A LONG SHOT 131 



ibex could not go up that awful precipice fast, or hide 

 anywhere, or quickly otherwise disappear, I advanced 

 openly to a convenient rock, and resting the carbine on 

 it, and putting up the 300 yards' sight, I took careful aim 

 at the old male and fired. Abdulla, who was watching, 

 said the bullet hit below him, so, as the herd began 

 quickly scrambling up, I raised the 400 yards' leaf and 

 had another shot. " Still too low," said the shikari, 

 whereupon I put up the 500 yards' sight. The first shot 

 with this had no effect, and the patriarch continued to 

 make the best of his way up. He was scrambling into 

 a hollow as I fired the fourth shot, and consequently the 

 whole of his back was exposed to view. Apparently 

 this shot hit him, for he seemed unable to get up out of 

 the hollow, and all the others quickly passed him. 



I fired one or two more shots at him as he stood in 

 the hollow, when, seeing he was unable to move, I picked 

 out another male and let drive at him a couple of times, 

 of course with the same sight up. One of these bullets 

 caught him on the hind leg and shattered it. I saw him 

 stop, but could not tell what had happened till Abdulla, 

 looking through the glasses, stated where he was hit. 

 The rest of the herd had by this time contrived to 

 scramble up and disappear, and the question arose how 

 we were to Qret the two wounded beasts. 



It was necessary to see that herd climb, to believe in 

 the possibility of anything that could not fly getting up 

 the face of that precipice. It cannot have been less than 

 1000 feet from the gully below to the top, and was 

 probably nearer 1500. It looked straight up and down, 

 or nearly so, yet those ibex went up by ledges along the 



