IBEX-SHOOTING IN BALTISTAN 147 



single mountain, covered entirely with snow, rose 

 quite alone; and, lit up in the early morning sun- 

 light, when the rest of the nullah was still in shadow, 

 the effect was superb. 



Ibex-stalking is not easy, for the habits of the ani- 

 mals are all conducive to their safety, and their 

 senses of sight, smell, and hearing are very acute. 

 Before sunrise they graze down to the lower slopes, 

 but as the sun grows hot they ascend again to the 

 snow, where they sleep in inaccessible positions dur- 

 ing the day, always with one or more females posted 

 as sentinels. Toward four o'clock in the afternoon 

 they again graze downward till dark. The whole 

 success of a stalk depends, of course, on getting be- 

 hind a ridge to leeward of the herd and having them 

 graze to within range, or else on following them care- 

 fully from ridge to ridge as they move off. If they 

 remain out in the flat ground, approach is absolutely 

 impossible. The game laws of Kashmir allow six 

 ibex to each gun. 



It was a great pleasure to feel a gun in one's hands 

 again ; a two weeks' march to one's shooting-grounds 

 whets one's keenness for the sport as nothing else 

 can do. Kadera and Sidka were moving about camp 

 before the first appearance of dawn ; I awoke to the 

 welcome sound of a crackling fire and dressed at 

 once, my teeth chattering in the cold morning air. 



