A BLANKET CITY. 361 



the fresh-water lake numbers of wild-fowl congregate, afford- 

 ing some sport for a shot-gun. The mountains in the vicinity 

 hold both Oves Ammon and napoo, and the valley, I believe, a 

 few goa, if one has the luck to find them there. 



After a gentle descent for some distance, a strange scene 

 suddenly presented itself. Instead of a small encampment, 

 as I had expected to find, there appeared a perfect city of 

 black blanket-tents, pitched on either side of a rivulet that 

 flowed through a long, narrow, comparatively low-lying valley, 

 the bottom of which was carpeted with bright greensward. 

 There must have been considerably over a hundred tents. It 

 seemed as though the whole nomadic population of Rookshu 

 were collected on this meadow-like spot. Vast herds of sheep, 

 goats, and yaks were scattered over the neighbouring heights, 

 where the wild yodling kind of hulloo of the Tartar herdsmen 

 and the barking of their dogs was heard on every side. 



This did not look much like a locality near which to find 

 such wary game as Oves Ammon, and I could not but feel 

 that I had been regularly humbugged by the Karzok men. 

 Of one fact I was now more than ever convinced, that as a 

 rule, to which there may be occasional exceptions, the sports- 

 man, in this part of Tibet at any rate, must undergo the 

 vexations and disappointments of a first season's personal ex- 

 perience in that country to ensure success on a second visit. 



Unpropitious as matters looked, I was nevertheless deter- 

 mined to give the ground a trial ; but after several days of 

 severe work, during which I must have sometimes been con- 

 siderably over 19,000 feet, I saw nothing but a flock of napoo, 

 a few "Oves Ammon ewes with lambs, and one or two young 

 males, at which latter I did not attempt to shoot lest I should 

 disturb better ones. Kiangs were numerous as usual, but of 

 course were never molested. The Tartars, however, being hip- 

 pophagous, did not seem at all to appreciate my thus abstain- 

 ing from horse-butchery. One evening I came suddenly on 

 a brood of snow-pheasants, large game-looking birds of a 



