320 UNKNOWN MONGOLIA 



causing it to form deep drifts on the leeward side. All 

 animal life is either hibernating, or seeking the pro- 

 tection of the lower foot-hills. The camps of the hardy 

 herdsmen are now clustered in sheltered hollows ; their 

 owners' time is largely spent in waging war against the 

 wolf-packs, which nightly harry their sheep-folds, and 

 in interminable tea-drinking, smoking, and chatting 

 round a meagre " tezek " (dung-fed) fire. 



What appeals most strongly, however, to the sport 

 and nature loving Briton is that, among the higher 

 plateaux of the Little Altai, — the range which forms a 

 part of the Russo-Chinese frontier, — roams one of the 

 finest beasts in nature, the father of all sheep, the Ovis 

 ammon. An adult ram of this gigantic sheep stands 

 over 50 in. at the shoulder, and carries horns that exceed 

 60 in. in length and 20 in. in girth, and, with the dry 

 skull, weigh 45 lb. No other beast, for its size, carries 

 such a weight of horn. There are few species of big 

 game that appeal more to the heart of the hunter and 

 lover of the wild regions of the earth, than an old ram in 

 his upland solitudes. Apart from the magnificent horns 

 he carries, his unrivalled wariness tests the resources of 

 the hunter to the utmost. Luck plays a very small 

 part in sheep-hunting ; skill, patience, and perseverance 

 are required to a high degree. 



Every hunter has his own ideas as to what species 

 of big game makes the finest trophy, and forms the most 

 worthy quarry. It may be the giant moose of Alaska 

 in his primeval forests, or the shaggy markhor on his 

 beetling crags, or the graceful koodoo on the plains of 

 Africa. But, in me, the elusive wild-sheep always 

 produces the greatest thrill. 



The existence of the Ovis ammon was first made 



