MARKHOR AND SHARPU SHOOTING 169 



a sense of enjoyment which only those who have 

 had Nature to themselves, unmarred by the disfig- 

 urement of railroads and summer hotels, can truly 

 appreciate. 



At dawn on the 2d we were scouring the sides of 

 the nullah for markhor, and at eight o'clock a fine 

 big animal was, by the aid of the telescope, found 

 across a small wooded cleft, lying on top of a big 

 boulder, quietly chewing his cud, his magnificent 

 horns curving in spirals over his back. A markhor, 

 like an ibex, is a species of goat, generally of a light 

 grayish color, with a long black beard and horns 

 curving outwards in spirals, usually in two and a 

 half twists. He is a larger animal than the ibex, 

 much scarcer, and considered a far finer trophy. 

 The law allows but two to each sportsman. 



We stalked at once, which was not difficult, as 

 the hillside was thickly wooded with beech and 

 birch growth, which concealed our movements, 

 and thus it was only a question of moving silently. 

 Reaching a ridge about one hundred and fifty yards 

 above the animal, which had descended from its 

 rock and was grazing in the bushes, I soon caught 

 sight of its horns in the thicket, and fired where the 

 body appeared to be. There had been some ques- 

 tion in my mind as to whether to use the 30-40 Win- 

 chester or the cordite-powder express, but as I had 



