124 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



despair. The bull got the wind from my side, and started 

 to trot up the side of Hodgson's ridge, straight, as I could 

 see, for where he was walking, quite in ignorance that he 

 was so near, as each was concealed from the other by 

 some big rocks. I beckoned Hodgson to look out, and 

 immediately they came face to face at about forty yards. 

 Alas ! he followed recent advice too well, for his bullet 

 struck too low, going through the long black fringe of hair 

 right out under the chest. The great beast, astonished 

 at the unexpected meeting and the report of the rifle, 

 rushed headlong down the slope, disappearing behind 

 the rocks, and got clean away, untouched, into the next 

 valley, where we never saw him again. 



When disturbed the yaks will run for miles, generally 

 retreating upwards to high ridges above the snow line, 

 which are unfrequented and almost inaccessible. They 

 prefer during the heat of the day to be on the snow, and 

 come down to graze at night. During the next week 

 Hodgson and I continued to hunt all the valleys for miles 

 for yak, while Colonel Smyth went off north-east and 

 Mr. Drummond eastward after antelope and Ovis Ammon. 

 We came each day on herds of wUd yak grazing in the 

 early mornings in secluded valley's, as many as 150 

 females and calves together. We would sight the black 

 objects dotted over the slopes, some grazing, some Ipng 

 down ; but their position was so cleverly chosen that it 

 proved impossible to approach them. We made detours 

 of miles and miles, mounted on our ponies when the ground 

 was good enough ; and when at last we tried to stalk 

 them, either an old sentinel cow, placed to watch the top 

 of the valley, would be before us and give notice to the 

 rest of the herd, or the wind would shift and blow from 

 us to them, or the ground would prove too level for 

 possible concealment, and the herd would simply move off 



