Deer- Stalking in Kashmir 275 



above that half-grunt, half-bellow, with the sus- 

 picion of a squeal about it, with which the 

 Kashmir stag issues his challenge. 



My camp was near the hamlets which nestle 

 below the forest, among orchards and vineyards 

 and those groves of magnificent walnut- and plane- 

 trees for which the lovely vale of Kashmir is 

 famed. I could look up at my shooting ground 

 whence came those thrilling sounds, and see 

 tier upon tier of hills clothed with alders and 

 willows, birches, hazels, and chestnuts, all golden 

 with the tints of autumn. Here and there dark- 

 green patches showed clumps of fir-trees, and 

 these grew more numerous the higher one looked, 

 till at the crest-line they merged into a dark 

 belt, cut up by straggling arms of yellow. Eoar 

 soon began to answer roar, and those were the 

 last sounds I heard before sleep came and dreams 

 of monster stags. Next morning all was silent. 

 As my Kashmiri stalker led the way uphill, 

 through woods dripping with dew, and grassy 

 glades, it was pure delight to snuff the keen, 

 crisp air, and to catch the pungent odours of 

 autumn. After an hour's climb we reached a 

 ridge, beyond which a wide grassy corrie opened, 

 a sort of amphitheatre, surrounded by forest. We 

 had not spied this for more than a fraction of 

 a minute before Eamzana, in a very excited state, 



