A MOOXAL. 



Ill 



very kindly sends his own shikari. We assembled a council 

 of war at once ; but the general opinion seems to be that the 

 severe weather has driven the deer to shelter below. 

 September, they say, is the month to shoot here, and even 

 in that month the Maharaja only gets two or three stags. 

 Now it is hopeless hunting for them in the miles of dense 



forest in which they take refuge. So we decide to start 

 to-morrow for Chamba. 



November 2oth,- — -We march down the mountain through 

 a wild broken country, thickly wooded in parts. Now and 

 again a clucking and whirr, recalling an English cock- 

 pheasant, marks the flight of the Himalayan variety (the 

 Moonal), as, startled from a fir-tree branch, he flashes down 

 the dark ravine like a streak of blue flame from a fire-rocket. 

 A descent of a couple of hours takes us out of the snow. As 

 we reach the cultivated valley a distinct improvement is 



