78 JOURNEY TO THE PAMIRS. 



food elsewhere, so retracing my steps, I got back 

 to camp about three o'clock. There I found 

 Bower's shikari without his master. He told 

 me that Bower had got a shot at a herd of 

 gooljas, and thinking he had wounded one, had 

 gone after it as hard as he could so fast indeed 

 that he (the shikari) could not follow. I told 

 him I thought he had behaved very badly, as 

 Bower might lose his way and get benighted on 

 the mountain. He said he was sorry, but not 

 being a good walker, he could not possibly keep 

 up with the sahib. I soon found out this was a 

 fact : the Kirghiz, as a rule, cannot walk a bit, 

 and generally when hunting ride a pony or yak. 

 I was on the point of sending him off when 

 Bower appeared. He had been led a terrible 

 dance, right on to the top of the range which 

 bounded the valley. The beasts were moving, 

 and he was not steady, but thought he had 

 wounded one : they did not stop, but travelled 

 on, so that he could just keep them within sight. 

 On crossing a spur he ran into full view of 

 another herd, and immediately unslinging his 

 rifle, banged off right and left, but without 

 effect. Meanwhile he had lost sight of the first 

 herd, and as the stony ground showed no tracks, 



