io6 IBEX SHOOTING 



feet into the valley below ; the green slope 

 on which the bear was feeding would then 

 be directly opposite to us. 



It was simple work after the careful 

 stalking necessary for ibex, for poor old 

 " harput" is very shortsighted, and as long 

 as one does not cross a snow nullah within 

 a quarter of a mile of him, no attention 

 need be paid to his eyes. It is necessary, 

 however, to be careful that the wind is not 

 blowing towards him, for he has very good 

 scent, and cracking sticks or other noises 

 are perdition during the last bit of the stalk. 

 In half an hour's free going we had got 

 down to his level, and fifteen minutes of 

 more careful stalking brought us to the 

 extreme edge of the ridge, from whence 

 he was clearly visible, two hundred yards 

 away. The rock we were on fell sheer into 

 the valley, which was perhaps thirty feet 

 wide, being only the bed of a mountain 

 torrent, which now looked like a snow road. 

 From this the hill on the opposite side rose 

 fairly steeply, having a patch of green grass 



