After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . we trotted along thepath. We followed for some time the Urusoul River,on which stands Ongudai. The aspect of the countrypresented no perceptible change, and appeared to ussomewhat monotonous : the same rolling hills, thesame vegetation, the same trees, giving evidence ofoccasional forest fires, probably caused by the care-lessness of the Kalmuks. Our tents were soonpitched on a grassy plain overlooking the yourt had been put up for our friends, M. Meyerand the Ispravnik, who both partook of our frugalsupper from the hands of Yassili, our c
After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . we trotted along thepath. We followed for some time the Urusoul River,on which stands Ongudai. The aspect of the countrypresented no perceptible change, and appeared to ussomewhat monotonous : the same rolling hills, thesame vegetation, the same trees, giving evidence ofoccasional forest fires, probably caused by the care-lessness of the Kalmuks. Our tents were soonpitched on a grassy plain overlooking the yourt had been put up for our friends, M. Meyerand the Ispravnik, who both partook of our frugalsupper from the hands of Yassili, our cook. Thenight was fresh, and it was freezing when we startednext morning. Towards 6 we crossed the Katoun with our CROSSING THE KATOUN 67 luggage on a raft. As for the ponies, they werepushed into the river, and made to swim across. Itwas a curious sight to watch them paddling awayin mid-stream and landing on the opposite side about200 yards lower down. In the water they look twiceas lono- with their tails floating on the surface behind. CROSSING THE KATOUN. them. This operation presented no difficulty, how-ever, and it took hardly an hour to reload the poniesand make a fresh start. We followed the river upits right bank for some time, and here first madeacquaintance with the so-called bomas, the dangersof which had been so much exaggerated. Thiscurious term signifies a place where the path becomes 68 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI narrow and leads over steep rocks overhanging thestream. ()ur ponies seemed to be well accustomedto this sort of climbing, and carried us throughwithout the slightest hitch ; as for the ladies, theydid not even dismount. We soon turned off to ourleft and began ascending a long steep slope leadingto the Saldjar pass (5,500 feet), from which we wouldbe able to distinguish the higher mountains in thedistance. At 1 we reached the saddle, anda beautiful view met our eyes. Snow-clad peaksabout a hundred miles off raised their lofty headsagainst th
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