ROUGH NOTES OF TRAVEL AND SPORT. 109 



going round a mile got down to him, and my disappointment can 

 be imagined when I found that the 30-inch one had been let off, 

 and that I was the possessor of a 22^-inch head, through taking my 

 precious shikari's advice. The body and bones were all shattered, 

 but the horns, massive looking, were not damaged. 



May 9th. — Went up ridge towards the east ; not much snow to 

 climb through. The three big ones that had been fired at by my 

 neighbour were spied far up in the precipices above us ... 

 We are now on a level with the three, about 250 yards off, but I 

 mean to make it 50 yards before I fire, having about 100 yards of 

 deep snow to cross, and 100 yards of a glacier to get down, and 

 then some rocks to climb ! . . . They do look three rippers, 

 and one must be forty-five at least ! Had a hard climb over the 

 snow slope, which was steep and slippery, and soft in places, though 

 only once up to my elbows, but at last the yew-tree near them, 

 the destined firing point, is reached, and I peer through the thick 

 foliage. The big fellow is there some 60 yards off, lying down 

 on a pinnacle of rock and gazing (with that sad far-away look one 

 often notices in these animals when watching them through a tele- 

 scope) down into the valley : the other two are not visible, being 

 lower down, between him and me. I was not very steady I fear, 

 but it looked too easy for any doubt of success, and taking aim 

 through the yew boughs, I tired. The old fellow fell backwards 

 and out of sight. "Mara " I cried to Nibra, and jumped up for 

 the left barrel, just in time to whang it fair into the bigger of the 

 other two markhors as they dashed past about 30 yards off, and 

 over rolled number two. Having duly halaled him, we went up for 

 number one. He had vanished, and there was that fatal and 

 perfidious bullet's mark an inch too high ! Horried sell — a miss 

 through sheer cocksureness : number two is a handsome markhor 

 however. Horns 31 inches long, 12 inches girth, 30 spread ; a clean 

 graceful head. 



Photographing the slain took a few minutes, and then leaving 

 Nibra to look after the trophies, I took Mamdu and Rehman with 

 me, and went down hill intending to take up the tracks of the 

 big one and perhaps come on him. After descending about half 

 a mile, we had a careful survey of the valley with our telescope and 

 two pairs of binoculars, I made out a markhor, a small male, lying 

 on a rock about quarter of a mile off, and somewhat below us, and 

 then we made out others. They were on a sort of rocky plateau, 



