The Big Markhor 41 



But what he did not know about the beasts, birds, 

 and plants of this wild country was not worth 

 knowing, and with judicious questioning he would 

 propound it all. Then what tales he could relate 

 of the savage deeds these valleys and mountains 

 had witnessed before the advent of the English, 

 not so many years ago ! Of the many remote 

 and inaccessible glens we visited together, there 

 were few which had not been the scene of some 

 dark tragedy. Far below us, for instance, a black 

 dot marked a cave at the foot of the huge scarp 

 opposite, whither a former Ra of Gilgit had fled 

 for refuge, accompanied by a handful of devoted 

 retainers. So great was his name for valour that 

 his enemies durst not attempt to take him there, 

 but determined to starve him out. A semicircle 

 of low walls built of rock debris still remain and 

 were visible from our perch, showing how his cruel 

 foes watched him by day and night. After a 

 week of starvation the chieftain surrendered with 

 his followers, on the assurance of their lives being 

 spared, a promise as readily given as it was 

 promptly broken ; for all were conducted to Gil- 

 git, and like the King of the Amalekites, hewn in 

 pieces. 



In this most difficult of all stalking, in which 

 the quarry is nothing meaner than the king of 

 all the race of wild goats, Gul Sher was a perfect 



