WILD SHEEP AND GAZELLES. 3 



layas ; and the Nepalese mountaineers, of whom they are 

 composed, are second to no other shikarees, not to say sol- 

 diers, in the world. 



The first three years of my service were passed at Pesha- 

 wur, which, though an excellent school for a soldier lad, 

 from the practical lessons taught in the frequent expeditions 

 that took the field from it against the turbulent hill-tribes 

 on the frontier, afforded little scope for sporting proclivities 

 beyond good snipe-shooting and quail when in season, or an 

 occasional chance of hawking the Oubara (small bustard), 

 &c., in which sport the richer natives of the Peshawur valley 

 often indulge. 



Towards the end of 1853 we marched for Eawul Pindi, 

 in the Punjab, a much better field for sport, owing to its 

 proximity to the foot of the Himalayas its neighbourhood 

 being then well stocked with game and the excellent 

 mahseer-fishing which was to be had within reachable 

 distance. 



I was out after Oorial, 1 the wild sheep of the Punjab 

 (Ovis cycloceros), and gazelles, here termed " ravine deer " 

 (Gazella Bennettii), among the comparatively low but some- 

 what rugged hills, and the deep ravines in the western part 

 of the Rawul Pindi district, when I was recalled from my 

 leave and ordered to proceed with a recruiting-party to an 

 outpost on the Nepal frontier, in the mountain province of 

 Kuniaon. It was then the end of March, and I had two 

 months of hot travel before me, as there were in those days 

 no railways in Upper India. But the long journey was of 

 little account, with a cool climate and such a fine country 

 for game in prospect at its termination. 



Marching through the plains of India during the hot 

 season is by no means pleasant. I therefore resolved to 

 avoid the heat, the dust, and their concomitant evils as 



1 The Oorial is the almost exact counterpart of the Moufflon of Southern 

 Europe. It is found plentifully distributed over the Salt-range in the Punjab, 

 and among the lower ranges of Afghanistan. 



