THE IZZARD 351 



The chiet' oi' lliese is the Cwqac ui llial ilk, a woinkTiul 

 amphitheatre of black clifts, siiniionntcd hy siiow-firltls 

 ami the aii-v-lookino- crests of the raiiii;c. At the time of 

 iiiv tii'st visit the famous waterfall, of no o-reat volume, 

 but said to be roiirlceii humlivil feet in height, which 

 falls over this clifl', was frozen to its walls like a white 

 curtain, while o-reat shoots of snow, that had |)ourrd IVom 

 above, la\- in dirt \' white slopes at the l)(»ttom of the al)yss. 



Across one of these, as we entere<l the CV/v^/'c we saw 

 some black dots niovino-. and immediatch- had our o-lasses 

 on three izzards. This had a very e-\hilai;Hing effect on 

 our spirits, and I allowcil myself to be persuaded to 

 attem]>t a stalk on the following day, though Gavarnic was 

 shrouiled in snow, and I was sceptical as to the possibility 

 of getting about in the higher corries. Having no weapon, 

 I borrowed a lOdjore gun which carried a [xjudennis 

 spherical bulKt. Two of my daughters accompanied me, 

 and T did not look upon the expedition in a yovv s(Mious 

 spirit. It snowed so heavily in the nmrning that wc did 

 not leave the inn till mid-da\- ; but. alter an casv ascent 

 of two hours, a i)oint was reached which o\(i-looked the 

 \ al d'Especiere, and we almost immediately spictl a 

 solitary buck izzanl disporting himself on the rocks. I 

 was halt' inclined to think that he was a tame one put 

 there for the delectation of travellers, Init i swallowed 

 mv scruples and seriouslv entere(l upon iIk^ stalk, while 

 the ladies watched from below. M\- hunter ami I loilcd 

 u[)wards for an hour through powdery snow, e\cr increas- 

 ing in dejtth till we got well alio\e the cliff whei-c we had 

 seen the buck, but he was nowhere visible and it was 

 clear that he was reclining in S(»me hidden corner; .so there 



