ii6 BEAR SHOOTING 



Sharafa, who had not gone many yards before he slipped on 

 a snow-hidden rock, and went head over heels, bumping 

 on rocks and rolling over the snowy slope. I made np 

 my mind that the stock at least of the rifle he carried had 

 been smashed ; but Sharafa, like a true sportsman, took 

 the bumps and knocks himself and saved the weapon : he 

 was not hurt, but very much shaken. We passed a frozen 

 lake, about half a mile below the crest. We had been 

 warned at the village not to walk on it, so we gave it a 

 wide berth. There was snow on the ground all the way 

 down. At noon we reached the first birch-trees. There 

 were two bears' tracks along the path on the snow almost 

 all the way from last camp ; the tracks were quite fresh, 

 and must have been made late in the evening — no sun 

 had shone or snow fallen on them, and the impressions 

 were very distinct. I concluded that w^e must have 

 disturbed the pair on the previous night. There was 

 splendid-looking ibex ground on both sides of the pass, but 

 we saw no sign of ibex anywhere. We camped at one 

 o'clock under a large rock, having reached the Gures 

 district, on the watershed of the Krishganga, and in the 

 valley of Phulwain. 



