ii2 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



started accordingly. My lot fell upon the country 

 eastwards, up the Bain - Tchagan stream, where I 

 had secured my first two trophies. Taba came 

 with me this time, and kept assuring me that such 

 weather was far more favourable for approaching 

 sheep, the latter being' less on their guard, and 

 altogether less suspicious. We rode a couple of 

 hours without seeing anything, till we reached the 

 small buttresses at the entrance of the Happy 

 Valley ; here I spied a herd of ewes feeding quite 

 low down on the slopes opposite. The wind seemed 

 very shifty, and I felt rather glad they were not 

 rams, for it would have been quite impossible to 

 approach them. Here we dismounted, leaving the 

 ponies hobbled on the river-bed. 



Taba seemed confident we should find more 

 sheep up the valley, and soon pointed out some- 

 thing moving about 400 yards in front of us. As 

 I put up my glasses the beasts moved into a dip. 

 " Kotchkor ba, arkhar ba?" I asked him. " Belbess " 

 was his answer, ("I do not know"). So we advanced 

 cautiously, crawling at times, and chancing the 

 wind. On reaching a small saddle, there stood two 

 old ewes amongst some rocks at a few yards from 

 where we lay. By extraordinary luck they had 

 not winded us. Back w r e went on all - fours in 



