Ibex and Ibex Ground 3 7 



the white rhinoceros, for months at a time with- 

 out drinking. The explanation perhaps lies in 

 the existence of green -leaved figs and pistachio- 

 trees and succulent roots such as asafoetida, 

 which may provide sufficient moisture for their 

 needs. The northern ranges of Persia get a rain 

 monsoon from the Caspian ; springs and streams 

 abound and luxuriant grass, and, as might be 

 expected, ibex horns there run heavier than in 

 the dry hills of Eastern Persia. 1 



It has been a tradition from the middle ages 

 that the " rock-footed one," as the ibex is called, 

 devours snakes ; and it is in virtue of this strange 

 diet that in this beast is found the bezoar stone 

 that was, and in the East still is, so sought after 

 for its curious and occult properties 



" Oh, mickle is the powerful grace that lies 

 In herbs, plants, stones and their true qualities." 



Of this magical and valuable stone there 

 were many counterfeits, but according to the old 



1 It would not have been surprising to find that markhor existed 

 in the hills bordering Afghanistan in the north-east corner of 

 Persia ; but though I made frequent and careful inquiries, I never 

 met any shikari of these parts or other person who had so much 

 as heard of the spiral - horned goats. The Himalayan ibex, a 

 frequenter of much higher mountains than any about here, is not 

 found at all in Persia, and I should doubt its existence in the 

 mountains near Herat, though in a recent work on Natural His- 

 tory this is stated to be the case. See also Appendix II. 



