were not large, those which I brought down measuring 46 and 47 inches respectively. In skinning and cutting up the carcasses we avoided frost-bite by frequently warming our hands on the flesh.
In the following year better luck attended my efforts, and I shot another sheep, whose horns measured 594 inches in length, 16 inches in circumference, and 46 inches from tip to tip.
In the Taghdumbash Pamir I never saw or heard of any big game other than the ovis Poli ; but, on the grassy slopes, between the Kukalung Pass and Zad, I saw a large herd of burrhel, one animal having a particularly fine head. I was unable to get within range as, between then: and me, there was a valley with very precipitous sides, but, being tempted by the fine head belonging to an old male which stood on a commanding eminence and watched his flock mounting the steep and rocky bank, I fired several shots. The distance, however, was too great, and he scampered off, apparently with a whole skin. A few days later I had better luck, for I shot a fair-sized burrhel with horns measuring 24i inches along the curve, 10+ inches circumference, and 181 inches between the tips.
If the Tajiks are to be believed, a few sheep (ovis Poli) with small heads frequent the upper part of the Uchi or Wacha valley on the west side. On both sides of the Yarkand River, between Camp 137 and the mouth of the Danga Bash or Tashkurghan River, I several times saw flocks of ibex. The specimen I shot near Tir had, like the others I saw in Sin-Chiang, a small head, but the carcass provided a large supply of meat greatly appreciated by the natives, who esteem this flesh a luxury. The pursuit of the ibex in the valley of the Yarkand River need only be undertaken by those who have both energy and patience abundantly at command, and who are at
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