74 MARKHOR SHOOTING 



slope, and saw two markhor feeding on the hillside, near 

 some birches, about six hundred yards off. Had we 

 crossed earlier, we should never have seen these animals, 

 as they would have got our wind at once. We made for 

 them very cautiously, as they were in low jungle, and we 

 were not aware of their exact whereabouts. Cautious as 

 Mirza Khan and Sharafa were, they, or rather the first, 

 made a mess of the stalk ; it could hardly have been 

 otherwise in such bad ground. As we crossed the top of 

 a swell, covered with bushes, there was a crash below as 

 of a large animal rushing through jungle. We rushed 

 down five paces in the direction of the noise, and came 

 upon the fresh tracks of a large markhor. Following 

 them, Mirza Khan again sighted the animals in an open 

 space on the opposite side of a narrow valley, and down 

 we went again. The slope was steep, the rocks were loose 

 slates that answered with a metallic tinkle every time I put 

 my foot down. Where there was no rock the ground was 

 slippery from recently melted snow, and I had more than 

 one agonising slip ; but Mirza Khan crowned the record of 

 accidents when, we having arrived within twenty yards of 

 the animals, who were still out of sight, he slipped and rolled 

 down the slope. The rifle which he was carrying nearly 

 came to grief ; it was plastered with mud, and showed 

 some bad scratches on the barrels. Of course the markhor 

 were off, and I gave up following them after this. They 

 were again sighted, but were much lower down, and going 

 at a good pace. They did not seem to be very large ones 

 after all — sour grapes ! 



We put up for the night in a goat-shed, and at five 

 o'clock next morning went up the nala above the hut, 

 and had a cold time of it in the sun and wind for an hour. 

 A young markhor which came on the ridge in front of us, 

 and about three hundred yards above, was all the game we 



