Mogi the sheep killer.

This morning I wake up Ulzii again. It lasts forever till he peels himself out of the tent. “Should I wake up you a little earlier tomorrow? Then you have more time to get around your work, like putting your things together and bringing the horses to water?”, I ask friendly and if nobody must wait for the others we have the chance to get a little earlier started. “Yes”, he answers scarcely.

Even Ulzii is moving very slow we still make it at 11:00 a.m. to be on the track. This is in comparison to other days relatively good time. Yesterday we have been able to do 30 day kilometer even with having mountains. Generally for me it is not important to master many kilometer in short time but our aim is to reach still before the big cold. So we also have in the country in which the watches differently tick a certain pressure of time imposed by nature.

Bilgee takes my request to make a little bit more kilometer per day very seriously, because we must really go to trouble to keep up the speed. As an unskilled rider I must admit, finally, after two hours of trot whishing to ride again normal step. But my pride does not allow asking Bilgee to reduce speed. On top of that there comes the today’s heat. The thermometer points more than 30 degrees in the sun. Tanja and I briefly stop and take off one of our undershirts. Then we gallop to catch up with the horse carriages. In spite of being often biting and kicking Sharga is a strong and willing draught horse. I am surprised with which perseverance he is pulling the wagon.

We cross two mountain tops. Nevertheless, Tanja and I have today the first time properly joy with the horse riding. Whenever we fall back by taking photos, we gallop to reach the horse carriage again. It is like a horse racing witch Tanja mostly wins. Here horse Naraa is a real racing bun and cannot suffer to be overtaken. Naraa flies about the land. But also my horse Sar is a miraculous animal. I never had thus a fantastic riding animal. It is complete regardless of the group and always follows my will. Even if I go away sometimes for filming on a mountain hilltop, rise there from the saddle and make my job, there Sar remains faithfully on my side.

We ride trough a wide valley. Everywhere are lying around volcano rocks and it does not make the subsoil easy for the hoofs. We are glad having substituted the missing horseshoes of Bor and Sharga. Because far and wide no sheep or nanny goats to be seen we leave Mogi of the rope. He is glad about his won freedom and jumps like a goat about the open land. Then he races ahead to come back after a little while. Most time he runs beside of one of us. Completely in a distance sheep and nanny goats cookers appear. We hardly realize them. Mogi also seems to have discovered them. We knew we have made a mistake when he shoots very sudden like an arrow in their direction. Tanja and I follow him in full gallop. Mogi reaches the cookers still before us. Like an arrow he hits on the animals. It barks, mows and grumbles wildly in a mess. Mogi has outlined a small sheep and shakes it in the nape. Tanja comes in addition to save the little sheep life. Mogi gives up his victim it shudders after some fright seconds and runs away bleating. “Mogiii! Come back!” , we call from body forces as he is running again into the cookers. Immediately I rise again in the saddle and gallop behind. I see how Mogi packs a bigger sheep in the tail. Then he goes around to its throat for killing it. I jump out of the saddle and pull Sar behind myself to save the sheep. However, Sar refuses at all to go on. “Come! Now come on!” I roar pulling the halter rope, while Mogi works on his victim. I am about to let go my horse, soon being considered of my expensive camera equipment in the saddlebags. One more try and my horse is walking successfully and I reach our raving dog and the death-believed sheep. With full force I pull Mogi of his prey, tear him in the air to throw him on the ground. Hardly he lies there he would like to rush again at his prey. I pack him on the throat and fling him several times on the subsoil. He starts to whimper. Then I pack his collar and turn it around. Mogi starts to groan. The dog must be shot. With such a dog you cannot tear. He causes only problems. Is born in the town and will never get used to sheep and nanny goats, I hear the voices of the last day during I choke him in the neck. Before he leaves suffocated I lax again his collar. Looking in his brown eyes I see fear of death in them. Even if he is a sheep killer I am sorry for him. I still have him on his neck when Tanja is coming galloping. Behind her comes a motorcycle. These are two shepherds. “Hojor hon!” (Two sheep!) they shout angrily. Yes, Hojor hon, we confirm. Uutschla (excuse) I bring out completely out of breath, handling the dog to Tanja. The shepherds are very angry and want immediately money. In the distance we see Ulzii riding towards us. We indicate at him and ask the irritating shepherds for some patience. As Ulzii arrives we apologize once more. They want money for the sheep, translates Ulzii. “We understand. They should catch for us two injured sheep. I would like to see if they are having dangerous wounds. If this is so we buy from them the animals with pleasure,” I say. It looks thus that both sheep had got over the attack of Mogi without visible injuries. If the animals lay bleeding and badly injured before us we would have paid immediately the price of the sheep to the owner. But there is a big opportunity that the sheep got away with a fright.

We tell the shepherd to wait for him at the horse carriage. The more aggressive of the two jets by his motorcycle immediately to his ger and comes by his all-wheel coach to our horse carriage driven. He is ignoring our request to bring us the injured sheep. They seem to own money, believes Tanja looking at the car.

