72 OORIAL. 



around my head. It was an awful day ; and the evening crawl further 

 along the ridge produced nothing worth shooting. 



The next day was as bad, and the water supply running short. One 

 man was set off to a distant village to replenish the niussick as soon as 

 the sun got low, and there was a decided feeling of conviction that the 

 oorial had been shot down in the years gone by. The third and last 

 morning was much the same as the others, and after breakfast we started 

 to work back along the range, sending the tent, &c., down by another 

 route. How hard and uncomfortable those rocks were ! Some miserable 

 wild olive bushes, dried-up tussocks of coarse grass, and bare oleander 

 wands, did not lend much of variety or beauty to the scene, which the 

 awful sun and shimmering haze were trying to change into a furnace. 



At last we came to a regular chasm some hundred and odd feet deep, 

 which ran into the range at right angles to its length, and commenced at 

 a considerable elevation from the plains below. We could not get down 

 it, and had to turn to the left along its brink. The shikarie suddenly 

 grasped my arm, and pointed to my feet apparently ; he drew rue back, 

 and explained there were some oorial down below in the rift, and he would 

 see what was amongst them. There I crouched while he reconnoitred, 

 feeling baked and nigh sunstroke, although I had an excellent double 

 helmet on and much flannel padding down my spine. When he returned 

 he could only announce one male, which of course he declared was a 

 monster. Creeping to the edge, I looked down, but could detect nothing 

 for some time ; the oleanders and grasses were not so burnt up as on the 

 exposed ridges, and rather concealed the ground. At last I saw some 

 movements, and with the binoculars could identify a male and some six 

 or seven females. His horns were good enough for me, never having 

 shot one ; and, finding there was no apprehension of danger amongst the 

 herd, I was able to make myself comfortable on the edge of the chasm, 

 with the shikarie holding on to my ankles ; the old '450 was then pushed 

 forward, and aim taken short along the back of uiy prey. The glare and 

 dancing haze, together with the perspiration pouring down my forehead 

 and into my eyes, made my aim uncommonly faulty. I pressed the trigger, 

 and the shikarie announced the game was hit. As the smoke cleared I saw 

 him moving away slowly up the hill, but he fell over and lay still, 

 just as I fired another shot. The females ran about scared, but quite 

 unable to discern the point of danger. My ambition was satisfied, so I 

 stood up, and then they soon deserted their late lord and master, and 

 galloped out of the gorge, and away over the breakneck hillside. We 

 had to make a long detour to reach the head of the chasm, and work 

 round and down to the ram ; he was a nice fellow, with horns of just 25in., 

 but my first bullet had hit some 6in. too far back, and on the left of the 

 backbone. On opening him we found his paunch full of grass, very wet, 

 and looking even green ; while we well knew he had gathered it amongst 

 the corries, and had drunk no water for some days perhaps. I must add 

 that the bullet had split up inside him, and made a regular mess of lungs. 



