SPORT AND TRAVEL 



Had I met with this stag a fortnight earlier, I 

 should probably have secured a very fine head. The 

 one I had killed proved to be a fine young stag, but 

 with comparatively poor horns, as he was only a 

 nine-pointer, and had moreover broken the second 

 and third tines on the one side, probably in battling 

 with heavier stags during the last rutting season. 

 He was in pretty good condition, and his meat I 

 found, if not very excellent, at any rate, fairly good 

 eating. I had to skin and cut him up almost en- 

 tirely by myself, as Achmet's hands and feet were 

 so numbed by the cold wind that he could give me 

 very little assistance, but had to run about to keep 

 himself warm. When I had finished my task, we 

 buried the meat under the snow, and then trudged 

 back to camp, Achmet carrying the head. Soon after 

 we reached the tents the clouds closed in on us, and a 

 heavy storm of snow and sleet began to fall. Shortly 

 after dark some wolves commenced to howl on the 

 hillside opposite, and presently came down close to 

 our camp. These animals, Achmet told me, annually 

 commit great havoc amongst the sheep, and in severe 

 winters collect in packs and attack human beings. 

 During the winter of 1895-96, which was a remark- 

 ably cold one, eight people, he informed me, were 

 killed and eaten by wolves near a mountain village 

 not far away. 



On awaking the next morning, I found the ground 

 round the tents and the flaps of the tents themselves 



