362 ON WILD SHEEP AND ANTELOPE OF ALGERIA. [May 6, 



happened, however, th<it, though we were singularly unlucky in our 

 hunting here, we saw them on several occasions within sight of the 

 Station and within hearing of the railway-whistle. This was no doubt 

 owing to the fact that there is a very lofty and broken cliff at that 

 end of the mountain. On one occasion I saw with the telescope, from 

 the neighbourhood of the Station itself, a small herd about 4 miles 

 off, near the top of the mountain. 



Other ranges which we explored, and where we found the Sheep, 

 were the curiously honeycombed Salt Mountain (literally of solid 

 salt) to the east of El Outaja, a few miles south of El Kantera ; Bou 

 Arif, 12 miles to the west of that place ; and the Ahmar Khadou, 

 40 miles to the east of Biskra, and forming part of the x\ures Range. 

 In fact, we found more or less of them in every precipitous range 

 where we sought for them. 



The Sheep {Ovis tragelaphus) rejoices in a confusing number of 

 vernacular names. In the Gardens of this Society it is known as the 

 " Aoudad." The name is not recognized in Algiers, where it is 

 called " Moufflon a Mauchettes "' by the French, and " Aroui " by 

 Arabs, or, in the case of the old males, " Feshtal." 



The Aroui are thinly scattered all over the above-named ranges, 

 wherever they are rough and precipitous, and are doubtless to be 

 found in similar spots on all the arid southern slopes of the Atlas 

 from the Atlantic to Tunis. They are unknown further into the 

 mountains, i. e. nearer to the coast, and I do not think are ever 

 found out of sight of the desert'. 



After numerous inquiries 1 cannot hear authoritatively of any 

 Englishman who has successfully stalked these animals until we did 

 so, though I heard of two who have tried and failed. This is not 

 surprising, for they are more difficult to find than any animal I have 

 ever hunted. My own experience will illustrate this. 1 hunted for 

 twenty- three days, being nearly always out from before sunrise till 

 after sunset, and I got shots at only four during that time. The 

 reason for this is the extraordinary capacity for hiding itself shown 

 by the " Aroui," in which it is assisted by its own nearly invisible 

 colour, which is a pale rufous-yellow, and by the extremely broken 

 character of the rocks, which, being for the most part of a soft 

 limestone, readily decompose and are cut into numerous fantastic 

 hollows and fissures, and are covered in many places with a rather 

 extensive growth of scrubby Thuya bushes. 



The habits of the Arabs, continued tor countless generations, have 

 helped to form the habits of the Aroui. The nomad tribes pitch 

 their tents necessarily within reach of one of the scanty springs of 

 water, and daily lead their flocks of goats np the mountains, and no 

 cliff or corrie is safe from their intrusion. The Aroui have thus no 

 means of escaping from them, as every mountain within reach of 

 water is similarly infested. They are constantly within sight and 



^ The Arabs say that these Sbeep never drink more frequently than once in 

 five dajs ; but though this, no doubt, enables tbeni to traverse long distances in 

 these thirsty slopes, 1 do not think they are often found at a great distance 

 from water. — E. Is'. B. 



