78 MARKHOR SHOOTING 



crouched in a hole under a small rock, a few paces off, just 

 big enough to hold them, curled up like a dog when he is 

 very cold. The space into which these people can screw 

 themselves and remain, asleep and awake, for hours, 

 without change of position, is truly wonderful ! The 

 coolies managed the best way they could, mostl}'" covered 

 with their blankets round a huge log fire, as there were 

 no more rocks to protect them. 



The weather next day was as bad, but after breakfast I 

 could hold out no longer, so made the shikaris come along 

 the ridge towards the main stream ; we saw nothing, as 

 usual. The rain and snow, I fancy, had driven even the 

 markhor under cover, for the place we searched was the 

 one where the nine large bucks had been seen from the 

 opposite side of the main valley a few days before : we 

 saw their tracks all over the place, and huge ones they 

 were. I sat on the top of a conical hill under my 

 umbrella for a couple of hours, while the shikaris hunted 

 above and below, and then, convinced that the rock and 

 roaring fire were more comfortable, returned to camp. It 

 drizzled, snowed, hailed, sleeted, and rained alternately, but 

 not for long at a time. This variety was no doubt 

 interesting from a meteorological point of view, but not 

 from mine. It cleared up at night, but clouds still hung 

 about. 



A comparatively clear morning was welcomed, and we 

 started at five for the ridge where I had missed the 

 markhor eight times. We all agreed it was best to make 

 the ground good in that direction, as during this bad 

 weather the markhor might have gone round there again. 

 We had a very bad time, both going and coming, and saw 

 nothing for our pains, though we did find the footmarks of 

 some brutes that had actually walked over our tracks only 

 a couple of days old ! Going, we went along the hillside 



