Ibex 59 



"Well," said the wife, as I finished the story 

 at dinner, "how big do you think he was?" 



" I don't know, but he was big." 



"As big as Kahmat's last year ? " 



" Perhaps bigger." 



He was. About eleven o'clock there were 

 voices in the camp, and I caught khaili burzurg 

 (exceedingly big), and in marched Ibrahim with 

 the head on his shoulder. The steel tape was 

 in readiness. 47J inches, a very big head, and 

 a long way the best I had shot. 



I tried the lower ground the next two days 

 and found, as Eustam had said, that the wind 

 made stalking very difficult, and I was conse- 

 quently lucky in getting another good beast. 



I must say a word here about our camp at 

 the foot of the hill ; it was at the ziarat of Baba 

 Rahdar where there is a spring of water, and 

 it proved to be one of the most unpleasant camps 

 it is possible to imagine. It should be told that 

 this Baba Rahdar was a saint, whose shrine, a 

 cairn decorated with flags and horns, lay close 

 to our camp. In these days the Baba appears 

 but rarely, but when he does, it is in the guise 

 of a snake. He is reputed to be of an inhospitable 

 nature, as he allows no traveller to remain at 

 his spring for more than three days. He sends 

 winds which rage and howl up and down the 



