150 CHINESE TURKESTAN 



about a friend of his who went in pursuit of a 

 she-bear and her cub, with the result that when he 

 wounded the cub the irate parent turned upon him 

 and tore him to pieces. Our informant did not 

 seem much grieved at the fate of his friend, but was 

 much disgusted by the unladylike conduct of the 

 bear. 



From Atai the road begins to ascend more 

 sharply, and, finally crossing a ridge, descends to 

 the shore of Lake Sairam, which was still frozen 

 completely over, though the ice was no longer safe 

 to ride across, as it was beginning to split in places. 

 Here there is a small Chinese fort, the garrison of 

 which must have a really cheerful time during the 

 winter, as the Sairam Nor has a very evil reputation 

 for cold and wind. Sintai is a small place at the 

 east end of the lake in a comparatively sheltered 

 situation. There is a small island near with an old 

 building on it, probably a temple of some sort. The 

 water of the lake is fresh, or very nearly so. 



The Barotala Lake is north-east of this, said to 

 be distant about fifty miles. We had heard before 

 of a big sheep there, species, of course, unknown, 

 also that the ibex there were very big indeed. I 

 have no doubt that the sheep exist ; but if, as we 

 were told, the ibex are bigger than the Akjas ones, 

 they must be very fine. However, it may be so ; 

 the Akjas ones were a complete revelation to us 

 after our Himalayan experiences. 



