AMONG THE SNOW PEAKS 63 



agony experienced when bad shooting or other blunders 

 have caused failure, give a most exquisite satisfaction 

 when a fine trophy rewards the hunter's skill. The ex- 

 citement of these moments leaves an agreeable impression 

 on the memory, while the agony of the misses made lasts 

 for life. These sensations differ from the pleasure derived 

 from covert shooting with its hundreds of similar shots 

 per hour, very few of which can be recollected next day. 

 The sensation of knocking over pheasant after pheasant 

 by a crack shot at the covert side, whose extra skill has 

 been acquired by constant practice, must resemble more 

 that of the man who, with a long knife, stabs pigs in the 

 neck as they are swung past his stand by the heels in an 

 American bacon factory at the rate of 500 in an hour; 

 and yet men will pay hundreds of pounds for a few days' 

 such pleasure. 



There were some villagers belonging to Lata herding 

 cattle on the grass slopes, who agreed to carry the heads 

 and skins and some meat into camp by the gradual 

 descent to that village, where camp was to meet me, and 

 gladly accepted the remainder. They had huts not far 

 off, and hved a life similar to the senners in Switzerland. 

 They said there were many bears up higher on the hill, 

 and white leopards, and that most of the thar were also 

 higher up. The dense forest below was also full of game, 

 and a tiger had killed some of their cattle. It was a clear 

 bright morning, and favourable for ascending higher so 

 as to explore the spurs of Nanda Devi and take sights 

 for the survey. The ground was easy walking, very 

 different from the previous day's climb. Following the 

 ridge upwards, the hills became barer and more wild. 

 Patches of snow lay in the hollows, and higher up there 

 were fields of snow. The highest point attained was a 

 rocky peak seemingly close up under the great snow 



