The Father of all Sheep 



215 



Indeed, in spite of the barrenness of the earth's 

 surface in these parts, there is no dearth of animal 

 life. Our ponies were constantly stumbling over 

 the holes of the tailless Tibetan vole, bright-eyed 

 little rodents, whose confiding nature almost 

 ruined the character of a retriever pup I took 

 with me on the march. Their holes went no 

 distance into the ground, and our ponies' feet 

 constantly broke through, exposing to view piles 

 of dry herbs neatly stowed away signs, according 

 to local lore, of an early snowfall. Kyang, of 

 course, were always a feature of the landscape, 

 and many a time did their appearance on a dis- 

 tant skyline make us slip off our ponies, only 

 to climb back discontentedly when the glasses 

 revealed their true nature. 



up is mixed with gold. The Indians, therefore, go to the desert 

 to get this sand, each man having three camels. When the 

 Indians arrive at the spot they fill their sacks with the sand 

 and return home with all possible speed. For the ants having 

 readily detected them by the smell, pursue them, and as they 

 are the swiftest of all animals, not one of the Indians could 

 escape except by getting the start while the ants were assem- 

 bling." 



M'Crindle identifies the ants with Tibetan miners, but it seems 

 much more probable that Tibetan men gave origin to one part 

 of the yarn, and marmots to another. The belief, however, in 

 the existence of gold-digging ants was so prevalent among the 

 ancients that it seems probable that Solomon, who was not 

 altogether innocent of the auri fames, in his well-known in- 

 junction to the sluggard, really referred to them. The speculation, 

 however, has nothing to do with Ovis ammon. 



