PLAINS OF GYANIMA 143 



we saw the poor brute lie down near the top of a cirding 

 ridge. Kunkoo advised letting him lie for a while till 

 he stiffened. This was a welcome opportunity to sit 

 down and recover our wind, which we did, and satiated 

 our thirst from a handy snow-bed, and our hunger by 

 munching sattu, or parched grain. 



Presently, as we scrambled up towards the ground 

 where he lay, thinking he would not again rise, he sprang 

 to his feet and disappeared over the top of the hill high 

 amongst the clouds and snow, accompanied by the other 

 ram. Two shots at 400 yards struck the sky, but not the 

 rams. 



It was now getting late in the day, and we were terribly 

 tired ; but on finding pools of blood where the ram had 

 lain, we struggled on over the hilltop, which was not 

 such bad going, expecting momentarily to come on the 

 ram. The tracks were easily seen in snow and banks of 

 wet mud and gravel, and the blood-spots were constant. 

 At last he took a downward course, and we sighted him 

 crossing a valley half a mile below us, walking slowly and 

 limping badly. Our hopes were again revived, and 

 Kunkoo's yellow eyes twinkled as he held up a stone 

 well marked with blood, declaring that he would never 

 go home till the sahib killed the big ram. Crossing the 

 valley we pursued, though nearly worn out, and footsore 

 with the sharp stones. We saw him enter a gully which 

 cut the top of the next ridge ; here it began to snow, and 

 clouds concealed the view, but we went on the track, 

 leading to a rocky precipice, from the top of which we 

 could see valleys stretching away to the north where the 

 clouds permitted. The ram was nowhere to be seen, and 

 we wondered if he had fallen over. 



Suddenly there was a noise of stones falling, and looking 

 towards it I could just see the top of the ram's head over 



