338 SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS OF KASHMIR chap. 



about 700 or 800 yards, and then began quietly grazing 

 again, still on the open plain. It was obviously hopeless 

 to try pursuing them as we had been doing, so we 

 descended Into the nala and had breakfast. 



The regular Hanle south wind from the snows began 

 as we were finishing, and the rest of the day was conse- 

 quently one of extreme discomfort. A part of the herd 

 we had been stalking had been seen to go round towards 

 the north-west of a hill, to the south-east of which we 

 had had our breakfast, so we thought we would go up 

 this, on the off-chance of finding the gazelles on ground 

 where a stalk would be possible. In this vain hope we 

 went up the hill. Just as we got to the top, three 

 males came running up from the other side and passed 

 us at full speed, some 80 yards off. I sat down at once, 

 and was slipping a cartridge into the rifle, when It 

 occurred to me that if I fired and missed, I should never 

 see the little beasts again, and that It would be better to 

 let them go, and hunt them up afterwards. Two others 

 came past before the first three were well under the 

 brow of the hill, and these also I let go in accordance 

 with the Idea above mentioned. This was another 

 serious mistake, due to want of knowledge of the habits 

 of these animals. I might have fired at and missed each 

 of the five, and It would have made absolutely no differ- 

 ence, as far as finding them again was concerned. For 

 they would have galloped down to the plain, and as soon 

 as they had found themselves with a quarter of a mile of 

 open ground all round, they would simply have begun 

 grazing again. 



When the lot had disappeared we went on looking 



