FIRST IBEX STALKED 



125 



ahead, and some distance above the level we were at 

 when we sighted them. They were entirely unconscious 

 of our proximity, and there being so many trees about 

 the stalk was an easy one. By judicious running and 

 crouching, we got up to a tree which could not have been 

 more than 60 or 70 yards from the group of animals 

 with which the big male was. Here I took the Express 

 and crawled past the tree on to a rocky ledge, just over 

 the slope on which many of the herd were grazing. 

 The female leading the lot at this juncture turned round 

 and saw me, but for some unknown reason did not 

 whistle. She stood stock still, staring at me, as I walked 

 to the end of the ledge and sat down. 



There I stopped for a minute to take breath and to 

 observe the herd. The buck I wanted was almost 

 immediately below, grazing quietly upwards with some 

 smaller males and one or two females near him. He 

 looked very fine so close, with his horns forming, appar- 

 ently, more than half a circle. But the fact of having 

 been seen by the female above, I suppose, made me 

 more hurried than I should have been, and the nearness 

 of the animal made me feel certain a miss was impos- 

 sible. Accordingly, taking a quick aim I fired. Peering 

 through the smoke I was amazed to see the buck still 

 standing and then begin to move off. I hurriedly fired the 

 second barrel, and the ibex all began to run. Taking the 

 Lee-Metford I rapidly fired three more shots, by which 

 time all had disappeared. I felt inclined to shy both 

 the rifles down the rocks and myself after them. It was 

 impossible to have had an easier shot. The shikari had 

 done his part well, and brought me quite close to the 



