A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



together. From glimpses occasionally obtained 

 through the rain-mists, I found that the cause of 

 these alarming noises was a series of rock avalanches. 

 The overhanging crags split, as I suppose, by the 

 winter's frosts, and then loosened by the heavy 

 rains, came thundering down the gullies and out on 

 to the fans of debris which are such a noticeable 

 feature of these rock-strewn valleys. One soon 

 gets accustomed to the noise oneself, but it was 

 some time before I could allay the fears of Sekour 

 Khan, who was fully persuaded that our camp 

 would be overwhelmed ; I pointed out to him that 

 we were quite safe, being, as it were, out in the 

 middle of a basin. The noise caused by these rock- 

 avalanches can only be likened to that made by the 

 passing of many heavily-laden luggage trains, varied 

 with the occasional firing of a big gun. At one 

 time on the following day, I must confess to having 

 felt a little nervous myself, as an entire hillside 

 apparently gave way, and the noise was terrific, the 

 rain at the time being so dense that we could not 

 see anything until all of a sudden tons of rock 

 came bounding into view straight towards us ; 

 however, they checked their career long before they 

 reached our ground. What with us was rain, a few 

 hundred feet above us was snow, and this we hoped 

 would drive the ibex down. Nor were we dis- 

 appointed. As it began to clear in the evening, 

 Salia came rushing to my tent to say that a big 

 buck ibex was standing on a rock looking down into 



6 5 F 



