402 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



slopes and ledges with scarcely any inequalities in 

 their surface to afford foothold. Often the men had 

 infinite trouble with their animals before they could 

 get them to attempt some of the descents ; and fre- 

 quently one of them, slipping, would come sliding 

 against the rest, knocking others off their legs, 

 which it required great exertion and floundering 

 to regain. I took care to avoid such accidents by 

 keeping well ahead ; but sometimes even my horse, 

 which was remarkable for its sure-footedness, would 

 come on to his knees, and remain a fixture, fearing, 

 if he stirred, to roll down the whole way. We 

 avoided all the higher peaks, which were covered 

 with snow, and tried to preserve our level as much 

 as possible, although at times we traversed valleys 

 so walled-in that the rays of the sun could never 

 penetrate except at noonday. As we were descend- 

 ing a steep ravine of this kind, Abdulla pointed out 

 to me an enormous bear, scrambling, hand over 

 hand, up the stumps and bush on the other side ; 

 and, jumping ofl" my horse, I made use of a slab of 

 rock as a rest, and gave hira both barrels simul- 

 taneously. Although the distance was nearly five 

 hundred yards, my shots evidently took effect, for 

 he rolled over several times before he could regain 

 his legs, when he looked fiercely round and growled 

 most savagely. I hastily reloaded, but he had in 

 the meantime given leg-bail, so I directed two of 

 the gang to remain where we were to mark the 

 place, and direct me in case I should not be able to 



