2 2o AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



guide, who, alone of the whole caravan, was supposed 

 to have ever visited those regions. Accordingly we 

 had him called up and interrogated him on the subject 

 through our Russian and Kalmuk interpreters. In 

 answer to our inquiries he said that he had spent over 

 two months in those hills catching Marmots, of which 

 he had found great numbers, but that he had never 

 come across any kotchkor (wild sheep), which in- 

 habited the eastern spurs beyond Dain-Kol, where 

 he thought we should be likely to get sport. These 

 statements, though perhaps untrustworthy, materially 

 changed the aspect of affairs. We had now advanced 

 so far into Mongolia, overcome numerous difficulties, 

 kept our Kalmuks constantly on the march merely 

 by promises of a permanent camp — all this with the 

 sole view of exploring the Muss-Taou range, and now 

 that we were within a few miles of it, we discovered 

 that it was useless to attempt it. Moreover, the hills 

 themselves did not now seem so attractive as they did 

 from a distance. Their slopes were covered with 

 pine and larch woods, and the rocks above appeared 

 to be more suited to Ibex than to Sheep, for no grassy 

 rolling knolls so attractive to the latter could be seen 

 through our telescopes. The Dain-Kol district was 

 entirely out of the question. It was out of our way 

 to the south, and would mean another month through 



