140 THE SPIRAL-HORNED MARKHOOR. 



me, saying he could find no blood. I was much annoyed, as I knew it was hit, but thinking 

 that it might become stiff and lie down if left alone for a time, I allowed the Shikari to 

 remain while we skinned the dead one. 



This occupied some time, and when we had completed it and had something to eat, we 

 took up the trail of the large Markhoor. We soon found a little blood, and when we came 

 to ground where the footmarks could be distinctly made out, we came to the conclusion 

 that he had a broken foreleg. We followed the track mile after mile, first down the steep hill, 

 then for a very long way along a rocky watercourse, hoping all the time that as he did not 

 attempt to ascend he must be badly wounded. Our hopes were at last destroyed by finding 

 that the track turned up the face of a nearly perpendicular hill into thick forest : here the 

 Markhoor appeared to have been joined by others, and we gave up the chase about dusk, 

 several miles from camp. It was a steep ascent, through slippery forest, all the way home, 

 and I was thoroughly tired out when I at last reached my tent long after dark. Having 

 worn out all my grass-shoes, I had been walking nearly barefoot for a long distance, and 

 had cut one of my feet on the stones. 



I was too lame to follow up the chase on the following day, so I sent my second Shikari 

 in pursuit, and managed to walk to Poshana. The Shikari came in in the evening, stating 

 that he had seen the Markhoor, but had been unable to get near it. 



In June 1871, I went to hunt in the Kaj-i'-Nag range ; a sportsman, who had been very 

 successful there in former years, having kindly given me notes and a sketch of the ground. 



I engaged my friend's old Shikari, but according to his account we found Markhoor 

 much less plentiful than formerly, and for several days we had a succession of bad luck : I 

 saw several Markhoor, but owing to no fault of my own, I never succeeded in getting a shot. 



One disappointment was especially provoking : my Shikari and I had been sitting for 

 upwards of an hour among some boulders in an open space in the forest, whence we had a 

 clear view of the opposite hill-side : nothing was to be seen, and as we had not even found 

 a track on our way up the ridge on which we had been sitting so long, we started to go 

 higher up, to a place from whence we could see into another valley. Not expecting to see 

 anything, I gave my rifle to my old Shikari, who usually followed close at my heels, and 

 walked slowly up the ridge. We had gone about a couple of hundred yards when we came 

 to a fallen tree, over which I stepped, while my Shikari took advantage of it to tie his grass 

 shoe. I had not taken a dozen paces, when with a " 'pst" up jumped a fine Markhoor from 

 the base of the tree where he had been lying, and stared me in the face within twenty 

 yards ! I put my hand back for my rifle, which, of course, was not forthcoming, and before 

 it could be brought, the Markhoor had disappeared in the depths of the forest. 



Several other blank days followed, until one morning, when I remained in camp to 

 await the arrival of a coolie with letters, I sent my Shikari a short distance to reconnoitre 

 a likely valley. It was not long before he sent back a man to say that he had seen game, 

 and on joining him I found that two Markhoor were lying among some scattered birch 

 trees on a spur at the other side of the valley. In order to stalk them it was absolutely 

 necessary to cross some open ground, where we should be in full view ; but trusting to our 



