84 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



lake in former days ; a well-defined line along the 

 surrounding" hills some hundreds of feet above its 

 level seemed to be the ancient watermark, and 

 appeared to confirm this supposition. In fact, almost 

 all the mountains round Mongolian and Tibetan 

 plateaus bear this mark at different heights, denoting 

 the gradual drying-up of these regions. The ground 

 was sandy and barren with patches of alkali here 

 and there, and grass scarce, affording poor grazing' 

 for the ponies. 



One could distinguish from afar the beds of 

 streams by the greener grass and a few shrubs 

 growing beside them. We now had a good view 

 of the hills to the south, where we expected to find 

 the glorious Wild Sheep, and were told that a couple 

 of days from Kosh-Agatch would bring- us to the 

 Promised Land. At 2 p.m. we found ourselves 

 opposite the few wooden huts which were to be our 

 destination, but the Tchouia had to be crossed ; so 

 near and yet so far, as there was no sign of a boat. 

 The river was broad, and no ford existed for miles 

 above, especially at this season of the year, when 

 rivers are generally swollen by melting snows. 

 Strange to say, Russian merchants have not yet 

 attempted to build a bridge at this place, though 

 tea caravans are becoming more and more frequent. 



