INDIAN SHOOTING 327 



autumn, when the beasts are in their summer coats, they are 

 hardly better worth kilhng than bears at the same season), 

 and a few days ther shooting, if it can be indulged in before 

 proceeding after markhor or ibex, is the best possible tonic 

 for one's nerves. The ground — rocky slopes covered thinly 

 with pines and bushes — always looks more dangerous than it 

 really is. The rock is sound limestone, and does not give way 

 under one's foot ; there is nearly always a friendly bush to 

 hang to, and the very blades of grass are tough. The writer 

 does not go quite so far as to confirm the statement of a merry 

 sportsman — that he and two shikaris all hung on to one blade 

 of grass while crossing a difficult bit ; but it is wonderful how 

 much weight that grass will support if only subjected to a 

 steady strain. 



There is also generally a variety of game to be shot from 

 the same camp— gooral, kakur, black and brown bears, musk 

 deer, markhor in the Pir Punjal, and burrel may often, accord- 

 ing to the district, be combined with ther shooting ; besides, 

 there is always the 100 to i chance of a serow or leopard, and 

 the writer even once came across a tiger within a walk of ther 

 ground. It had killed a buffalo out of a herd close by, and 

 actually walked through the camp one night, passing within a 

 few feet of the tents. 



Though ther are often found in large flocks, the big bucks 

 are generally alone, and these solitary old males are particularly 

 crafty and by no means easy beasts to come to terms with. 

 Colonel Kinloch writes unkindly of the ther in respect of his 

 high flavour ; all wild goats smell, and whether it be markhor, 

 ibex or ther, the stink of the last beast bagged always seems 

 more appalling than any that one has experienced before, and 

 is only surpassed by the next one. The ' bouquet ' of ther and 

 markhor, however, appears to fade after the head has been 

 stuffed, but the scent of the ibex will cling to it still. The 

 writer has some stuffed ibex heads that were obtained six 

 years ago, and their aroma on damp days, though pleasing as a 

 reminiscence of past sport, is hardly suited to the house. 



