g8 IBEX SHOOTING 



panied by a gentle rustle of the wings ; soon it changed 

 into a querulous complaint of neglect; if this did not 

 fetch her, he lost his temper, and, with a loud caw of rage, 

 ordered her up. At this last stage he became most 

 energetic ; his head went down at every utterance, and his 

 tail worked like a lever. All this meant that he wanted 

 his head scratched. When the wife did turn up, she 

 proceeded at once to rub his skull all over with her beak — 

 an endearment which sent the old fellow into ecstacies, 

 every feather in his body quivering with enjoyment ; then 

 he would launch himself in the air and, sailing in wide 

 circles, scan the hilly slopes from side to side ; then, with 

 wings at an acute angle, he would flutter across the valley 

 and back again, uttering self-satisfied cries. This, I 

 suppose, to excite the admiration of his partner. The 

 female was less demonstrative. She seemed always 

 intent on household cares, and toil had evidently sobered 

 her. She reminded me of the women of the country, 

 whose whole life seemed one long drudgery. If these 

 intellio-ent birds could be trained to mark down game, 

 the sportsman would be saved many a weary trudge, 

 and have many more chances of making a bag than he 



has now. 



Mirza Khan came up after a long delay, which Sharafa 

 attributed to his desire to hide the meat ; but Mirza Khan 

 said he had left it all on the hillside, bringing away the head 

 and skin, and enough for his own dinner, that is, the liver, 

 heart, kidneys, etc. The measurements of the two heads 

 were as follows : — the larger 45 inches round the curve, 

 the smaller 32| inches. 



After breakfast next day, as we were discussing 

 how I might best spend the three days I had left, a 

 messenger, Manawar Khan, brought from the commandant 

 of the Bunji fort a letter which put a summary end to 



