2i 4 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



karaoul all the inhabitants, fifteen or twenty men and 

 women, rushed out in their rags to have a look at the 

 new-comers. We pitched our camp, after having 

 carefully chosen our ground, a couple of hundred 

 yards above the Chinese post, at an altitude of 7,900 

 feet. The Kha soon appeared with his escort and 

 bade us welcome ; he seemed a much less important 

 man than the Suok Governor, being adorned with 

 few coral beads on his cap, but no peacock feather. 

 He asked for our passports, which he was apparently 

 unable to read, for he handed them over without 

 perusal to his clerk, who returned them to us with 

 a pleasant smile. Educated Chinese clerks naturally 

 acquire great influence over their village, and practi- 

 cally rule the country, exacting illegal tributes from 

 the wretched Mongols, and often sharing the spoils 

 with " His Excellency the Governor." The official 

 at this karaoul was much more willing to help us, 

 probably owing to his more humble condition, and 

 we were soon supplied with a native who knew the 

 surrounding hills, and who was to act as our guide, 

 at the moderate fee of eight roubles per month. He 

 came to our tents in the afternoon, and we learnt 

 from him that wild sheep were by no means numerous 

 on the Muss-Taou range, and that he considered 

 the country round Lake Dain-Kol to be much richer 



