i2 4 CHINESE TURKESTAN 



had been killed by one of the not infrequent forest 

 fires. 



Later on it snowed as well, and was bitterly cold 

 on the more exposed part of the upland we were 

 crossing, so we pitched camp rather short of our 

 intended halting-place. The weather moderating a 

 little towards evening, Durji and I sallied forth and 

 saw a good few roe deer, but no buck. 



About here a few wild sheep still survive, and I 

 saw some of their tracks during the day, but they 

 are very scarce and hard to find. I also saw the 

 fresh track of a big tiger. 



The next day was fine, still and clear, with a 

 hot sun, quite a different climate, though six 

 inches of fresh snow on the ground kept our feet 

 cool, and a heavy bank of clouds in the north 

 seemed to threaten more bad weather to come. 

 Snow is nothing, but when it blows it is simply 

 perishing. 



We moved camp on a mile or two to a more 

 sheltered place, and here Durji said there were sure 

 to be lots of roe deer, as it was undisturbed, and a 

 spot much favoured by them, but the small number 

 of tracks in the snow told a different story. For 

 some reason or other the roe had gone elsewhere, 

 and in two days we only saw one decent buck, at 

 which I did not get a shot. 



We saw a big wild boar one morning, of course 

 across a ravine, and there were signs of a few 



