BEAR SKINS 187 



moment and now reproduce in this volume, may convey 

 to the reader a general idea of this hitherto unexplored 

 locality. 



Seeing no trace of wild sheep, nor of any other 

 living creature, I determined to return to camp after 

 having skinned the two bears, for it was now late 

 in the afternoon, and the prospect of a long struggle 

 through the bush in the dark was by no means 

 an attractive one. We luckily struck a useful snow- 

 slide down a gully, and thus avoided part of the 

 rhododendron zone. Heavily laden with the skins, 

 we reached the bottom of the valley completely ex- 

 hausted, and found ourselves in sight of the tents at 

 six p.m. Camp was in a state of utter confusion ; 

 after the previous day's incessant rain there was not 

 a single pack which had not been damped through, 

 and everyone had hung up his belongings to dry : it 

 reminded one of a gipsy encampment in the midst of 

 the woods. My gillie had faithfully brought in the 

 skin of the first bear, and we all eagerly awaited 

 Littledale's arrival in order to know what might be 

 expected from our hrst hunting-ground. It was not 

 long before the familiar neighing of ponies, greeting 

 their returning comrades, announced his approach. 

 He brought back four average heads of Oz'is nivicola, 

 of which the best one measured 34 inches by 13.1, and 



