72 Sport and Life in the Further Himalaya 



aspect. The rivers are tumultuous floods of 

 coloured glacier water, and men, beasts, and 

 birds fly from the heat and insect pests to the 

 upper valleys. In winter all this is changed ; 

 the air is cold, the turgid waters have cleared, 

 and streams of crystal cascade down the moun- 

 tains or have been converted into ribbons of 

 ice, while frost and snow have made a magical 

 transformation in the look of the whole country. 

 This is the winter ground of the markhor, for, 

 having little or no warm under-wool like ibex, 

 they do not remain far above the snow-line. 



Passing through this zone, the traveller will 

 enter the forest region extending to about the 

 10,000 feet level, a beautiful alpine country, but 

 intersected by stupendous precipices and chasms. 

 Above this comes the region of Pamir-like valleys, 

 deep during the hot months in grass and innumer- 

 able kinds of wild flowers. The sides of these 

 valleys rise abruptly into rocky " pikes" and 

 ridges or ascend into the regions of perpetual 

 snow, while on all sides glaciers protrude their 

 snouts like dragons. 1 



The big markhor separate from the females and 

 young during the summer, and to escape the 

 attacks of flies seem to select one of two alter- 



1 The appearance of glaciers is often such as to render intelligible 

 the ancient Eastern superstition that they were dragons guarding 

 the treasure of the mountains. 



