

 that he would break his neck, and have done with 



