PREFACE 



In attempting- to describe an expedition in search 

 of the wild sheep of Mongolia (Ovis ammon), I am 

 fully aware that I have undertaken a difficult task. 

 The want of practical information concerning- the 

 country visited, the wild scenery, the curious habits 

 and mode of life of the native Kalmuks and Kirghiz, 

 the flora and fauna of a little -explored region, and 

 finally an account of the mightiest of wild sheep in 

 its natural haunts, are matters of such importance 

 and so closely connected, that one may well feel 

 embarrassed in commencing" the narrative. 



On the other hand, I have been so much pressed 

 by English sportsmen to give an account, however 

 brief, of the journey, its successes and failures, that 

 feeling encouraged by the reception accorded last 

 year to my volume entitled Hunting Trips in the 

 Caucasus, I have decided to publish the present 

 account of my experiences in the Altai Mountains 

 and Monoolia. 



do 



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