BETWEEN MUSSOORI AND GANGAOTRI IN MAY 1874. 227 



desirable to obtain. Some villages had no other meal to sell 

 but this u Chooah-ka-atta." The price of food appears to be re- 

 gulated by the Tiree Rajah, and I was sometimes shewn his 

 purwannah, empowering the bunniahs to sell at such exorbitant 

 rates. 



I took a rifle with me thinking it might be the means of 

 occasionally procuring a good meal of fresh meat for myself and 

 camp followers ; but large game shooting up the Bbagiruttee 

 valley is a profound mistake. Sport there is a thing of the 

 past. The villagers possess abundance of firearms, and are such 

 keen sportsmen in their way, that no European sportsman 

 going up that valley should dream of even a chance shot. 

 The rifle had better be left behind as a useless encumbrance. 

 Large game, however, is not the principal object of native attack, 

 for the Monal (Lophophorus Impei/anus) is the most profitable 

 game. For every male there is a ready sale at the godown 

 below Derali, the price being Us. 2-8. 



However, the near extinction of the species will of itself cause 

 the trade to be abandoned, or perhaps no enthusiastic lover of 

 the trade may succeed Mountaineer, and the Monal may thus 

 again become a plentiful bird. It is to be hoped it may, for a 

 more lovely sight can hardly be imagined than the flight of a 

 fine male in the bright sunlight. I only saw a couple fly past 

 me, and I shall never forget them. 



Beyond Dangnli I saw five Thar* perched on the top of a rock, 

 about 400 yards above the road. Putting up the last sight of my 

 rifle, I tried a shot at them, but without result. The ball went very 

 close, and they vanished. I afterwards went many miles over the 

 Thar country, but never saw another. Below Banguli village, I 

 saw a single Gooralf at a similar distance, and again missed. 

 This was the sum total of my large game shooting. It is a 

 spoiled country in almost every respect, both for the ornitholo- 

 gist and the sportsman. The tourist and the artist, if they can 

 be content with very slender fare and indigestible tinned provi- 

 sions, will still enjoy the trip, for the main features of the country 

 are still left; despite the lost trees the valley is unusually rug- 

 ged and grand, and the view, as Derali is reached, is very 

 charming. Up at Gangaotri wood becomes scarcer, and 

 birds there became so few and far between that I resolved on 

 retracing my steps at once. I have now said enough about the 

 valley and its misfortunes, so shall now commence my list. 

 The numbers are those of Dr. Jerdon's work and Mr. Hume's 

 catalogue. 



* More correctly, Tahr, Memitragus jemlaiciis. — Ed. 

 f Nemorhocdus goral. — Ed. 



