Across the Roof of the World. 



thefactol' tliolu'rd bi-in;^ surrounded by ;i cordon of madeens, whose 

 vigilance nothing could gainsay. I should think his horns must have 

 been a good 53 inches, with a very nice spread between the tips. 



(^n the 8th I liad camp shifted higher up opposite the glacier, 

 and not far from the foot of the pass leading over into Kok Terek. 

 I crossed the dawan, and w^orked round towards the point wher6 

 I had shot on tlie 5tli. We were well up amongst the rocks and 

 commanded a hue view of the grassy slopes below and of the 

 pine-clad stretches on the western side of the valley. My inten- 

 tion was to move right round via the high ground, and to cross 

 over into the nullah again where I had established the first ibex 

 camp, then to ride back to camp pitched higher up the ravine. 

 It meant a lot of hard climbing and some most determined 

 scrambling over rocks and boulders, but I regarded this lightly, 

 seeing the good shikar prospects looming largely ahead. 



About mid-day we came on the herd containing the big ibex I 

 sought. They were moving away from us at the time, but seemed 

 inclined to lie down for the day in the first favourable position 

 offering itself. Presently they crossed an intervening spur jutting 

 out from the main range, and slowly disappeared on the far side of 

 it. We hastened after them as well as the broken nature of the 

 ground would admit, blundering over huge rocks and boulders in 

 our efforts to get in close touch with them. Arrived near the 

 crest of the ridge Nurah went forward to reconnoitre and beckoned 

 me to creep up under cover of the rocks, indicating at the same 

 time with his finger the place where the herd was then congre- 

 gated. I took up my position as quickly and silently as possible, 

 but the big ibex was in a most unfavourable spot, half hidden 

 by rocks, so I awaited developments. They seemed very unsettled, 

 the noise of our advance having probably reached their wary 

 ears, and put them on the alert. 



Gradually they all moved off, heading down into the nullah, 

 whither we followed them. Here the ground was more favourable 

 for a stalk, consisting of little depressions amongst the rocks, and 

 tiny spurs, all leading down into the main ravine. We were 



234 



