IBEX. 203 



to camp here the previous night ; the hill itself, too, was 

 large and required some hours' work to do it justice. As 

 the track led through part of the forest much frequented 

 by bison, the day of the march there was not always a 

 blank one. 



My first day with ibex was at Coochmullay. Starting 

 early we called at a Mulser village on the way for a couple 

 of coolies. The Mulsers are a jungle tribe that live on 

 the lower slopes of the hills, and are looked down upon, 

 literally and figuratively, by the Carders. A stiff pull for 

 two hours landed us on the plateau of the first hill. 

 We had suffered severely from the leeches which swarmed 

 in some parts of the jungles at the foot of the hills, and, 

 in spite of every precaution, had found their way to all 

 the tender parts of our frames. So after picking off all the 

 marauders, we searched round the hill most carefully, but 

 saw no ibex, although we found their fresh tracks in 

 several places. The plateau of the second hill was at a 

 higher level, and separated from the one we were on, by 

 a very ugly chasm, only a few feet in breadth, but the 

 opposite bank was a mere ledge at the foot of a steep 

 cliff. It was, moreover, at least a foot higher than the 

 take off, and a false step would result in a sheer descent 

 of several thousand feet down to the low country, as this 

 spot was on an overhanging cliff. The Carders gave me 

 a lead over. They were as active as cats, and, as there was 

 not room on the narrow ledge for more than one person, 

 they scaled the opposing cliff ; and hauled me up the face 

 of it with ropes they had brought for the purpose. 



The view from this higher plateau was magnificent, 

 the primeval forest, nearly 6000 feet below, resembling 

 a vast green sward, streaked by silver threads, such being 

 the appearance of the rivers from that distance, while far 



