CHAPTER XXIX. 



THE OORIAL. 



Ovis Cycloceros. 

 In the Pan jab — tiridl — tiridr. 



THE majority of the known species of wild sheep inhabit lofty mountains, living at such 

 an elevation that they are always in a cool atmosphere, and although none of them have the 

 woolly fleece of the domestic sheep, their thickset coats of brittle and hollow hairs are admir- 

 ably adapted to protect them from the icy blasts to which they are frequently exposed. 



The Oorial is an exception to the general rule, being found among the rocky ravines of 

 the Salt Range and other low stony hills in the upper part of the Panjab, and along the fron- 

 tiers of Sindh, where the temperature frequently attains something very like furnace heat. 

 I doubt, indeed, whether it would be possible to find, in the whole world, a fiercer heat than 

 is to be experienced in those narrow gorges during the summer months ; when the rays of 

 the midday sun have explored their lowest depths ; when not a breath of air is stirring ; 

 when every leaf has been curled up and rendered dry as tinder by the radiation from the 

 glowing rocks ; and hardly even an ant has energy to move. I have tried hunting under 

 such circumstances, but should not care to repeat the experiment. 



It was long supposed that the ' Shapoo ' of Ladak {Ovis Vignei) was the same as the 

 Oorial ; but this has been proved to be incorrect : the ' Shapoo ' is a much larger animal, 

 and differs considerably in other respects. It is not yet known for certain, whether the 

 ' Oorren' of Astor and Baltistan is a distinct species or not ; it is at any rate very closely 

 allied to the ' Shapoo.' 



The male Oorial is a noble animal, and though really excessively timid, an old ram has 

 a certain air of defiance as he throws up his head and gazes in the direction from whence he 

 first suspects danger. Standing about thirty-six inches at the shoulder, he is well formed both 

 for speed and for climbing, the body being compactly and strongly built, while the limbs are 

 long and deer-like. The general color is a dark reddish brown above, while the lower parts 

 and legs are of a lighter tint. Old rams have a peculiar saddle-shaped mark on the back. 

 The throat and chest are adorned by a long flowing ruff of coarse black hair, which becomes 

 hoary with age. The horns are somewhat like those of the domestic ram, but have only one 

 twist, tending, when perfect, to form a circle. They generally attain a length of about 

 twenty-six inches, with a circumference of ten inches, but they occasionally grow to thirty-two 

 inches and even more. The eyepits of this sheep are very much developed, and secrete a 



