CHAPTEE XXII 



THE LAST HUNT 



A bad beginning— A very awkward ascent— Beniglited— A good sleep and a 

 sqnare meal— An unsnccessful stalk— Massacre of the ewes— Twenty 

 rams in view— The stalk— Forebodings of failure— Bad weatlier— A 

 sporting ofRcial— New way of stalking wild sheep— The official and the 

 pig-tail— Traces of Tibetan game— Bow Singh plays me false— Return 

 to Puling Sumdo— Dismiss Bow Singh with a flea in his ear— A Tibetan 

 official appears at last— An Ovis ammon's head— Splendid trophy- 

 Return journey begun— Nilang— A good game country— An airy bridge 

 —The great pilgrim route to Gangotri— Jiingla bungalow— The story of 

 a murderous ' ' Sahib "—Bhattari— Journey ends. 



At six o'clock we started to ascend the hillside to 



Jaraphu, in our tracks of the day before ; had breakfast 



there and went on again at two, having to negotiate a 



tremendous ascent that took us three hours. Luckily we 



were mounted; I had two small ponies and three yaks, 



and all the up-hill work was done on these poor animals, 



who had very hard work. The small pony that I had 



hired from Bow Singh was a sturdy little beast, who carried 



me well. My servant was astride a yak, the slowest 



animal in existence, but the surest-footed. The other 



animals carried the traps. The rotten snow on the steep 



slope gave very insecure footing, and all the animals 



lurched and slipped and slid, so that progress was painfully 



slow. More than once the baggage animals fell, and luul 



to be set on their legs again by hauling at their horns and 



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