The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-01-21
A GREAT GAME PRESERVE.
NORTHERN THfBET VERTTABLE
SPORrSMEN'S PIR1DISE
Col. Prcirvnisitv's Discovcric--yn Hunt
ina-ihc Mountain sheep wild Horses.
Assess aud CameIs-Chasing the Antelope.
nom ne Scientific ljnsrndn.

Assess. aud Cameis -Chasing the Antelope.
NON n. Scientific iiarian.
! With the rapid extinction OF the large
game Of our great West. and the scarcely less
| rarid disappearance OF tue once numerous herds
| OF south Africd there rem in' out one coun ~
! with virgin attractions for the modern Nmrud.
ihat IL asl the highest IN IN many .espe Is
Tue least known. region ON the glcOe-the lofty
| vi Of Iuibct.
The urst .cic itinc traveller to penetrate that
countrv IA the Russian oilirer. Col. preisvasky.
VINO, IN the tiuie capacit. OF explorer. no
olog 81. ana spoltsfnan, spent three years in the
hitherto unexuOrcd wn4 tes " NpngIiil md
northern Ihuet. crossing tue scrt OF Oct
| twice, aud travelling Ia all upward Of T,ODJ
miles
| chief among the wild beasts ~ Northern
| lhlhct IL the Wild yak. which Col. Pref val-ky
! describes as an animal Of * raOrdtntry beauty.
Wnen full grown the male yak me .surss eleven
feet IN length. exclusive ~ his hushy till which
IL three feet tong. lie stands six feet MIN at
teen hundred weight HIS head IA adorned
" IN ponderous horns. from two to thrcc feet
long nd sixteen inches In circumferen q at the
root The body ~ covered with thi k black
hair, deep black fringe hanging from tho
! II inks almost to tho ground. The females are
am Her and less hairy, with shorter aud liy,trr
| hnrns. The yak u enormously strong. but n = a
small brain aud comparatively little Intelligence.
| His sense Of smell IL very keen. but his sight
| aud hearing are defective. The females. Young
bulls, and calves assemble I'm vast nerd, lie
own American bison, To protect the young from
wolves. he hrrus make long Journeys Tor pas
! tnr,ge; and when 10 danger they form pha-
lhnx, with the calves In the centre. some Of
| the full grown males advancing To reconnoitrs.
| The Old bulls do not jou ney with the herds,
but have tneir nxed abiding places. alwa,s se-
| lecting the coolest spots they can ind for resi-
| Ing. and preferrine to sleep on snow In tho
shadow of some rhi. Wild yak shooting is ex-
| citing and dangerous sport, As the bulls charge
wnen wounded. and are very IRA to KIT On
one occasion tol. Projevaskv ared volley az or
vniey at an old bull. who stood his ground
until II was too dark for the hunters to continue
the light. The next morning he was found de 81
with thirteen baiis IN bis BODY aud three in his
head.
Another characteristic tnlmal Of the high
| lands Of Asia Is the atgali or mountain sheep.
me white-Oreasted ARK IL - found only in
Northern lhibet. IL frequcnts tho mops ca-
waited pl 'teaus, avoiding steep aud rugged
| mountains, and may often DO seen feeding with
the wild asses and antelupes in the ravines. 1t
Is an exceedingly wary animal though scarcely
ever hunted. The more common mountain
sheep OF the highlands OF Central Asia ordi
nuily prefer the most rocky places. only do
scendinx to the valleys In early spring to er q,
on the young grass. fhev VIII jump from con
siderable heigths. always Hliehung on their
feet. The stories about their throwing tn. IN
selves down steep precipices. and aiignting on
their massive horns, Col. Prejevasky IgonOunces
pure fiction.
A far mote attractive game for the sport low
ING naturalist IL the Wild camel which aDOunds
III northwestern lsiidsm. wncre the couItrv IS
So b rren and 50 destitute Of water that tho
caineis nave 10 90 seventy miles 10 drink re-
ports Of those rare creatures nave reached the
outer world time and again. but European n tu-
raiists have always doubted their truth. They
are hunted for their deirate fic IN ana nne wool,
ahd are de cribed as smaller and more slender
than tha domestic camel. with Sun Her bumps
aud IA re POINTED noses. Ibey are long sighted
aud Keen seen. cd. but arc uni able see well at
In trs me region western Tsaidam). troops
OF "dd hoses ale occtsiondy seen, but are
more numerous IA the vicinity OF Lop-nor. hey
generally 80 IN large herds, are very shy. and
when Tag tened continue their Hight for DAYS,
ana do not return to toe same Ut zee Tor "A We r
or two. Iney are never hunted by the MongOls
and Chinese. heir color Is uniformly bay, with
bl ca tails and long names.
Another interesting animal Ia the kuan, or
wild a.. hicn Is most abundant on the steppes
~ ko-nor In size aud external appearance.
the kulan resembles the mule. hey keep
mostly IN troops Of ten TO hfiy. Each lot %.
mares l. led 10y stallion. whose following
uepends on his axe" strength. aud courage.
ihcir sight add hearing are excellent, and tney
ar yer, ri 10 XVI on ievel ground. IA, best
time to II Ia them Is wnile they are drinking.
iheN are hunted for their nssn, waicn 10 con-
sidere 1 great delicacy.
The antelupes of Mongolia and Tnlhet are
small. but numerous aud attractive. specially
Gu lrtcteristtc u the eastern part OF the desert
Of q Jbi u the s"iit-footed dzerrn. The dz.ren
are most frequently seen In snai herds; but
Were me IA turdge is good tue collect In groves
ot a tnols ind or more. The, belong exclusively
to the plains, avoid hnly country, and snun
thickets aud high grass, except IN May, when
tie uoes seek the covert 20 conceal their youns.
Iuey are about the size OF goats ; they nave
grsit Incidence and Keen SENSES. aud are
tnAryehuusly swift. Even with Lroken leg,
tues eau run faster tnant horse can gallon.
Another species called by ;hs Mnng1ls the
kar.-sulta OF ul.ck tailed. inhabits U dos and
the de-eu II Gobi Unlike the ozar n
aVui rich pasturige, and selects for its uaDita-
ton tho widest anu most barren parts Of tue
desert, or small oases IN the midst Of sand
hltltN. lhc 'Ahi'ifi OiAth 10 Unu
| them in glaces where no water could be found
Tor sixty or seventy miles. They generally 90 in
couples ur ~ small detdchneLts, sometimes ia
winter nlteen or Nv MY NAV De seen together.
rn-ir color - Ike IN VI the sand ana yell
low cay thit they can scarcely he distinguished,
except wuen IN iuotiOn or when standing On tue
summit 81 "A mn.
In the lnluetan highlands two remarkably
beautiful antelope> were found one, called the
! orongO. being ao1ut ~ large is tue dzerrn; the
other, one II the smallest autelopes known.
standing only teet incnes hlsn, aud wrigniIg
NJ more tn n 81 pounds. Tue orongo IA.
beautiful body. set ON louR slender legs, aud
elegant black horns standins ver.ic nv hove
the mead. IL loves the valleys ana r1lng plains.
a'u5d','' " VIZ I"e" ~ ,lp' OK sew iai
a,d ,r ,,.f,'l .nl''.,i. ~. .' M ~.