A HIGH VILLAGE. 285 



few (lays' journey farther on there was a similar bit of 

 country for ibex, the Major and I arranged that I should 

 have a turn at the napoo, and he at the ibex, which he was 

 more anxious to get. 



Having bundled up a few requisites for a night's ab- 

 sence from our camp, I started upwards about noon next 

 day, and after a long and stiff pull of several hours, reached 

 a huge sort of corrie where my Spiti guides expected we 

 should find our game. On our way we passed through the 

 village of Kiwar, situated at an elevation of 13,400 feet. 

 Although at such a high altitude, it is a fairly large, well- 

 to-do village, and several kinds of grain are raised there 

 (chiefly buckwheat and barley) entirely by irrigation, for the 

 climate of Spiti is extremely dry and almost rainless. As 

 the village lies on the south side of the mountains, it is 

 tolerably warm. 



After a careful scrutiny of the ground with the glass, I 

 discerned a flock of about fifteen napoo nearly a mile off. 

 As none of them appeared to be old rams, and we were not 

 very far from where we intended to pass the night, I 

 remained watching them in the hope that bigger fellows 

 might show themselves as evening drew on. However, as 

 no others put in an appearance, and the sun was getting 

 low, I commenced a stalk after those in sight, with a view 

 to supplying our empty camp-larder with good venison. 

 We got within easy range of them rather unexpectedly, as 

 they had fed quickly down towards us whilst hidden from 

 view during our stalk, when the excited behaviour of my 

 two men, on suddenly seeing the beasts so near us, was 

 very ludicrous. Whilst one of them snatched my cap off, 

 the other seized me under the arms and tried to lift my 

 head over the top of some rocks, behind the cover of which 

 we had been stealing towards the animals, he being under 

 the impression that I could not see them. After shaking 

 one fellow off at the risk of the burrell detecting us, and 

 recovering my cap from the other, I was able to shoot, and 



