o 



S MARKHOR SHOOTINXx 



for the very valuable information he gave me. Sharafa 

 was a handsome man, tall, well-made, and very gentle, but 

 manlv withal in his bearing and manners. He had honest 

 soft brown eves that inspired confidence. He was good- 

 tempered, very tactful, and managed the coolies and people 

 of the country in a manner that I have never seen excelled 

 by any Kashmiri shikari. 



Xext was Gharib Kaka, or " old cock Gharib." He 

 was small and slightly built, past middle age, weak- 

 looking and troubled with a bad coudi. The most 

 remarkable features about him were his bushy eyebrows 

 and the keen steady eyes that belong only to the born 

 shikari. He had two weaknesses — he was very garrulous 

 and too fond of the hukka (native pipe) ; the latter was 

 a bond of union between him and my table servant, as no 

 one else in camp smoked. Ghari'ba was a Dard, and had 

 accompanied other sportsmen after markhor ; his local 

 knowledcje was most useful. The "Wazir also gave me a 

 sipahi (soldier) to look after supplies, an arrangement 

 that saved me much trouble. Manawar Khan was a 

 Kashmiri, who had a thorough knowledge of the country 

 and villacres on mv route, I hired nine coolies from 

 Kashmir to carrv the basjgage, at a monthlv wacje of five 

 rupees each ; only two of them deserve particular mention. 

 Jamala (or " Jamal din," as he was called when he stood 

 on his dignity) was " tiffin coolie," to accompany me 

 when after game, carrying the food, spare grass shoes, 

 etc. Jafar Bata was the bhi'sti (water-carrier) and general 

 assistant to the table servant ; he was a strong, square- 

 built man, with a determined countenance, and a bullying 

 manner that broutjht him to the front. The others were 

 mere baggage animals. My camp equipage consisted of a 

 small tent six feet square for myself, and a smaller one for 

 the servant and his cooking operations. "When starting from 



