ROUGH NOTES OF TRAVEL AND SPORT. 101 



Astor river, there rushing to its junction with the Iudus. There 

 was not a sound from the lonely path by which I had climbed. I had 

 only a mile or two further to go, so I rested for a bit on a rock, 

 and then began to desceud the track. Suddenly I heard a deep 

 growl, and saw a black object move on the rocks about 15 yards 

 below me! "A bear," thought I; and picked up a big stone, with 

 which I let drive. A thump, a yowl from a dog ! and up jumped 

 some men from the rocks beside which they had been sleeping. 

 The situation was soon explained. They were travelling from 

 Gilgit to Astor, and were resting there on the ridge. " Give me 

 some water, I am dying of thirst "; and I soon had a little gourd 

 to my lips, and drained it. Then they offered me bread, but hungry 

 though I was, I could only tackle a few mouthfuls. I gave the man 

 who gave me the water a rupee, and asked him to guide me down 

 to the fort, which he did; and he also let me keep the little gourd as 

 a memento of a most blessed drink. It was 10 o'clock when the 

 Ramghat sentries finally made up their minds not to shoot, but to let 

 me pass the fort and bridge; and in another half hour I was asleep 

 on the sand beside a rock, with my blanket over me, careless of 

 ulsters and night marches indeed, for I was^in my nullah at last ! 



March 30th. — Twenty-three oorin (Ovis vignei) came down close 

 to the hut last evening. Unluckily my binoculars are with the heavy 

 kit, now at Astor, and I have only four cartridges with me. 



At midday I set off along the Boonji road to look for oorin. 

 A large herd — about 40 — came downhill, crossed the plain, and went 

 down to the Indus to drink. While I was stalking them a shot in the 

 distance set them off, and I fired two shots at the leading ram, about 

 400 yards, as they stampeded. The shots fell very close — not more 

 than a foot away. The herd went quietly up hill aud began feeding 

 on the slopes. Mamdu and I sat down behind a rock and watched 

 them for about an hour ; they fed over a ridge, and into a ravine. 



"We hurried up the slope they had quitted — about 500 yards' 

 climb — and, peeping over the edge, saw them on the opposite side of 

 the ravine, about 250 to 800 yards off, and somewhat below us. 

 Aimino- at the biggest ram, I fired, and hit him in the flank ; 

 and with the left barrel hit him again in the neck ; still, he went on, 

 and I had no more cartridges. After going up some rocks he lay down 

 but bolted again a short distance when Mamdu got near him. 

 I signalled where he had gone, and Mamdu got down to him, and 

 caught hold of liim ; but up he jumped, and Mamdu let go! He 



