THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
conditions will be altered and the tourist may appear. For the present 
the hunter desirous of visiting any portion of Asia Minor is safe; it is 
still all unspoilt. The railways take him over the (to him) uninteresting 
belt and drop him either on the edge of his chosen ground or land him 
far in the interior, with an untouched world before him. 
Taking Asia Minor to include the whole of Anatolia, Turkish Armenia 
and Kurdistan right up to the Persian and Russian frontiers — Turkey -in- 
Asia, in fact, exclusive of Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia and Arabia — 
we have a region which is more or less of the same features, of the same 
conditions, and holding the same type of big game throughout its entire 
area. As a whole it is one geographical area, and it can thus be best 
described. Asia Minor should chiefly be regarded as the country of the 
hill -stalker, and indeed of the most scientific type of stalking. In the 
western districts continual hunting of the game animals by natives has 
placed the European stalker in a difficult position, for he has not only 
to compete with others over a small country, but to pit his skill against 
a beast which is very well educated. In other districts he has to contend 
with somewhat peculiar natural features, which make the stalking of the 
game more arduous than usual. For instance, the ibex of Asia Minor {Capra 
hircus aegagrus) are to be found in many localities which are partially 
forested, that is to say, there is not a large expanse of hill country above 
the forest zone, and the ibex inhabit the area of highland where trees 
grow sparsely. This may not seem of vital importance in the chase of such 
a beast, but as a matter of fact it is of great consequence. The problem 
before the ibex hunter in Asia Minor is for him to discover his game on 
ranges where no trees exist at a high altitude. Again, with regard to 
the hunting of the wild sheep, or mouflon ( Ovis orientalis gmelini ), the 
difficulties encountered are owing chiefly to the nature of the ground, 
also to the gradual curtailment of “ wild ” country by increasing 
domesticated flocks. The habitat of the sheep consists of rolling downs, 
without breaks, with smooth, even sky-lines; also always utilized by 
the native shepherds and their flocks. The result of this is a most 
phenomenal shyness and an extreme wariness on the part of the game. 
In the eastern districts, in Kurdistan and Armenia, the hill-stalker will 
find full scope for his energies, for the mountains there rise to a considera- 
ble height. Here there is true ibex ground, unspoilt by such hindrances as 
trees, the sheep inhabit more rugged country than in the west, while 
chamois are to be found in their typical surroundings of precipice and crag. 
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