had drawn off
over the plain were Mongolian antelopes (gazella gutturosa); while
the few that had taken to the mountain were the big horned sheep (ovis
argali). All this company had been grazing together with the domestic
sheep on the plains of the Adair, which attracted them with its good
grass and clear water. In many places the river was not frozen and in
some places I saw great clouds of steam over the surface of the open
water. In the meantime some of the antelopes and the mountain sheep
began looking at us.

"Now they will soon begin to cross our trail," laughed the Mongol; "very
funny beasts. Sometimes the antelopes course for miles in their endeavor
to outrun and cross in front of our horses and then, when they have done
so, go loping quietly off."

I had already seen this strategy of the antelopes and I decided to make
use of it for the purpose of the hunt. We organized our chase in the
following manner. We let one Mongol with the pack camel proceed as
we had been traveling and the other three of us spread out like a fan
headed toward the herd on the right of our true course. The herd stopped
and looked about puzzled, for their etiquette required that they should
cross the path of all four of these riders at once. Confusion began.
They counted about three thousand heads. All this army began to run
from one side to another but without forming any distinct groups. Whole
squadrons of them ran before us and then, noticing another rider, came
coursing back and made anew the same manoeuvre. One group of about fifty
head rushed in two rows toward my point. When they were about a hundred
and fifty paces away I shouted and fired. They stopped at once and began
to whirl round in one spot, running into one another and even jumping
over one another. Their panic cost them dear, for I had time to shoot
four times to bring down two beautiful heads. My friend was even more
fortunate than I, for he shot only once into the herd as it rushed past
him in parallel lines and dropped two with the same bullet.

Meanwhile the argali had gone farther up the mountainside and taken
stand there in a row like so many soldiers, turning to gaze at us. Even
at this distance I could clearly distinguish their muscular bodies
with their majestic heads and stalwart horns. Picking up our prey, we
overtook the Mongol who had gone on ahead and continued our way. In many
places we came across the carcasses of sheep with necks torn and the
flesh of