552 DZUNGARIA 



before the rifle could be brought to bear. Several more 

 sheep were sighted in this way, but all were ewes or very 

 young rams. We each killed one of the latter for its 

 skin, so as to have something to show for our labour. 

 I cannot recommend any sportsman, desirous of securing 

 a specimen of this sheep, to visit this southern limit of 

 their range ; farther north they may be more plentiful. 



A long reach down through waterless, barren gorges, 

 took us to a small spring on the edge of the plain, 

 which was crossed five miles north of Ebi Nor. This 

 huge expanse of water, lying only 700 ft. above sea- 

 level, shimmered like a sheet of silver in the clear 

 atmosphere. We sighted large numbers of gazelle, 

 and three saiga here ; but hunting on the march is un- 

 satisfactory, and we did no good with them. 



Reaching the Kizil Tagh (red mountains), we once 

 again struck the road which we had trodden nine 

 months before on our way from Chuguchak to Kulja. 

 Now that we were marching by day, our two dogs felt 

 the heat terribly ; being so close to the ground, they 

 received the reflected heat from the parched earth in 

 addition to the direct rays of the sun. It was pitiful 

 to see them rushing to every little bush we passed to dig 

 madly at the ground in search of shade, or walking in 

 the shadow cast by the horses. We often gave them 

 water out of the rims of our felt hats, but that was only 

 effective for a short time. In the cool of the evening 

 they were quite happy again, playing about and hunting 

 desert-rats. 



For two days we rested on the banks of the Borotala 

 close to a small Chanto village, which possessed a small 

 bazaar, where we could replenish stores with all necessi- 

 ties. A group of gnarled poplars afforded ample pro- 



