BAD WEATHER 107 



sat and stood over it for three mortal hours. The trunk 

 of the tree was just large enough to protect one person, 

 and that was myself ; but even I, after a short time, gave 

 up the position in favour of the ritles, which were getting 

 frightfully wet, notwithstanding all the care of the shikari ; 

 their best dodge was leaning them against the tree trunk 

 and covering them with sheets of birch bark. There were 

 eight of us, and most miserable objects we were to look at. 

 I had to eat my breakfast standing, and, under the circum- 

 stances, it was one of the most difficult performances I 

 went throuo-h during this trip. The coolies ate their 

 cakes as best they could, with the help of lumps of snow 

 from the neicjhbourin" snow-field. At eleven o'clock the 

 rain held off a little, and we made another start and 

 crossed the ridge. We had not gone a hundred yards 

 when the flood-gates were again opened, and we were 

 aG:ain driven to seek shelter under trees and rocks. This 

 time we had the full force of the cutting wind right in 

 our faces, and ten minutes of it was enough ; we rushed 

 down the slope to a clump of firs, about a quarter of a 

 mile below, and made another huge fire, regardless of any 

 game that might be above looking at us. The weather 

 cleared gradually from two o'clock, and once more we 

 started up the slope and went along the hillside — first-rate 

 places for urin — but saw nothing. We camped in the 

 evening in a very tight place under a rock ; luckily it 

 cleared up at night. 



In the morning the sun peeped over the opposite range 

 for ten minutes, and then the clouds hid him again. We 

 started early and went along the hillside, slanting upwards 

 for a good distance, disturbing a half-grown ibex not one 

 hundred yards from the place where we had camped. I 

 saw some others shortly afterwards on the ridge, high up, 

 but there were only two small males in the flock. We 



