238 ACROSS MONGOLIAN PLAINS 



where I was stationed." Suddenly he caught sight of 

 us where we sat under a rock and stopped with head 

 thrown up and one foot raised, I shall never forget 

 the beautiful picture which he made standing there 

 against the background of snow with the sun glancing 

 on his antlers. Before I could shoot he was off at top 

 speed bounding over the bushes parallel to us. My 

 first shot just creased his back, but the second caught 

 him squarely in the shoulder, while he was in mid-air, 

 turning him over in a complete somersault. 



A few moments later we saw the two beaters on the 

 hill run toward each other excitedly and felt sure they 

 had seen something besides roebuck. When they 

 reached us they reported that seven wapiti had run out 

 directly between them and over the ridge. 



The climb to the top of the mountain was an ordeal. 

 It was the highest ridge on that side of the valley and 

 every time we reached what appeared to be the crest, 

 another and higher summit loomed above us. We fol- 

 lowed the tracks of the animals into a series of ravines 

 which ran down on the opposite side of the mountain 

 and tried a drive. It was too large a territory for 

 our four beaters, and the animals escaped unobserved 

 up one of the valleys. Na-mon-gin and I sat on the 

 hillside for an hour in the icy wind. We were both 

 shaking with cold and I doubt if I could have hit a 

 wapiti if it had stopped fifty feet away. 



Harry saw a young elk go into a mass of birch scrub 

 in the bottom of the valley, and when he descended to 

 drive it out, his hunter discovered a huge bull walking 



