PERILOUS SHOOTING. 3 



with the Gwi, a little nullah running into the 

 Wardwan. How well I remember my first day 

 on the ibex-ground ! My feelings were far from 

 comfortable. The kuds looked horribly danger- 

 ous ; there was nothing to hold on to except an 

 occasional bramble, which cut one's fingers to 

 pieces, and generally came out by the roots. 

 With the proverbial luck of the first day, I got 

 a shot, but of course missed, which, under the 

 circumstances, was not surprising, having to lean 

 the most of my precious body over a precipice 

 and fire straight down on to the back of an ibex 

 perched on a rock 150 yards below me, while 

 Rama held on to my heels like grim death. To 

 feel myself safe once more in my tent was a very 

 considerable satisfaction, while I intimated gently 

 to Rama that ibex-shooting was not my style of 

 business. "Oh," he replied, "all sahibs are the 

 same ; but after a day or two they become too 

 foolhardy, and it is all I can do to prevent them 

 from breaking their necks. We will shoot a bear 

 or two first : the ground is not so difficult, for 

 they come down into the nullahs to feed, and in 

 a few days we will try the ibex-ground again." 

 Well, we shot some red bears, and found it very 

 easy work ; for poor old Bruin cannot see, and 



