THE GAME OF THE PLAINS 597 



the field of the telescope I knew that I was at last 

 looking at one of those rarely seen beasts. They were 

 quite unapproachable where they were, so I contented 

 myself with watching them, till the fading light drove 

 us back to camp. I had, at any rate, the satisfaction 

 of knowing that there were some saiga in the neigh- 

 bourhood. 



Even in sheep-hunting one should be on the move 

 before sunrise, but, to be successful with the saiga, camp 

 must be left behind while the stars are yet in the sky. 

 The reason of this is that this wary beast is essentially 

 a lover of the open plains, where he is used to an unin- 

 terrupted view for several miles in every direction. But, 

 as the merciless summer sun scorches the moisture out 

 of the lower levels, he is driven irresistibly in towards 

 the edge of the hills, where fresh green grass flourishes 

 late into the summer, and where he can slake his thirst 

 at occasional springs. So unsafe, however, does he 

 feel, among even the lowest hills, that he only comes in 

 to feed and drink at dusk, and soon after sunrise is far 

 out on the plains once more, where he passes the day, 

 lying down in the shelter of some small desert shrub. 



It was still dark on the following morning when we 

 mounted and made once more for the bluff. Just at 

 break of day we left the horses tied head to tail in a 

 hollow ; this bluff rose only about 100 ft. above the 

 surrounding plain. Making our way along its crest, we 

 almost walked on to the top of a " burkark " feeding in 

 a hollow. It was a female with no horns, so I did not 

 fire, though I doubt if I should have hit it if I had, as 

 the light was still very bad, and it only presented a stern 

 shot. This was the first time I had ever seen one of 

 these beasts on the move. Not only in structure does 



