A NIGHT OUT 53 



twins — an item in natural history that should be noted. 

 My informant meant that when a female markhor brings 

 forth only one kid, the horns, if a male, grow to great size ; 

 but when two are brought forth, the horns are small. He 

 said a leopard had killed it, and, as we saw fresh traces of 

 a leopard on the ridge above, the absence of markhor was 

 probably explained. The ground was first-rate for them, 

 and Mirza Khan said this nala was always a sure find. I 

 sent down Ghariba and a coolie to bring up bedding and 

 food, as I intended staying out the night, so as to be on 

 the next ridge and valley early in the morning. Mirza 

 Khan said the markhor must be there, as they had been 

 driven out of this by the leopard. Eain began again in 

 the evening, accompanied by a very cold wind, but my 

 shelter was dry and comfortable. It was a hollow under 

 a huge rock, nicely cleaned out, and dry grass spread at the 

 bottom. Mirza Khan said this was one of his " shooting- 

 boxes." At certain times of the year he concealed himself 

 here, and when the markhor came down to drink at the 

 spring, he shot them. 



I passed a fairly comfortable night, and the morning 

 was bright and clear. We went up the left side of the 

 valley above the spring and on to a ridge, whence we looked 

 for markhor, but saw none. Sharafa discovered two very 

 small black bear cubs playing at the mouth of a cave ; 

 there was no sign of the mother. I watched the cubs 

 climbing and wrestling for nearly two hours from the top 

 of a rock, twenty yards off; the white half-moons on 

 their chests were distinctly visible, and the point of the 

 under jaw was of a reddish colour. Sharafa said some 

 have the point of the lower jaw white, and that those with 

 the reddish colour were always the fiercest. We came to 

 the conclusion that the mother was in the cave, as it was 

 unlikely she would go far from such young cubs. So I 



