124 Sport and Life in the Further Himalaya 



Food from the unseen, he ho ; 

 Thou art given by God, he" ho. 



From ridge to ridge I spy thee, he" ho ; 



I would krjow thee again and again, h4 ho. 



I see thy various shapes, he ho ; 



I track thee from ledge to ledge, he" ho. 



In the midst of the herd I strike, he ho ; 

 Face to face I slay thee, he ho. 



Thou the ibex of my kitchen, he ho ; 

 Thou the guest of this evening, he ho. 



Thou the high and unattainable, h ho, 

 Now descend through my smoke-hole, he" ho. 



The meat is actually taken into the shikari's 

 house through the hole in the roof which serves 

 for a chimney, and there received by the members 

 of his family, he himself entering in by the door. 



The usual quarry in the Hindu Kush is, as has 

 been said, markhor and ibex, but when the snow 

 is deep and a herd of urial have been marked 

 down in a suitable place that is to say, low 

 down on flattish ground a whole village will 

 turn out and mob the poor beasts to death with 

 their dogs, and there is a recorded instance at 

 Gilgit when a big herd was so wiped out. As 

 a rule, urial, who trust for safety more to speed 

 and activity than getting into inaccessible places, 

 say good-bye to hounds and hunters. My old 



