IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 287 



Teu minutes after lunch I Lad to leave this 

 path too, and now began a most tedious piece of 

 work. A couple of ridges crossed, I had to face a 

 slope where I could only get along by pulling my- 

 self up by the young trees. This surmounted, I 

 found myself confronted by sheer cliff, which I 

 turned by bearing to the right. Fifty feet higher 

 I came to a cave which looked like a bear's gaura, 

 and the dog hastened into it. When I reached it 

 I found it thickly carpeted with chamois-droppings. 

 They are fond of such places to sleep in. The 

 old latschenboch who probably used it was, how- 

 ever, nowhere about. To make a long story short, 

 it took me over an hour to do a mile or less, but 

 finally a succession of wild rock and tangled beech 

 thicket, ending in a hands - and - knees climb, 

 brought me exactly where I wanted to get. 



The two valleys were in front of me. Likely 

 places for chamois, no doubt, but a weary climb 

 on the off-chance. During the earlier stages of 

 the ascent I had several looks into the right-hand 

 valley with the glass, but could see nothing. I 

 thought the other was my best chance, and steered 

 for a breche which should command it. After 

 crossing a snow-slope, which had been my land- 

 mark, I called the dog in close. At the top of 

 another snow-slope I tied him to my rucksack, and, 

 as I was within fifty yards, I left my alpenstock 

 there too. Two or three minutes brought me to 



