Black Partridges 1 7 



they think the screen some new and fearful 

 kind of eagle, but more probably it is mere 

 curiosity. 1 



As the afternoon wore on, and a chill came 

 into the air, birds got fewer, or rather fewer birds 

 rose ; for they seem to have the same hesitation 

 about taking wing at this time as they do in the 

 early morning, so that for the last hour scarcely 

 a shot was fired. As to our bags, they were 

 nothing great, but the beautiful black and white 

 plumage of the cock birds and the gamey reds 

 and browns of the hens make them exceedingly 

 good to look at. My diary shows we got that 

 day 17 brace, a bustard, a snipe, and a hare : 

 the previous afternoon's shoot had yielded 10 J 

 brace and a hare, while next morning's was 14 

 brace 87 head for a day and two half days, 

 for two guns. 



Bigger bags than these were often got in the 

 " gardens " that surrounded most of the villages 

 in Seistan. These were mostly high-walled en- 

 closures, adjoining one another like squares on 

 a chess-board, and usually devoted to the culti- 



1 In the Gilgit Himalaya, I have. seen a shikari exploit the 

 inquisitiveness of snow -cock in a somewhat similar way. He 

 put on a black mask with long ears, and then getting behind a 

 rock, nodded and shook his head like an inquisitive goat. His 

 appearance reminded one of the "old gentleman" as commonly 

 pictured, and simply paralysed the birds. 



B 