Per sheep I want 150,000 Tugrik (85 €), the unpleasant man says in a tone no contradiction to be allowed. 150,000 Tugrik? This is an absurd price. We have recently bought a full-grown nanny goat for 50,000 Tugrik (29 €). We never pay 150,000, I let translate.
I ask Ulzii and Bilgee to move back for a short consultation. “What is the normal price of a sheep?” I ask Bilgee. “Maximum 90,000 Tugrik.” (51 €) “And what a lamb can cost?” “Maybe 40,000 or 50,000 Tugrik.” “That means he requires the double of the maximal price?” “Yes”, answers Bilgee. I ask Ulzii to translate to pay for both animals no more than 140,000 Tugrik (80 €). But only if the sheep are really injured. I like to see the animals. Then we decide everybody together the degree of the injury and if it turns out that these are more than scratches, we pay 140,000 Tugrik. The shepherd energetically shakes the head and would want 150,000 Tugrik per animal. However, I understand the reason of his irritation, besides, I do not accept to be cheated. Again I reject his demands and remain with my statement that I want to see the wounded animals. The fronts harden. Then one of the shepherds and his wife go off to search for the injured sheep in the herd. “Our meat stocks go anyhow to ends. We do not mind to bye the two sheep but not for this price. Do you think the same?”, I ask our companions. They nod confirming.

Then we further ride. Did you tell the shepherd that we continue our journey and that he should bring us the sheep in the camp? I ask Ulzii. Yes we told him. When we, passed the cookers Bilgee means we should ride once more to the shepherds. In the meanwhile Tanja pays attention to the horse carriage.

With my Arrival there the shepherd demands me to look for the bitten sheep. How should I find the injured sheep? I am no shepherd. For me they all look alike, I answer about this request amazed. The woman and the man look meanwhile still for sign of injured sheep in the herd. With out success. It is a dry autumn. If the sheep have been bitten they are going to die, the man with his big demands moans. “I buy the injured sheep. But if they are not injured I do not buy them. Then it is only a reason for you to make money!” I ask to translate. “For 140,000 I do not sell to you the sheep. You pay 140,000 to me and go on!” I do not believe my ears to trust what I hear. “I should pay 140,000 and then get no sheep?” “Yes”, answers the man challenging. Again I ask to translate my offer and again the nomad declines. He is crazy, says Ulzii. I think so too, we must find a solution. I try to stay as calmly as possibly in such a situation and let translate my offer once more. “No”, says the avarice neck. “Now, then we must regulate the situation before the police. He could demand every imagination price. In the end he would want one million,” I decide. “There are no injured sheep we can go,” interferes Bilgee, rises in the saddle and rides to the horse carriage back. The other nomad swings himself meanwhile with his wife on his motorcycle and drives away. They have apparently also too much from these peculiar negotiations.

“If now you do not become reasonable and charge the normal price,” I ask Ulzii to translate. Then something did happen what should not happen. The shepherd lays the hand to the reins of my horse and likes to hold me in this way by force from horse riding. Now in me it cooks before fury. Only no violence, I imagine. This must be to be solved peacefully. No, no, no, this must differently go, my thoughts race by the brain convolutions. I take quite slowly his hand and push them warily from the back of my horse. I say in very serious tone: “Here this man will not touch once again my horse!” Immediately he pulls back his hands on which I take the reins and rise on the horse. Then I act thus as I would ride of, however, stop after 20 metre and turn. And? Is there now a fair and reasonable decision?” I ask. Meanwhile the shepherd has gone to Ulziis horse and has taken his reins in the hands. “Ulzii! He may also not touch your horse. This is a No Go. You belong to me. No stranger may touch the horses of our team members or hinder them in any way!” “We should regulate the matter before the police“, I bluff. „I want medicine for the sheep!“ Now the shepherd suddenly changes the tactics. “Medicine? Okay. We can talk about it. How much?“ “70.000 Tugrik”, (40 €) „My God. He would want more money for medicine than a lamb costs? This cannot be. Come let`s go. He gets nothing at all of me!“ I bluff once more and ride loose to rein again after 20 metre Sar. “I pay 20,000 Tugrik.“ (11 €). „I get 70,000 Tugrik or go to the police. You wait here so long“, orders the man. „I pay no 70,000 Tugrik and also I do not stay here. If you are not suggesting a reasonable offer within the next two minutes I go and you have nothing at all“, I let translate. „60,000 Tugrik!“, the shepherd roars (34 €). „35,000 is my last offer!“ „50,000!“, he demands.„ 37,000 and no Tugrik more!“ „Okay!“, shouts the disgusting man at my proposal „Say him he should come to the horse carriage to collect the money.“, I shout and gallop of. Ulzii swings himself into the saddle and hurries behind me. Hardly we have reached the horse carriage, the avarice neck already comes. I explain the situation to Tanja briefly. She picks out the money and gives it to me. „Best you take a photo from the monetary handing over. Then we have a proof. Otherwise we do not know what this man still occurs“, I say to Tanja. She takes photos when I hand over 37,000 Tugrik. The man and his wife lift immediately the hands before their faces to remain unrecognized. Now the man jumps out of the car, rushes towards me and demands to extinguish the pictures. “No”, I say calmly. He turns round, rises in his car, and speeds away. „You should not have given him the money. There are no injured sheep and for it he also needs no medicine“, believes Bilgee. „Mogi has attacked his animals. This was our guilt. It is better we have created a balance!“ I answer and try to forget the disagreeable incident.