224 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



to overtake us, had been on the move for over thirty 

 consecutive hours. We remained the whole of the 

 next day on the Kara-Adyr (Sumdairik), and started 

 only on the morning of the 16th. It was a most 

 uninteresting and monotonous march in search of 

 wild sheep country. I kept consulting our guide as 

 to the whereabouts of game, but met with the constant 

 reply of kotchkor iok (no rams). That day we 

 followed for some time the left bank of the Kara-Adyr 

 River, and, having gone a few miles, turned off to 

 the right. We now began advancing through higher 

 ground and barren, rocky tableland, where the only 

 living creatures were Marmots and Hares. Here my 

 wife, to our amazement, gave us a brilliant display of 

 marksmanship, for she killed a Hare at eighty yards 

 with Littledale's Mannlicher, the betting being twenty 

 to one against her. This was the only incident on 

 our way. We crossed two passes, and at i p.m. 

 reached a valley, at the head of which we discovered 

 a row of high ridges westwards and likely ibex 

 haunts. We therefore decided to pitch camp at that 

 place and investigate the surroundings on the follow- 

 ing day, notwithstanding our guide's peremptory 

 statement that we should find nothing. We had now 

 been many a day without the chance of a shot, 

 and our bloodthirsty instincts were again roused by 



