174 



THE MARKHOR. 



two best shikarees — Gamoo and Hatha. The former was 

 a very intelligent little man, with a bright good-humoured 

 countenance ; the latter, who acted under Gamoo's orders, 

 was an active, willing fellow. 



Before proceeding further, it may be as well to give a 

 slight description of the noble animal we were about to seek. 

 The markhor {Capra megaceros), or, in English, snake-eater, 

 so called from his being supposed by the hill-men to be what 

 his name implies,^ is without doubt the finest animal of the 

 wild-goat tribe. There are several known localities in the 

 northern Himalayas and in the mountains on the north-west 

 frontier where it is met with, besides the comparatively un- 

 known ones more northward, and in each of those known it 

 differs slightly, principally in the shape of the horns. The 



A star and Northern 

 Cashmere ranges. 



Fir Pnnchal and 

 Knjnag ranges. 



Sulietnani range. 

 Types of Markhor Hoj-ns. 



horns of the variety found on the Pir Punchal and Kajnag 

 ranges, west of the Cashmere valley, have three or four spiral 

 curls in the shape of a cork-screw, and sometimes grow to an 



1 It may not be generally known that goats are ordinarily addicted to 

 snake-eating, — so say the highland herdsmen, at any rate. 



