THE -500 EXPRESS. 95 



With the aid of my two men, I succeeded in getting along the ibex 

 ledge and down into the gorge, but it was a place where I could not help 

 feeling that one false step would be fatal, and that without my hardy 

 mountaineers I should be utterly helpless. We reached the second ibex, and 

 found him dead enough where he fell ; the bullet had got him in the ribs 

 about four or five inches too far back, but I could not complain of my 

 shooting, for the excitement was intense. My men hallaled him, and we 

 then clambered down to the first. To my horror, one horn was pointing 

 one way, the second the other, his skull having been fractured by the fall. 

 I whipped out my tape and began to measure. Joy ! joy ! the 36in. tape 

 was not long enough, and I found it took well over forty inches to follow 

 the curve from the lower edge to the tip. On turning over the carcase, 

 the hole showed that the bullet had hit the exact spot. I felt quite 

 recompensed for all niy previous ill luck and hard work, and returned to 

 my tent triumphant. The ground was so bad that I wore out both heels of 

 my grass-shoes, leather outer-socks and woollen ditto, and a good deal of 

 the real tegument. 



I made many more attempts after the " big uns " in my first nullah, 

 but never succeeded in getting a shot : it would be tedious to relate my 

 many bitter disappointments after labours almost incredible, when I look 

 back. The one thing that I always found a great handicap in favour of 

 the ibex was the absence of any hollows under a rock on the ground they 

 frequented, where it was possible for a 6ft. Briton to spend the night. I 

 had become used to small quarters when after markhor, but all my efforts 

 to follow the same tactics and sleep on the same leyel as ibex were fruit- 

 less : I never found a spot where long bedding could be spread under a 

 friendly rock. There were ledges here and there, but no shelter, and the 

 risk of rolling over the edge was too great, besides the chance of falling 

 rocks, which often whizzed down by day and night. We had many 

 shaves, a stone of some half hundred weight just missing my second man 

 one day as we lay on a small slope eating our frugal lunch ; and the smaller 

 ones that came down in showers were decidedly scaring at all times. Occa- 

 sionally a great snow-slip took place, and then all was glorious confusion 

 and uproar. We escaped such dangers, and I believe that the ground 

 these wary ibex inhabited was as bad as any on which they can live. Had 

 I been able to sleep there, I am certain I could have secured them, but 

 a laborious climb in the grey dawn never enabled me to catch them 

 unawares but once or twice, and then other opposing elements, namely, 

 wind and watchful sentinels, defeated me. I might have fired at, and 

 over, 300 yards, but it was my great desire to outwit them, and I 

 have to acknowledge they quite defeated me, although they had some 

 close shaves. 



Looking over some friends' letters, I see one of them shot a 40in. and 

 33in. ibex right and left, having stalked within 20 yards of the first, and 

 started the second (by the report), between the first and himself. He was 

 suffering from fever at the time, and spent two days in camp recovering 



