BULLET AND SHOT 



trying to recover itself, so I fired another shot 

 (which I think missed), and it then disappeared 

 amongst bushes in a ravine. 



The shikarrie and one of the coolies went down 

 and brought up the head and skin, and they, and 

 the other coolies, then went off to eat their mid- 

 day meal (which they had brought with them), and 

 as no water was to be had near our position at 

 a great elevation, they were away for a considerable 

 time. This was a source of great annoyance to 

 me, since I was relying upon their bringing me 

 water, that which I had taken with me having been 

 almost boiled in the sun, and tiffin under the 

 circumstances being a difficulty. While they were 

 away, I saw three or four more ibex below the hill 

 in the act of coming up it, and I fired at the 

 largest. The muzzle of my rifle was, however, 

 not clear of a rock in front of me, and the bullet 

 knocked a piece off it and went I know not 

 whither and my second, I think, missed also. 

 Running to a grassy spur which commanded a 

 view of the precipice to my right, I saw some ibex 

 crossing a sheer sheet of rock, so nearly perpen- 

 dicular that nothing but a wild goat could have 

 crossed it, and I fired at what I thought was the 

 largest, and sent it sliding down the rock far below, 

 till it disappeared from view. I went myself, as 

 I had already done before, to search for water, 

 but found only a spring full of black, peaty mud, 

 which was cut up by tracks of the wild goats ; and 

 it was only with great difficulty, and by the use 

 of the cup of my flask, that I managed to skim 



286 



