74 BEASTS AND MEN 
of the expeditions which I equipped and sent out, were those 
to Mongolia and Siberia. Especially interesting was one 
despatched at the instigation of the Duke of Bedford for the 
purpose of catching and bringing home to Europe some 
specimens of the wild horse (Equus prjwalsky). Attempts 
had often been made before to secure this animal, but, with 
one exception, they had all miscarried. This exception was 
in the case of the famous naturalist Falz-Fein, who had 
brought some individuals of this rare species from the steppes 
of Asia to his estate in the Crimea. Little, therefore, was 
known about the wild horse; its distribution, its habits, the 
best mode of capturing it were still unstudied. The conduct 
of the expedition was entrusted to Wilhelm Grieger, one of 
my most reliable travellers. On him fell the responsibility 
of making the preparations for the journey, and afterwards of 
leading the expedition into Mongolia. He was provided with 
plenty of money, and also letters of introduction and safe- 
conduct from the Russian Government, the Chinese Am- 
bassador in Berlin, and Prince Alexander of Oldenburg. 
This latter one was of particular value in procuring a warm 
welcome from the eminent Buddhist Lama, Dr. Radmai, 
then resident in St. Petersburg, who placed at the disposal 
of the expedition his great knowledge both of the people and 
the country of Mongolia. 
The first thing to be done, however, was to pay a visit 
to Falz-Fein in South Russia, in order to ascertain from 
him where these wild horses were to be found. This Grieger 
did ; but he found Falz-Fein reluctant to divulge the informa- 
tion he required. By indirect means, however, Grieger suc- 
ceeded in ascertaining that the horses were to be found in the 
neighbourhood of Kobdo, a town situated under the northern 
slopes of the Altai Mountains—a very long journey right 
through Russia, and Western Siberia, into Mongolia. 
Having procured this information, Grieger returned in 
high spirits to St. Petersburg, whence the expedition was 
to set out. But at the last moment another obstacle was 
