1 84 NY AN (OVIS AMMON) SHOOTING 



till they reached the entrance of a side valley just below 

 us, about eight hundred yards away. We could plainly 

 see their every movement : there were seven — two fine 

 large rams, the rest of no account. They kept steadily to 

 the bottom of the nala, along the dry bed of the water- 

 course, seeming inclined to spare themselves as much 

 climbing as possible. After getting well up into the side 

 valley, they turned up a short ravine, evidently for their 

 mid-day sleep. They gave themselves away by making this 

 selection, and were completely in my power. It was most 

 amusing to watch the generalship of the leader, the oldest 

 ram, as he led his comrades into this trap ; he was most 

 cautious and deliberate in his movements, using both eyes 

 and nose while he picked his way slowly along — wholly 

 unconscious, poor beast, of the two pairs of eager eyes that 

 were watching him from above. It was mid-day now, and 

 the sun had thoroughly warmed this open-air sleeping 

 chamber. As soon as the ovis reached it, each selected 

 his bed, smelt it, and lay down, stretching out his limbs, 

 and laying his head on the slope of the hill with every 

 appearance of settling down to a comfortable sleep. The 

 old ram was the last to make himself comfortable ; he 

 evidently felt the responsibility of his position, and the 

 abandon of his companions showed clearly their confidence 

 in him. I admired this picture through my glasses for 

 some time : the peacefulness of the scene would have 

 disarmed anyone but the bloodthirsty hunter. 



When my sense of admiration had been appeased, I 

 made my dispositions, laying out in my mind all the points 

 I was to make, the exact place from which I was to fire, 

 the position of the old ram, and the distance from my 

 firing point. We then began our stalk, going straight 

 down the slope, and getting into the dry watercourse in 

 ten minutes. We followed up the tracks till they turned 



