Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 176 (Color Image)

0176	Among the Celestials : vol.1

142 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VI.

comforts and fresh interests were near at

hand.

As we now ascended the range the slopes

were covered with rich green turf, most de-

lightful to look upon after the bare hills of the

Gobi ; while here and there through an opening

in the hills we could catch a glimpse of the

snowy peaks above. There were, however, no

trees nor even bushes, either on the hills or

in the valleys. By the roadside we passed

several horns of the Ovis argali, and two other

kinds of wild sheep or goat, Ovis argali being

the most common. One of these measured

56 inches and another 62 inches in length.

The latter, the guide said, was as big a one as

was to be got.

All the Ovis argali horns I saw on the Tian-

shan were different from those which I saw on

the Altai Mountains. The latter were thicker

at the base (nineteen inches round as against

sixteen), and they were more rounded, and not

so much twisted. The Mongol says the sheep

are the same.

We crossed the Tian-shan at a height of

eight thousand feet. Except the last half-mile

the ascent was not steep, but led gradually up

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