THE GOORAL. j 2 y 



thoroughly reconnoitred. Being good climbers, the Gooral may be found in all sorts of 

 places — on narrow ledges on the face of steep precipices, on gentle slopes of young grass, 

 and among scattered bushes or forest trees. As little noise as possible should be made ; 

 talking should never be allowed, for nothing frightens game so much. Frequently, after firing 

 a shot or two on a hill-side, other animals may be found quietly feeding a little farther on, 

 whereas if there has been any shouting or talking, the beasts will have been driven away. 

 Shooting over a hill does not appear to have the effect of frightening Gooral away : when 

 disturbed they seldom go far, and may be found again on their old ground in the course of a 

 day or two. On detecting the presence of danger, the Gooral generally stands still and 

 utters several sharp hisses before moving away. 



In 1865, I went to the valley of Billing in Garhwal, a few marches beyond Mussourie. 

 I had just returned from Thibet, and wanted to bag a Sambur stag or two, so I tried this 

 ground. I was not successful in finding stags, but I had a few bye days at Gooral. 



There was a steep hill-side, destitute of forest, but covered at that season (August) with 

 long grass. Here and there were precipitous rocky places, and on walking quietly along a 

 path which ran parallel to the stream below, but about half-way up the hill-side, Gooral 

 might every now and then be observed feeding either above or below the road. As the grass 

 was so long, doubtless many escaped observation, and I have no doubt that very good sport 

 might be had here early in the year. I was suffering from bad toothache, which so upset 

 me that for the first two or three days I could hit nothing ; but having got rid of my 

 tormentor (it was extracted or rather broken off by my kkidmatgdr), I made very good 

 practice. I was unlucky in getting good specimens, and I only killed one buck with a good 

 head. He was feeding in company with a doe some distance up the hill, and I had a steepish 

 climb to get above him. Having at last got within easy shot, I sent a ten bore bullet 

 through him, but as he managed to scramble along, I had to give him another shot. 



In 1869, I was marching with my wife along the Pabar valley ; and one morning on 

 reaching the breakfast place — which as usual was about five miles from where we had slept — 

 our coolies informed us that two Gooral had concealed themselves in the rocks overhang- 

 ing the river on the opposite side. There were some boys herding cattle just above, so we 

 shouted to them to throw down stones and drive the Gooral out. They did as they were 

 told, and soon the Gooral made their appearance, taking some wonderful leaps from rock 

 to rock. As the buck came within range I hit him hard, and he lay down on a narrow 

 ledge behind a small bush. I now fired several more shots at him, but whether I hit him 

 or not, they had not the effect of moving him, while we could see that he was still alive. 

 We could not get the herd boys to go to where he was, so I sent some of my own men 

 round by a bridge about a mile off. Just as they arrived opposite and were looking for a 

 way up the rocks, the Gooral suddenly scrambled out from behind the bush, lost his balance, 

 and fell into the river : he was at once swept away by the torrent, and we never saw him 

 again. 



In 1870, I halted at Kalel between Chamba and Ti'sa. The ground below camp looked 

 promising for sport, so I devoted a day to hunting it : Gooral were very numerous. I killed 



