HERDS OF ANTELOPE 193 



position. Littledale made no objection, and said he 

 would manage the march, so accordingly I started 

 at 3 a.m. with Daniel, who was dressed in a con- 

 spicuous red coat, and Littledale's hunter, Lepet, 

 poor Taba being done up with the hard work of 

 the previous day. On our way across the steppe 

 we met with several herds of Antelope, both of the 

 larger and smaller kind. They would let us approach 

 to within 400 yards and then start off at a great pace, 

 coursing round us, and stopping at times to watch our 

 proceedings. A couple of hours brought us to the 

 foot of the hills, when we be^an ascending a narrow 

 gully, which gradually widened as we advanced, and 

 eventually turned into a broad stretch of stony table- 

 land. It was a bright, sunny day, too bright in fact 

 for easy stalking, and the heat was already making 

 itself felt at 7 a.m. as we came into likely ground and 

 dismounted. Numbers of Hares, startled by our 

 presence, ran in front of us, and the shrill whistle 

 of the Marmot alone broke the silence of the morning. 

 We were now at an altitude of about 9,000 feet above 

 sea-level ; the hills presented an aspect of rolling 

 boulders, covered with shingle and occasional patches 

 of grass. To our left rose a huge mass of rocky 

 pinnacles with perpendicular cliffs some hundred feet 

 high, at the foot of which lay traces of snow. Before 



