CENTRAL ASIA 
few months at his disposal. The Tian Shan is one of the most remote 
localities which a hunter could choose to visit. He must give up five or 
six months to it if he wishes to make the most of his opportunities, and 
it is scarcely worth going four thousand miles to one’s ground and not 
to do so. 
The Tian Shan is a sporting locality of immense expanse and great 
possibilities. It is not even all explored. There is much untried country 
and an enormous area over which no European hunter has ever attempted 
to test his luck. One may still try new valleys and chance to discover 
the unknown abodes of wild game which have never been harassed by 
hunters. At any rate one can wander for months in idyllic surroundings, 
enjoying magnificent scenery and perfect camping country, and be certain 
of exceptional bags of ibex, roe deer, wild sheep and possibly wapiti 
and bear. There is no licence to be obtained, no permits or “ limits ” to 
be studied and adhered to. It is, moreover, an easy country to travel in, 
owing to the presence of a moving, nomadic population, who are used 
to travel and the chase. 
The Tian Shan can be divided into two sections, namely, that portion 
of it which is under Russian rule, and that under Chinese. The line of 
demarcation between the two empires cuts the mountain range into two 
unequal portions, the Chinese owning about two -thirds of the whole. 
The entire area of wild, mountainous country, sparsely inhabited and for 
the most part holding game, is roughly a hundred thousand square miles, 
which should give a fair idea of the immensity of the Tian Shan hunting 
grounds. 
The fact of it being portioned between the Russian and Chinese spheres 
of influence is of much greater importance than it may seem to the unin- 
itiated. This alone has allowed the Tian Shan to be enjoyed by British 
sportsmen, for the Russian section is still forbidden ground, in very 
much the 6ame way as the Pamirs are. The Chinese side has always 
been the goal of travellers, and in almost every case big bags have been 
made in territory which is not Russian. It may be argued that the Chinese 
area has proved to be the best for shooting purposes, but it is not so. I 
myself know sheep grounds in the western or Russian Tian Shan which 
cannot be equalled in the eastern or Chinese side. There are as fine ibex 
grounds in the west as on the east of the Russian frontier. It is quite pro- 
bable that the wapiti are more numerous and easier to hunt in certain 
districts in the Russian sphere where there are not so many natives to 
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