214 ■ DONG (WILD YAK) SHOOTING 



to change sides. We could not go farther along the bottom 

 of the valley for fear of the wind, so Paljour decided to 

 go back to the first side valley on our left, and then strike 

 up the hillside for the crest of the range. It was a toil- 

 some grind to the sky-line, and, after proceeding along the 

 crest, we peeped over. The old bull had at last got up, and 

 was feeding in a side valley next the one in which he 

 had been lying. We trudged over the intervening ridges 

 and depressions till we came to the one where he was 

 grazing. He was busily engaged, hardly taking his mouth 

 from the grass for minutes at a time, and not moving ten 

 feet in any direction ; he was breakfasting, and had 

 evidently a good appetite. We crept down till we were 

 on a level with him, but there were still two hundred yards 

 between us, and we could get no closer. I determined to 

 wait till he came nearer, or went down the next depression. 

 He did neither, but remained grazing on one spot not ten 

 yards square. I got tired of watching, so had a biscuit 

 and stretched myself, leaving Paljour to watch. I should 

 say I had half a dozen naps within fifteen minutes, and a 

 fresh dream during every nap — about two minutes to a 

 dream. After this quick succession of nightmares (or 

 day-mares), I sat up, and then suddenly came a puff of 

 wind from behind us and towards our game, which made 

 Paljour and myself start up together. We hurried back 

 at once to the next depression, dreading every moment 

 lest the dong should get our scent and be off. Paljour 

 now changed his tactics and went down nearly to the 

 bottom of the main valley, and then proceeded up along 

 that, till we came to the dip in the hillside in which the 

 animal was feeding. Then we ascended till we got on a 

 level with him again within less than a hundred yards. By 

 sitting up, I could just see the top of his back moving above 

 the swell in the ground which separated us, and I cocked 



