INDIAN SHOOTING 315 



heads of both markhor and ibex get utterly spoilt in Astor by 

 the animals falling over cliffs when shot. 



As regards Capra Jerdoni, the straight-horned markhor, the 

 first variety, with a perfectly straight axis to the horn, is found 

 all over the low ranges that run parallel to the right bank of the 

 Indus below Attock ; it used to be found in fair numbers near 

 Sheikh Budin, a small station near Dera Ismail Khan, and 

 in the hills, or rather the steep ravines, in the plateau behind 

 Dera Ghazi Khan. The country beyond these places belongs 

 to more or less inhospitable tribes and, for the present at 

 all events, is practically closed against the sportsman. Near 

 Quetta markhor are reported to be obtainable, and in 

 Beluchistan there should be a chance of getting Capra 

 agagrus and Ovis Blanfordi as well as Capra Jerdoni. 

 Hunting straight-horned markhor is scarcely a summer amuse- 

 ment, as the heat is terrific on the low hills, and drinkable water 

 is extremely -scarce. 



The second variety is found in Afghanistan, another practi- 

 cally closed shooting ground. It appears to be a link between 

 the straight horn and the spiral, more generally approaching 

 the spiral in size of body and general appearance. As the 

 Astor variety probably extends some distance to the west of 

 Gilgit, and this second variety is found in Northern Afghan- 

 istan, it seems possible that its corkscrew bend may be more 

 pronounced towards its eastern limit and less so as it extends 

 to the south-west. The illustration on p. 312 gives the four 

 marked types. 



Kinloch notes that markhor horns twist the reverse way to 

 those of domestic goats ; and the writer, after looking at many 

 hundreds of tame goats in India for the express purpose of 

 studying their horns, and after inspecting the heads in the 

 British Museum and other collections, is able to confirm the 

 fact that the horns of all wild animals that twist at all do so 

 outwards, while those of tame animals appear invariably to twist 

 inwards. 



