156 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



earned by severe toil, and added freezing cold 

 to the miseries of onr watch. 



Meanwhile, our companion on the lower 

 spurs had been busy, and we could hear from 

 time to time his rifle echoins: amon2:st the 

 peaks, as he tried to drive the game our way. 

 But save for one far-off view of a very 

 large tur making for the topmost crags half 

 a mile away, we could not get a glimpse of 

 anything even with a telescope. We heard 

 afterwards that though the driver had seen 

 no less than three distinct herds, they had all 

 eluded us both by taking to the toj^ of an 

 isolated peak between us and him, where, 

 though he had them in full view, and cut off 

 from retreat on all sides, he had been utterly 

 unable to approach within range, and equally 

 unable to stir the wily beasts from their 

 sanctuary either by cries or firing at them. 



And now the question with us was 

 whether we should return as we had come, 



