H I N D U - K H. 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE bygone performances of an old " muzzle-loader " may 

 perhaps be considered rather obsolete by the young sports- 

 man of the present with his double " express." But as 

 human nature always has been, and, I opine, ever will be 

 much the same, the pleasure of studying the habits of wild 

 animals in their native haunts, the excitement of the stalk, 

 and the charming influence of grand and beautiful scenery, 

 must be little altered now from what they were years ago, 

 when first I tried my " 'prentice hand " with the rifle among 

 the highest mountains in the world. 



Before proceeding to narrate these old-fashioned perform- 

 ances, let me account for the heading I have given this book, 

 as to some it may appear far-fetched. So many works had 

 already been produced on the same subject, with a " Hima- 

 layan " cognomen, that I was at a loss to find a new name 

 for such an oft-told tale. To quote Solomon, " There is no 

 new thing under the sun," so I selected as a title an old and 

 but little-known designation for the Himalayas " Hindu- 

 Koli " ; and an ancient name would, I thought, suit well 

 with a somewhat threadbare topic. Moreover, as every high 



A 



