Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/337

 our tent and ascend to the summit of the mountain ridge by the time the sun showed itself above the horizon. On a clear still morning the panorama which lay beneath us on both sides of the mountains was enchanting. On the east glistened the riband-like stream of Hoang-ho, and the numerous lakes round the town of Ning-hia-fu sparkled like brilliants; on the west the sands of the desert faded from view in a broad yellow band dotted with verdant oases of clay-soil like islands in the sea of sand. The surrounding stillness was unbroken save by the occasional bleat of the deer calling his mate.

After a short rest we would make our way cautiously towards the nearest crags of the eastern slope of the mountains, where the mountain sheep are most abundant. On coming to the edge of a cliff my guide and I would stretch out our heads and peer down below. After carefully scanning all the ledges and clumps of bushes we would drag ourselves forward on hands and knees and then take another brief survey. This would be repeated at each cliff or rather at each precipitous bluff of rock. Often not satisfied with only looking we would listen attentively for the noise made by the footsteps of the animal or a loose stone detached from its place by his hoof. Now and then we ourselves would roll large stones down to the wooded ravines to startle our quarry from his covert. It was a fine sight to watch the downward flight of one of these pieces of rock. Barely clinging to the side of the cliff the mass yielded to a slight effort. Slowly