AN IBEX RETRIEVED. 237 



below. Nothing, therefore, remained but to return to 

 camp, and to devise some means for securing the dead 

 beast on the morrow. This was soon decided on, and 

 early the following morning we returned to the scene 

 of our stalk, provided with ropes. The ibex was still 

 visible, wedged between the same two rocks, and 

 making the rope secure round the Kalmuk Jergol, we 

 let him down hand over hand into the gulf below. 

 Once safely down he found foothold among the rocks, 

 and having succeeded in cutting off the head, signalled 

 to us to hand it up. This we did, and immediately 

 afterwards pulled up Jergol, landing him safely on 

 terra Jirma once more. 



There was much excitement when I drew out the 

 tape to measure the horn, one and all who had gazed 

 at it while it remained safely out of reach declaring 

 that it must be well over 50 inches. I laid the tape, 

 carefully counting the inches as it reached towards 

 the tip, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six — and a half! 

 Exclamations of incredulity burst forth all round, but 

 the tape could not lie, and 46J- inches was the utmost 

 that it would concede. So the great head, which I had 

 dreamed about all night, and which had been rescued 

 at the expense of so much difficulty and trouble, turned 

 out after all to be not so very great, and to fall short 

 by 3|- inches of the limit which constitutes a really 

 good head for the Thian Shan. 



The middle of June was now fast approaching, much 

 ground still remained to be covered before my pro- 

 gramme of Asiatic travel was completed, and though 

 I should be sadly disappointed at having to leave 

 without carrying a 50-inch trophy away with me, I 

 decided that two more days were the most that I could 

 afford to give up to the attempt to secure one. As 

 Joseph lucidly remarked, " If git, git ; if not git, not 



