370 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



natural caves with the mouths walled up by means of 

 stones and wattles. We crossed the foot of the valley 

 in which the Ibex were grazing and began to work up the 

 slope on the far side. Scattered clouds kept blowing about 

 and impeding the view, and altogether it was anything but 

 an ideal day for ibex stalking. Once, as a cloud rolled 

 suddenly aside, I found the guide was taking us up in 

 full view of the herd ; after this we changed places, and 

 I took the lead. A dip down and a scramble over bad 

 ground brought us higher up the slope, which much 

 resembled the edge of a saw, sheer rocks representing 

 the jag of the teeth, while the steep shelving ground, 

 covered with coarse grass, giant lobelias, and patches of 

 bush, took the places of the slant. Four villagers had 

 followed us in the hopes of coming in for a share of the 

 spoil, in the shape of meat, but these I ordered to stay 

 behind near a ruined hut, while we four worked our way 

 up to a pile of massive rocks, from which I hoped to see 

 the ibex ; in this, however, I was disappointed, for the 

 clouds proved too thick. Here, for a time we came to a 

 deadlock, being unable to make our way beyond the 

 bluff; first we tried a narrow ledge of rock on the right, 

 but found that it ended abruptly in a precipice, and when 

 we turned back with difficulty to try the left side, the 

 clouds all at once lifted and disclosed the herd, lying in 

 full view under a rock about 400 yards off. The sulky 

 guide could or would give no help, so, trusting to our 

 own acumen, we tried another line, and, first working 

 downwards, after several futile attempts reached a 

 higher tooth of the saw, w^here Hyde and the native 

 were told to wait. 



