THE GRAND OLD SADDLE BACK. 1 23 



tiger up we found that he had missed him. Though he has 

 knocked over so many elephants and constantly been in 

 jungles full of tigers, this was the first shot he ever had at 

 one. Two days after, Clogston, another famous elephant 

 shot, who was also with us, fell in with a tiger lying down, 

 and stalked him to within seventy yards. He took a steady 

 shot and struck him so severely, that the hind quarters ap- 

 peared to be paralysed, but he crawled away and C. wisely 

 did not follow him ; he described the fury of the beast, 

 when hit, as very grand. It is the first he also ever had a 

 shot at : curious that two great elephant hunters should be 

 out here together, and both have their first shots at tigers 

 within three days. 



But to return to our ibex. One day in June, 1856, I had 

 an exciting but unsuccessful stalk after a grand old saddle 

 back ; while waiting for the mist to clear, as we had seen 

 quite fresh tracks, I sat down ; suddenly in a rift of the mist, I 

 saw an old black ibex moving along the hill in the direction 

 of a bluff rock. I was up and after him at once ; he kept 

 steadily on, and though once or twice I got within 140 

 yards, I would not risk the shot. He certainly was a 

 splendid old fellow, his saddle and neck looking quite 

 white. I was most anxious to get him, and that made 

 me lose him, for just as we got to the top of a steep hill 

 and I expected to catch sight of him some distance beyond, 

 I saw him much nearer, and creeping forward I got within 

 seventy yards of him : he was standing stern on. Instead 

 of waiting, as I ought to have done, for him to turn, I 

 stepped to one side to get a better shot, he saw me at once, 

 and dashed on some twenty paces, and then stood broad 

 side on, such a nice shot; but I was too hurried, and being 



