240 The Hunting Grounds 



strong-tasted and coarse. Ibex are found in troops, 

 rarely exceeding a dozen in number, amongst the 

 rugged crags of the highest and most inaccessible 

 mountains, their food consisting chiefly of the dif- 

 ferent mosses and short, crisp, delicate herbage indi- 

 genous to great altitudes. A wary old buck who 

 has often quite a patriarchal appearance, is generally 

 chosen as the leader of the herd ; and if he sees 

 anything suspicious, or catches a taint in the air, 

 a peculiar whistle alarms the rest, causing them to 

 collect together and remain on the alert, and on a 

 repetition of the signal away they scamper, always 

 ascending or descending a slope in an oblique direc- 

 tion. Sometimes I have seen an old female lead 

 the herd, and on such occasions I have always found 

 it extremely difficult to get within range, as they are 

 doubly cunning. 



Six hours' ride over most picturesque-looking 

 country brought us to our encampment, which 

 Chineah had chosen close to a small mountain- 

 stream that took its source in a cavern on the side 

 of a lofty peak, which stood out in bold relief, and 

 towered high above the rest. Its rugged summit, 

 round which wreaths of white fleecy-looking clouds 

 were floating in a deep blue azure sky, had the re- 

 putation of being the most likely ground to meet with 

 ibex, as from its extreme inaccessibility it had rarely 

 been trodden by man, and the game had been but 



