168 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



As yet this land has been but lightly touched by the 

 devastating hand of man. A log road cuts the forest 

 here and there and sometimes we saw a train of ox-carts 

 winding through the trees ; but the primitive beauty of 

 the mountains remains unmarred, save where a hillside 

 has been swept by fire. In all our wanderings through 

 the forests we saw no evidences of occupation by the 

 Mongols except the wood roads and a few scattered 

 charcoal pits. These were old and moss-grown, and 

 save for ourselves the valleys were deserted. 



One morning while I was hunting north of camp, I 

 heard a wapiti roar on the summit of a mountain. I 

 found its tracks in the soft earth of a game trail which 

 wound through forest so dense that I could hardly see 

 a dozen yards. As I stole along the path I heard a sud- 

 den sneeze exactly like that of a human being and saw 

 a small, dark animal dash off the trail. I stopped in- 

 stantly and slowly sank to the ground, kneeling mo- 

 tionless, with my rifle ready. For five minutes I 

 remained there the silence of the forest broken only by 

 the clucking of a hazel grouse above my head. Then 

 came that sneeze again, sounding even more human 

 than before. I heard a nervous patter of tiny hoofs, 

 and the animal sneezed from the bushes at my right. I 

 kept as motionless as a statue, and the sneezes followed 

 each other in rapid succession, accompanied by im- 

 patient stampings and gentle rustlings in the brush. 

 Then I saw a tiny head emerge from behind a leafy 

 screen and a pair of brilliant eyes gazing at me steadily. 



