KAZIMA'S FIRST TESTIMONIAL. 251 



We moved next day to another locality, but fortune's 

 favours had departed with those three big bucks. Such 

 extraordinary luck in seeing, in so short a time, so many 

 large markhor, which are usually very difficult to find, could 

 not possibly last ; and during the several days we continued 

 to hunt for them, not another pair of good horns did we see. 



It was with much regret that, at the termination of this 

 short but satisfactory trip, I bade adieu to the shikarees and 

 others that had served me so well on the mountains, and 

 amongst them Kazima, who had turned out such a good 

 fellow, and had made himself so generally useful. He had 

 now entirely dropped his grand airs, and on being discharged 

 had not even conceit enough left in him to ask for a testi- 

 monial as to his sporting qualifications. A short time after, 

 when encamped in the Cashmere valley, I observed coming 

 along the path which passed my tent a stalwart, sportingly 

 got up individual, with a pair of markhor horns hanging 

 from the mountain-pole he carried over his shoulder. As he 

 drew near I was delighted to find it was my friend Kazima, 

 and the horns were the identical ones he had picked up when 

 with me on the Pir. As he had not as yet succeeded in 

 " sticking " any one with them, he bore them as an emblem 

 of his would-be calling. The pleasure of meeting seemed 

 mutual, for on recognising me he ran forward as if about to 

 embrace me, and pulling out a scrap of paper, exclaimed, 

 " See what I've got since I left your service ! " Taking the 

 paper, I read : " The bearer of this, Kazima, has shown me 

 a number of bears, and I can highly recommend him as a 

 capital shikaree," to which was appended the signature of 

 the fortunate man with whom our friend had been shooting 

 bears among the groves of wild fruit-trees in the vale. 

 When I had finished reading, he covered his face with his 

 hands and laughed immoderately. It was the first shikar 

 testimonial he had ever got. He informed me he was then 

 on his way to Baramoola to try and pick up another sahib 



