56 ,10 UENAL, BOMB A Y NA TUBAL HISTOR 7 SOCIETY, Vol. X. 



as not to be seen. Soon after I was on the level plateau going on all 

 fours, from boulder to boulder, thinking that the nearer I could get 

 to the edge of the nullah the better. Just as I came to a stone 

 about one foot and-a~half above ground, I saw the white front of a 

 female arkar coming out of the nullah; then one after the other they 

 all emerged into the plateau. The slighest movement and everything 

 would be lost. I kept motionless, and as my grey coat was exactly the 

 colour of the surrounding stones, I hoped I should not be seen provided 

 I kept perfectly still. The arkars were now about 250 yards off, and 

 beginning to feed on some little white flowers scattered amongst the 

 stones. For some minutes four or five of them kept looking steadily 

 towards me, but I kept as motionless as the granite itself and they 

 went on feeding again. The two big males were a little out of the 

 herd, but one female was going in front as if leading the lot. The 

 young ones were playing together, running round and round after 

 each other, jumping sideways like lambs, standing on the top of stones 

 and turning round on their hind feet, butting at each other. After 

 looking at my game for about half an hour, I saw it was time to shoot. 

 They were quite near enough, and resting my rifle on my felt hat on 

 the top of the stones I took a careful aim at the ram on my side and 

 fired. As soon as the smoke cleared off' I saw the legs of the brute in 

 the air. The others went off" like lightning to a distance of about 

 fifty yards, then all crowding altogether turned to look towards me. 1 

 raised myself on my knees, but was dizzy for a minute, having kept 

 so long in a cramped position and so could not get a shot at the second 

 ram. Olf they went in single file, a female leading ; 200 yards further 

 on they stopped again to look at me and then disappeared over the 

 verge of the plateau. 



I counted 120 paces from where I stood to the ram — a close shot 

 indeed. My bullet had gone through the base of the left horn and 

 broken the skull just at the nape of the neck. As the arkar was 

 feeding when 1 fired his head was low and I aimed too low, but there 

 it was, my first Oris poUi — a grand brute, twelve hands at the shoulder, 

 with moderate horns. The skin at this time of the year (26th June) 

 is in bad condition, patches of wool being mixed with the rough 

 and shorter hair of the summer coat. It was a finely-shaped brute, 

 with the face, legs, and under parts nearly white and all the back and 



