AN OVIS WITH BRONCHITIS. 431 



all continue singing, which appears to have the effect of quiet- 

 ing the animals. This circle is gradually contracted around 

 the ropes, and in a marvellously short space of time all the 

 animals' heads are tied in these nooses, heads inwards, facing 

 each other. The women then go round with pails, singing all 

 the time, and milk them. Eight or ten women follow each 

 other, each operating on every sheep and goat, but not spend- 

 ing more than a quarter of a minute over each. Sheep and 

 goats are tied up indiscriminately, and the milk is of course 

 mixed. 



From here we next day took a beat northward, over the 

 same description of ground, and soon discovered two good 

 Oves Ammon rams. Although they were not much more than 

 half a mile from us, we had to make a round of what appeared 

 to me several miles, to try and approach them and all on 

 account of there being only some fifty yards of the interven- 

 ing ground to cross exposed to their watchful eyes, which 

 difficulty it was impossible otherwise to circumvent. And 

 after all our trouble, the animals seemed to have spirited 

 themselves away, for not a trace of them could we find on 

 the hard gravelly ground to indicate what direction they 

 had taken. It was now noon, and we had brought no food 

 with us, having that morning intended to return early to 

 camp ; but the two rams had upset this arrangement, so we 

 sent back our spare man to fetch something to eat, and con- 

 tinued our search for them. We had not gone far when we 

 espied a solitary ram, carrying fairly good horns. After 

 moving restlessly about for some time, he lay down on an 

 exposed eminence, where there was no possible way of ap- 

 proaching him nearer than about 400 yards. We therefore 

 lay down and waited, in the hope that he might move on to 

 more suitable ground for a stalk. He seemed to be suffering 

 from an attack of bronchitis, for, as I watched him through 

 the glass, I distinctly saw that he was constantly coughing. 

 After we had lain there about two hours, exposed to the hard 



