The Wild Goats and Sheep of Dardistan 81 



In my father's place of hunting the ibex, 



Hundreds and thousands of mighty beasts are gathered 



Who can enjoy this spectacle but the lhas and Mus ? 



The lhas are those mysterious deities that live 

 above the clouds and descend only occasionally 

 to the mountain-tops, while the klus are water- 

 spirits inhabiting the clouds themselves. 



In the winter, ibex are protected by the soft 

 wool which lies under their stiff hair. A beautiful 

 silky homespun is woven from this under- wool, a 

 whole choga or cloak being made from the pashm 

 found on two to four beasts. But the sportsman 

 who wears a garment of this material will have 

 purchased warmth at the cost of companionship, 

 for his friends will give him a wide berth when 

 he is wearing it ! 



The rutting season of ibex is a few days later 

 than that of markhor, but ibex shooting at this 

 time should only be undertaken by those who 

 have a very keen appetite for hardships. When 

 the spring arrives, ibex come down to get the 

 first of the new grass, and this is the easiest 

 stalking -time, though they are in terrible con- 

 dition. The stomach of beasts shot at this season 

 are quite black from their winter diet of juniper. 

 One winter, during the markhor rutting season, 

 I saw a buck ibex for several days running with 

 a herd of the other variety of goat. He used to 



