56 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



as it was steep, and the horses carried us over 

 smartly. This was our last difficult pass, and the 

 road now led through a flat plateau with hills on 

 both sides. About thirty versts before reaching our 

 destination we entered the Kalmuk country. At one 

 of the last stations we were met by a deputation of 

 "pig-tailed" Kalmuks, who produced a written order 

 from the Ispravnik of Bisk to the local "dutchina" 

 (Kalmuk community) to give me every assistance 

 as regards shooting. They had accordingly prepared 

 a programme for the day : Roe-deer drives in the 

 morning, and fishing in the Tenga lake in the after- 

 noon. I thanked them, through our Ispravnik, for 

 the trouble they had taken ; but being anxious to 

 reach Ongudai, told them I would probably take 

 advantage of their proposals on my return journey. 

 The Kalmuks are a very hospitable race. Their 

 numbers, as I was told, are gradually decreasing in 

 the Altai, where, according to statistics, only six or 

 seven thousand remain. They are at a very low ebb 

 of civilisation, and worship spirits. Like Mongols 

 and Chinese, they shave their heads and wear pig- 

 tails. Those that have been christened by Russian 

 missionaries carry the usual head-dress. On the 

 whole, they are very indifferent to religion, and in 

 many cases some members of a family are converts 



