582 DZUNGARIA 



capped summits 20,000 ft. into the heavens. Every 

 intermediate zone possesses its own fauna. On the 

 boggy plateaux, which lie tucked away among the jagged 

 sommits, roam the great wild-sheep, as elusive to the 

 hunter as they are to the naturalist. The wolf, their 

 constant persecutor, also inhabits these upland solitudes. 

 Slightly lower down, the steep slopes and crags above the 

 timber protect vast herds of ibex, whose greatest enemy 

 is that most beautiful of cats, the snow-leopard. The 

 dark forests of spruce and scrub conceal wapiti — of all 

 beasts in this land the most persecuted by man — roe-deer, 

 bear, and wild-pig. These are the chief large game of 

 the mountains. The stony foot-hills which merge almost 

 imperceptibly into the plains are a favourite locality 

 for gazelle and the wild-ass, though both are also 

 found far out on the steppes. The dense jungles which 

 cover so large a portion of the lowlands, and through 

 which sluggish, mosquito-ridden rivers wind their way, 

 are the haunts of the tiger, roe-deer, wild boar, and a 

 variety of wapiti never yet identified, but probably 

 similar to the Yarkand stag. The last on the list, and 

 in some ways the most interesting, is the ungainly Saiga 

 tartarica, a lover, for the most part, of the lowest and 

 most saline depressions. 



It must not be hastily concluded, by those unfamiliar 

 with Central Asian conditions, that, because of this 

 tempting list of game, inhabiting a comparatively small 

 area, a large and varied bag is easy to obtain. In 

 the first place, it is a far-distant land, to reach the 

 western portion of which necessitates either three weary 

 months of steady marching from India, or from five to 

 six weeks if one employ the quicker, though in some 

 ways more tantalizing, Russian routes. Even when the 



